Davis City Council Terminates Human Relations Commission

After refusing to hear the messages in countless (40+) public comments, Davis City Council voted 4-1 in favor of giving the Human Relations Commission a "cooling off time". The lone dissenting vote was from Sue Greenwald who felt that the Human Relations Commission (HRC) was doing their job in monitoring racial, sexual and other forms of discrimination coming from the Davis Police Dept..

Ted "the Terminator" Puntillo led the charge against the HRC with support from the defenders of police brutality who made their wishes known. The attacks against the HRC came primarily from police members themselves who were saddened by the voluntary leaving of their former police chief who couldn't handle a little police accountability..

Fearmongering was the primary tool of HRC opponents who cliamed that the streets would be unsafe and people would be tarred and feathered by mob rule if the HRC were allowed to remain functional. This sort of logic (or lack of it) is the tool most often used by repressive regimes that want to limit the freedoms and civil rights of citizens to govern themselves and monitor the police..

Human Relations commissions are found throughout California and serve the public's interest by monitoring and protecting the civil liberties of all people.

"MISSION STATEMENT

California Association of Human Relations Organizations (CAHRO) is a statewide organization of people and organizations that promotes full acceptance of all person by conducting activities designed to protect basic human and civil rights, and by creating a climate of respect and inclusion through networks of collaborations that reduces community tension and builds intergroup relationships."

more info on HRC @;
http://www.cahro.org/html/hrc_by_cities.html

We suggest a Davis chapter of Copwatch to fill in during the involuntary absence of the HRC. Copwatch involves grassroots support of volunteers to monitor and report on police activity in the community.

from Berkeley Copwatch;

"Our main goal is to reduce police violence by directly observing the police on the street, documenting incidents and keeping police accountable. We maintain principles of non-violence while asserting the rights of the detained person. We provide support to victims whenever possible. We also seek to educate the public about their rights, police conduct in the community and issues related to the role of police in our society.

Our other goal is to empower and unite the community to resist police abuse. We will do this by sharing information with the community, conducting "Know Your Rights" trainings, sponsoring rallies, supporting victims and other community based efforts to deal with the problem. We also encourage people to solve problems WITHOUT police intervention. We want to explore alternatives to calling the police. Most importantly, we encourage people to exercise their right to observe the police and to advocate for one another."

more on copwatch @;
http://www.berkeleycopwatch.org/

Following the meeting it was agreed upon by members of the community to begin the process of recalling Davis City Council officials, specifically Ted Puntillo and Ruth Admunson. Ruth has proven her ability to regularly bully the lone dissenting voice of Sue Greenwald into silence and attempted to evict the entire public from the council chambers following some uncomfortable questionings directed at Steve Souza for reading a pre-written statement in favor of terminating the HRC. Evidence of the council not honoring their promises made in election time is from their support of Covell village and the public's rejection of Covell village developers. In several other instances Ruth threatened to walk out of the council meeting when her authority was challanged..

In other news the City Council unanimously agreed to bring the Target in Davis issue to a binding vote in the November 6 ballot. We expect that Target will spend plenty of dollars in advertising attempting to convince Davis residents that they need a Target in their town to afford cheap socks made in sweatshops (Saipan, Nicaragua, Jordan, etc..). When asked what would happen to the Target in Woodland mall following the opening of another Target east of Pole Line Rd. in Woodland, Target representative John Dewes refused to answer and ignored the question. The pattern of big box retail stores is to close up and relocate to another part of town, leaving vacant rat infested boxes in their wake..

http://www.notargetindavis.org/

Alternatives to capitalist consumerism can be found @ Davis Food Not Bombs and here;

http://www.davisantiauthoritarians.tk/