Women Occupy San Diego address Citizens Review Board
on Policy Practices inadequacies (again);
Democratic Woman’s Club advocacy for City of San Diego
Department of Public Health and Social Welfare
By Anna Daniels / San Diego Free Press
Keep an eye on some of the new ballot proposals that have been filed recently with the San Diego City Clerk.
These proposals reflect focused citizen participation that offer correctives to the city’s Citizen Review Board on Police Practices (CRB) and the county’s meager health and human services. These small “d” democratic efforts also happen to be spearheaded by women.
CRB–A Second Bite of the Apple… This is the second ballot proposal that Women Occupy San Diego has filed in an effort to make the CRB more independent and transparent.
It was filed after what the organization describes as the “disappointing result” of a year working with the Charter Review Committee. The recommendations adopted on the first pass provide “only cosmetic changes and do nothing to improve the CRB’s ability to actually investigate a complaint about the police department.”
Women Occupy has joined with two dozen citizen organizations to continue their advocacy for real reform of the CRB, which must include subpoena power, the ability to hire independent investigators and independent legal council. They note that “City taxpayers paid out $9.4 million in court awards and claims for misconduct by SDPD officers, but there’s no money for independent investigators and legal counsel with subpoena powers?”
There is an urgency in addressing this issue now–turnover on the council after the November election can potentially delay meaningful reform.
The ballot proposal will be heard at the Wednesday June 15 Rules Committee meeting at 9am in the 12th floor City Council Chambers, City Hall.
City Attorney candidates should also be asked about their position on this ballot proposal as we head into the November elections.
County of San Diego sits on $2.2 billion reserve, health and human services inadequate
The Democratic Woman’s Club has submitted a ballot proposal to focus city responsibilities on human services.
Our city is challenged by ever increasing homelessness, drug and alcohol abuse, communicable diseases, including but not limited to AIDS, Zika, West Niles and others; affordable housing unavailability, aging issues, new American and refugee inclusion issues and other social conditions which lead to poverty, crime and disease. We see these issues accelerating due to climate change, overpopulation and a lack of services provided for those in need.
What is interesting to us is that this was originally approved by voters on April 7th in 1931 in Section 61 and was repealed in 1963 by voters who believed that these services would be carried out by the county. To date, whatever meager services that have been offered by the county have failed to meet the needs of San Diegans.
The County’s failure in its responsibility to enroll and provide meaningful access to CalFresh (food stamps), Calworks, and basic healthcare to our most vulnerable population has been well documented. All this, while the county grows an unconscionable $2.2 billion reserve.
The City of San Diego has a responsibility to ensure and safeguard the public health and wellbeing of The City of San Diego and it’s inhabitants. Through this department, The City can play a stronger role in ensuring that families of all socioeconomic backgrounds are able to enjoy and thrive in their city.
The ballot proposal will also be heard at the Wednesday June 15 Rules Committee meeting at 9am in the 12th floor City Council Chambers, City Hall.
Ramla Sahid, Stephanie Johnson, Andrea Carter and Stephanie Jennings are to be commended for their leadership on these two issues. Women Occupy San Diego and the San Diego Democratic Woman’s Club have submitted two ballot proposals which would have an immediate and beneficial effect on the quality of life of all residents in the city.
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None of this will matter until Bonnie Dumanis and Jan Goldsmith are gone. Hopefully behind bars.
After the Woman’s Dem Club presentation for a more coordinated focus on human services, including homelessness, the members of the rules committee did a choral sing about how much money, effort and time everyone was putting into helping the homeless. They themselves, personally, were dedicating individual time to this issue.
They totally missed the point. If all this time and money are being spent on a problem and it continues to get worse, then something is very, very wrong. As the old saying goes “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.”
If we have an arts commission that manages public art (which is beautiful and all but benefits are limited to people comfortable enough to enjoy it), for one example, why not have a commission to oversee that public health and services are being delivered in a timely, effective and coordinated manner? It seems to me to be more the mission of government to provide for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens than to provide public art.