Margarita Lacabe

Prominent San Leandro Citizen Speaks Out Against BEARCAT

 Prominent San Leandro Citizen Speaks Out Against BEARCAT  City Hall, Civil Liberties, Community, Police  No Responses »
Jan 212015
 
Tim Holmes speaks at the "community meeting" on the SLPD acquiring of a BEARCAT

Tim Holmes speaks at the “community meeting” on the SLPD acquiring of a BEARCAT

This is the letter that Tim Holmes, a prominent San Leandro citizen and community activist, sent the San Leandro City Council. You can also read my own message to the SLPD on this matter.

To the members of the San Leandro City Council:

I attended the recent community meeting regarding the plans to obtain a Bearcat, I wasn’t able to complete my comments in the time allotted, so I’m including them in full here.

I am asking you vote no and to NOT accept this vehicle.

Tools only seem neutral. You pick one up, you use it and put it back. But the tools at your disposal determine how you solve a problem. “Give someone a hammer and everything begins to look like a nail.” This tool is not neutral.

This tool CAN be used as a medical vehicle, but it is, by any real-world definition, a tank. It’s a vehicle custom-built and sold as a military vehicle, with an oxygen canister, two folding stretchers, and a “MedEvac” sticker thrown in to put a veneer of humanitarian aid to get in through the door.

It CAN be used as a shield, but any shield with holes built-in was built as a firing platform first and foremost and a shield second.

There is no question this tool will be put to use, as any tool is. And, were you to be given a attack helicopter, that too would assist in pursuing bad guys, but when going down that path justifies any tool. Brick by brick we build the world we will live in. That’s the larger picture you need to keep in mind as your decisions will impact generations to come and shape the world they live in, without their participation or permission.

We all draw a line somewhere, a line over which we feel we lose our freedoms. There are countries, now and in the past, who have taken that path, but I don’t know anyone who considers those countries better for it.

That line differs for everyone, but the discussion about where that line is for this community is being denied. Instead our police department has already decided without public input, and is creeping that line forward more and more. The ever increasing and undisclosed number of license plate cameras, community surveillance cameras, with surprise microphones no less, the proposal for the Bearcat, and more. All of this is occurring without an open debate on the tradeoffs, while the police have pat answers to every concern, never even acknowledging that there is indeed a cost, a human cost, and a cost to our individual rights.

We must govern and make decisions under the assumption that people you do not trust will in charge, because the decisions you are making will affect our grandchildren and had somebody made these decisions 30 years ago, we would live in the free society we do today, even with the legacy of abusing the rights of minorities.

People feel the comparison to Ferguson is inappropriate, but it was only a few decades ago when being black in San Leandro was more dangerous than being in Ferguson today, and our police department followed the orders of our city’s culture of racism and abuse of powers. What would those elected officials and those police officers do with this vehicle… You must make laws to protect us from their sentiments now just as we needed that then. You are hearing about police abuse of power because it happens. It happens in the Bay Area today, not just in Ferguson and not just in our past. It really happens and citizens are justifiably fearful.

Because as things stand, the only way to ensure we aren’t the ones being persecuted is to lie low, stay quiet, and not raise trouble and in a democracy that’s not an acceptable trade off, for me and many others…. that’s unacceptably over the line. That’s our reality.

As a citizen of your city, a voter, a parent, local business owner, donor, community activist, and volunteer, I ask you to vote against accepting this vehicle.

Don’t allow us to be dragged back to a time when police cars sat on the border of Oakland, where minorities were unwelcome and discriminated against, and where our police were the stooges of those whose agenda isn’t American, isn’t moral, and which does not represent the people of San Leandro, the majority of whom are already discriminated against and fear the police, and yet make up the majority population of the city.

Thank you,

Tim Holmes

Choices for Art Commission Show Nepotism at Play

 Choices for Art Commission Show Nepotism at Play  City Hall, Community  No Responses »
Jan 142015
 

butterflyNote: this article has been slightly expanded.

If you start seeing a lot of sad and mediocre public art in San Leandro, you know whom you have to blame: the past and current members of the City Council who chose to appoint friends to the newly created Arts Commission instead of people with any sort of knowledge or experience in the Arts.

When the City Council created an Arts Commission to decide on how to beautify San Leandro though art, they had the opportunity to populate it with outstanding artists and arts professionals.  Instead, three Councilmembers, Michael Gregory, Ursula Reed and Benny Lee, decided to chose their friends and political supporters, despite their obvious lack of qualifications in comparison to other applicants.

