EscInd: Weekly Action Plan for January 30, 2023
Welcome to Escondido Indivisible’s weekly action plan for January 30, 2023! Pick an action or two and commit yourself to doing them. As President Obama said in his farewell speech: Believe in your ability to bring change. Show up, dive in, stay at it.
Events
- Monday, January 30, 2023, 5:00 PM: Escondido City Council Meeting at City Hall Council Chambers, 201 North Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025. Agenda includes Item #1 on City Council District 3 Vacancy Appointment. Live broadcast of the meeting will be at escondido.org here. Public comments may be made via Public Comment Form.
Escondido City Council
- Read-up on Escondido City Council Meeting Agenda Item #1 on City Council District 3 Vacancy Appointment and the previous meeting’s Agenda Item #7 on City Council District 3 Vacancy Interviews and Candidate Applications which include candidate Q&As and resumes. The City Council is leaning toward appointing Christian Garcia to District 3. On Wednesday, Mayor White and Councilmember Morasco had voted to appoint Christian Garcia while Councilmember Joe Garcia abstained and Councilmember Martinez voted No, leading to the motion to fail 2-1-1 but Christian Garcia may receive the three votes needed for the appointment in this upcoming Monday meeting. Christian Garcia is the current Palomar College District 2 Board of Trustee, and in the 2020 Election, Mayor White (then EUHSD President), Councilmember Morasco and Councilmember Garcia (then candidate) had endorsed Christian Garcia for the position. Christian Garcia had likewise endorsed them in their elections. Christian Garcia's specific application is available here. Broadcast of Wednesday’s meeting and interview of all candidates are available here.
- Of interest, here’s Christian Garcia’s written response to the question, “How would you address homelessness in Escondido?” (emphasis ours): “By increasing policing, we should have a no-squatting policy in the city. Homeless individuals who have been in the area should be provided non-profit, religious-based, or city services. The city should ensure that any homeless individual who receives city-services needs to be sheltered. We should study which organizations are the most effective in providing rehabilitation programs, and fund those while improving the deficient ones. We should also welcome non-profits who specialize in these services to the city. Lastly, we should ensure none of our policies are invitations to bring in more homelessness from surrounding areas.” Note that studies have shown that criminalizing homelessness is “ineffective, expensive, and actually worsen the tragedy of homelessness”, and, also, Escondido does not offer sufficient services to shelter our unhoused neighbors, for example, “only 150 shelter beds entirely in North County” vs. “about 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness just in North County”.
- Comment on City Council Meeting Agenda Item #1 to appoint the District 3 seat and/or contact the Escondido City Council and express your views and concerns on the City Council District 3 candidates and appointment. Note that Ray Alto had withdrawn their application (and previously contributed to Mayor White’s election campaign), and Dana Nuesca was a previous campaign treasurer for Councilmember Morasco.
- Attend the Escondido City Council Meeting at City Hall Council Chambers, 201 North Broadway, Escondido, CA 92025 on Monday, January 30, 2023, 5:00 PM.
Homelessness
- Read-up on Point in Time homeless count crucial for North County resources and Homeless outreach workers continue point in time count in Escondido.
- Contact the Escondido City Council and ask them to address the immediate needs of our community, such as, creating a Safe Parking Program similar to Encinitas and Vista and a Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement similar to La Mesa. North County has “only 150 shelter beds entirely” last year vs. “about 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness just in North County”.
- In-Related News: read-up on #TBT San Diego police keep arresting unhoused people as cases go nowhere and San Diego homeless enforcement violates court orders, attorneys say.
Police Brutality
- Read-up on Tyre Nichols: Memphis releases video of his brutal beating after a traffic stop and Tyre Nichols was a son and father who enjoyed skateboarding, photography and sunsets, his family says.
- Contact the Escondido City Council and express support for the establishment of citizen review boards to investigate complaints against law enforcement officers as recommended by a 2015/2016 Grand Jury Report from San Diego County Civil Grand Jury. The City Council discussed the topic in 2020, but there have been no updates since then. See Grand Jury Report: Citizen Oversight Boards Of Police Behavior, Escondido Response to Grand Jury Report and Council, residents call for Escondido police oversight board.
- Contact Representative Issa, Representative Peters, Senator Feinstein and Senator Padilla and ask them to strengthen legislation to hold police accountable such as ending qualified immunity and limiting pretext stops and uses of force. See The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021, explained and The BREATHE Act is a bold plan to address police violence — and it’s made for this moment.
- In-Related News: read-up on Experts say California should ban this type of police stop. Why haven’t lawmakers done it? and Minor police stops plummet after LAPD policy change.
Gun Violence
- Read-up on A vigil, another mass shooting and A Terrifying Sign of Assimilation.
- Contact Representative Issa, Representative Peters, Senator Feinstein and Senator Padilla and ask them to pass more comprehensive legislation addressing gun violence such as S.25 which will ban assault weapons and S.14 which will raise the age to be able to buy a gun from 18 to 21. Senator Feinstein and Senator Padilla are co-sponsors of S.25 & S.14. Note that Representative Issa previously voted no on the Gun Safety Bill (S.2938) along with other gun safety legislation. See Demand a Federal Ban on Assault Weapons and Demand Action Against Gun Violence.
Escondido Indivisible is a grassroots group dedicated to affecting changes in our local community. Our website is at EscondidoIndivisible.com. Send us links and comments at EscondidoIndivisible50@gmail.com. And feel free to forward our newsletter to interested parties! If you were forwarded this letter, you can subscribe here, and check the archive here.
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Escondido Indivisible: