Regional Meetings No on Proposition 6 (and 9) Runner Initiative - "Safe Neighborhoods Act"

Invitation to Regional Meetings:

Dear Community Leader,

Our coalition of elected officials, interfaith leaders, civil rights leaders and unions would like to invite you a regional meeting to strategize and train grassroots leaders to defeat Proposition 6, the Runner Initiative, mislabeled by its proponents, the "Safe Neighborhood Act"; with information also provided on Proposition 9, Nicholas' Law, labeled by its proponents "Marsy's Law". The meetings will be from 9:30AM - 3PM. The Northern California regional meeting will take place on Saturday, August 2nd . The Southern California Regional meeting will take place Saturday, August 9th. Central Valley will be later in August, TBA. Contact Lisa Adler (213)387-2800, lisa [at] thestrategycenter.org for the location and more information about the So. Cal meeting and Christina Gomez at (415) 321-4100 x 102, cgomez [at] burnsinstitute.org for the location and more information about the No. Cal meeting. Contact Debbie Reyes for information about the Central Valley meeting: (559) 916-4370, pmpvalle [at] sbcglobal.com.


Proposition 6 is a November ballot proposition introduced by the State Senate Republican Caucus Chair George Runner that take money from education, health care, and care for elders to fund increased prison spending in California. Please see the attached documents for a flyer about the regional meetings and a form to RSVP (we'd like to hear from you by July 25th)

About Proposition 6
In a time of budget crisis, Proposition 6 would result in even greater costs to the already anemic state budget, making the closure of essential services such as schools, hospitals and fire stations much more likely. The Runner initiative:
· Will cost the state General Fund 1 billion dollars in fiscal year 2009-2010, 500 million dollars in the subsequent year, and more each year thereafter due to COLA adjustment, according to the conservative estimates of the LAO and the Department of Finance,
· Will result in additional costs to county and municipal governments from unfunded mandates.
· Provides for no additional revenue, therefore requiring cuts in healthcare, education and other services.
· Will increase incarceration rates at the state and local level, especially among minors and young persons from communities of color.
· Creates a legal presumption that minors as young as 14-years of age will be tried as adults if accused of specified "gang related" crimes.
· Force recipients of public housing subsidies to submit to annual criminal background checks with the intention of withdrawing the housing subsidies of people with recent criminal convictions.
· Deny bail to undocumented individuals charged with violent or gang-related crimes and requiring local sheriffs to inform Immigration Central Enforcement (ICE) of the arrest and charges of people who are undocumented.
At our campaign website http://www.defeatrunner.org you will find Legislative Analysts Office Summary of the Initiative, the list of opponents to the initiative and much more.
The day long meeting will include a training on the Runner Initiative, provide materials for organizational development and distribution, develop geographic specific grassroots organizing and Get Out the Vote plans, and develop media generating strategies. We hope your organization will be able to send one to two representatives. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the RSVP form by July 25th and we will send you approval and details about your regional event.

Sincerely,
Jonah Zern
Associate
Books Not Bars (An Ella Baker Center Campaign)
344 40th Street
Oakland, CA 94609
510.428.3939 x241 (office)

http://www.votenoprop6.com