In District 1, Michael Gregory appointed his friend Jeni Engler to the Arts Commission.  Jeni is a very nice woman, an elementary school teacher, a great volunteer with Friends of the Library and a great supporter of the theater program in her church.  She and her husband have been friends with the Gregories for a long time, they attend the same church and Michael Gregory honored them with a service award in 2013.  However, Jeni Engler does not have either an educational nor professional background in either fine or performing arts, and she listed no art involvement beyond supporting musical theater.

The people Michael Gregory did NOT choose included:

– A professional artist/painter  and former docent at New York’s Museum of Modern Art with an MA in Art.
– An artist and Alameda County Arts Commissioner with a BA in Studio Art and an MA in Art Administration, who previously worked at the Art Institute of Chicago
– A professional graphic designer with degrees in Photography and Graphic Design
– A lawyer/artist, with a certificate in studio art & printmaking
– A retired graphic designer and artist very involved in the local art scene (ultimately appointed to the Arts Commission by the Mayor)

In District 2, Ursula Reed appointed friend and political supporter Dina Herrera, whom she had previously appointed to the Parks & Recreation commission, despite the fact that Herrera did not file her application to the Commission until after the date when the Council was supposed to announce their nominations.  Indeed,  Herrera’s application was not included in the packet I received from the City Clerk because I had specified I only wanted those available to Council members before they made their decision.  Herrera has been a strong supporter of Reed, endorsing her in multiple races and participating in her political fundraisers.  According to Herrera’s application, her qualifications for being in the Commission are: “I am an active community member. I would love to help beautify San Leandro and my own children perform in San Leandro’s Theater Programs”.

In order to appoint Herrera, Reed rejected the timely filed applications of:

– An Arts professor/writer/reviewer/judge/curator/art producer with a BA in Studio Art and an MA in Curatorial Practice.
– A graphic designer with experience producing Latin music shows.

In District 4, Benny Lee appointed friend and political ally Martin Wong, who listed no involvement with the arts in his application beyond being vp or a church chorus. Lee rejected:

– A local artist
– The technical director of the California Symphony Orchestra, who has a BA in Sociology
– A Mexican American community member with a BA in Anthropology and coursework on museum curating

Things were better in the other parts of town.

In District 3, Diana Souza appointed Susan Harlow-Schott, the only person who applied.

In District 5, Pauline Cutter appointed Anna Edwards, an amazing African-American artist.  There were other qualified applicants, including a typeface designer and professor at California College of the Arts, a brilliant professional sculptor/artist and a curator and artist coach who worked as Deputy Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission (she was appointed to the Commission by Mayor Cassidy), but I don’t think anyone can doubt Ms. Edwards’ qualifications.

And in District 6, Jim Prola appointed Kathleen Ott-Davis, an art designer with a BA in Fine Arts over two other applicants, a professional singer of Portuguese Fado and Prola’s own wife (who paints).

The City invited people who did not reside in San Leandro, but who are involved in the cultural life of the community, to apply for an at-large appointment to the Arts Commission.  There were a couple of extremely qualified applicants, including the Executive Director and curator of a mobile public art gallery with decades of experience in art exhibitions and promotions and a Mexican American professional artist who runs an art promotion company, but neither was chosen by Mayor Cassidy.

One single at-large space remains in the Commission.

Arts Commission Applications

Dina Herrera’s application

Community Meeting on Police Militarization and Terror in San Leandro

 Community Meeting on Police Militarization and Terror in San Leandro  Event, Police  No Responses »
Jan 122015
 

evolution of a local police officer.tif
If you live in San Leandro or a nearby, Students and Families For Education (SAFE) invites you to a:

Community Meeting on Police Militarization and Terror in San Leandro
Thursday, January 15th
7 PM
Zocalo Coffeehouse
645 Bancroft Avenue

Please come to share your story, discuss and organize around:

For more information please contact sanleandro@voxpublica.org

Note: Zocalo will be open during the meeting, so you will be able to purchase food/drink.

My Message to the SLPD: The Bearcat is Not a Good Idea

 My Message to the SLPD: The Bearcat is Not a Good Idea  City Hall, Civil Liberties, Community, Police  2 Responses »
Jan 102015
 

The BearCat that the SLPD is trying to acquire.

This was my speech at the “community meeting” on the SLPD‘s planned acquisition of a Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck (Bearcat).  I addressed my comments to the SLPD, as the City Council has made it clear that their role is simply to rubber stamp any proposal brought by the Police. In other words, we officially have a police state in San Leandro. You can find Tim Holmes remarks here.

While it may seem hard to believe, I appreciate our police officers.    Every single SLPD officer I have met, has treated me with politeness, courtesy and professionalism.  I think most of you are honorable people, trying to do a difficult job to the best of your abilities. And I think you have one of the worst jobs in the world, not because of physical danger, but because of the soul-killing experiences you go through.  I would not want to risk my own humanity by doing that job, and I appreciate those who do.

The problem is not police officers.  The problem is the system under which we all operate. The prison industrial complex requires an ever-increasing supply of people to fill out our private jails and utilize the services of the industries that profit from crime fighting, prisons and prisoners – including, increasingly, the military weapon industry.

As our crime rates go down, the system requires that we both manufacture and inflate the perception of crime.  You play your part by buying into the rhetoric that every citizen you encounter is likely to be dangerous and must be treated accordingly, and by passing those same unjustified fears into the community as a whole.  Because it’s easier for people to fear “the other,” you feed and feed on the racism that is so entrenched in San Leandro to justify both your fear and your brutality.

You want a BearCat.  You want it because it’s cool and it makes you feel macho to drive one and because you think it will make you feel safe.  Ironically, it will do exactly the opposite.

The BearCat is not just a shiny toy, but a symbol that you are no longer just a community police force looking to catch muggers and burglars, but an occupying para-military force whose purpose is to terrorize the population and suppress dissent.  It’s a symbol that you are the Ferguson police, ready to tear gas us and water hose us and shoot us if need be.  It’s a symbol that you are declaring war on us: people of color, activists, students, dissenters.

But when you decide to become a paramilitary force, you also become a target.  You can’t do your job bunkering into that truck and never coming out and you can’t just kill every person you think will be dangerous – though make no mistake, that’s the path you are heading on by militarizing your force.   You will not be safer.

You can only be safer by making others respect you, rather than fear you. By inviting dialogue rather than confrontation. By seeking peace rather than war.

It’s not too late to seek peace together.

 

Want a Clean Democratic Party? Vote for Independent Party Members

 Want a Clean Democratic Party? Vote for Independent Party Members  Politics  2 Responses »
Jan 072015
 

Democrat DonkeyOnce again, it’s time for the election for delegates to represent AD 18 (San Leandro, Alameda and most of Oakland) to the California Democratic Party’s State Central Committee.   State delegates get to vote on the party’s endorsement of Democratic candidates for state and national office, on the state party’s platform and on regional and state party officers.  If we want to have a state party that is  open to regular Democrats and that puts civil rights and social justice before the interests of the party machine, we need to elect delegates that represent those values.

Voting for state delegates is hard. It can only be done in person on the day and place determined by the County Committee Chair.  This year, the AD 18 election will be on Jan 10th at 11 AM at the Teamsters Local 70, 400 Roland Way by Edgewater Dr. in Oakland.  It

There is a slate ran by Assemblymember Rob Bonta whose only purpose is to make Bonta have more influence in the party, which he can then wield to further his political career.  He is not in the least shy about this. All candidates in his slate must commit to “consult” with Bonta before voting, and Bonta is spending thousands of dollars of campaign funds to get them elected.  Bonta is hoping to use his delegates’ votes to decide who will get the Democratic endorsement in the race to replace state senator Loni Hancock in 2016.  Bonta has not yet announced whom he’ll be backing.  In 2014, Bonta similarly used his votes to back then Assembly speaker John Perez for Controller, against the far more liberal and qualified Betty Yee (who was ultimately elected). Bonta also backed senator Alex Padilla for Secretary of State, despite Padilla’s support for the use of drones and his problems with the FPPC, against the far better qualified and clean Dereck Cressman.

But voting for non-Bonta candidates matters in other ways.  Bonta has been very reluctant to take a stand against mass surveillance of California citizens and has refused to carry legislation that would put limits.  He has a very cozy relationship with the police unions, who’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get him elected.  As any fight for civil rights and social justice in California goes directly through Sacramento, it’s dangerous to give Bonta so much say over which senate candidate will get the Democratic endorsement.  For this reason, I am asking all Democratic voters to attend the January 10th meeting and vote for the Independent non-slate

VOTE FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES

  • Mike Katz-Lacabe
  • Guillermo Elenes
  • Matt Hummel
  • Sean Donahoe
  • Sokhom Mao
  • Gilbert Dong
  • Sandra Johnson
  • Leslie Robertson
  • Donna Murphy
  • Sabrina Ramirez
  • Marlene Hurd

Convener:

Gray Harris

Phone:
510-552-6521

Email:
Graymooregray@gmail.com

 

Time & Location:

Teamsters Local 70

400 Roland Way
Oakland, CA 94621
Cross street: Edgewater Dr.
Location Phone: 510-552-6521

Saturday, Jan. 10
11 AM – 1 PM ONLY
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