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Indybay Feature

Activists Call for Impeachment; City Council Blocks The Vote!

by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
On July 25th, Santa Cruz activists, guided by the Coalition for Impeachment Now (COIN), attended the last Santa Cruz City Council meeting of the summer in an effort to get "our city representatives" to place a measure on the ballot in November calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney.
sherry_7-25-06.jpg
The City Council meeting was filled with people in support of an agenda item brought forth by council member Tim Fitzmaurice asking for a measure to be placed directly onto the Santa Cruz City Ballot in November, calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney.

There were also a lot of people at the meeting who were in support of a sensible marijuana policy initiative. The Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy have qualified an initiative for the November ballot that will make private adult marijuana offenses the lowest police priority.

The City Council decided to give Santa Cruz voters the opportunity to vote on the initiative to make private adult marijuana offenses the lowest police priority, however the City Council voted down (3 yes / 4 no) the agenda item by Fitzmaurice asking for a measure to be placed directly onto the Santa Cruz City Ballot in November calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney.

Santa Cruz City Council voted to pass a resolution that Mike Rotkin put on the agenda. City Council passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of George Bush. This is not what activists at the meeting wanted. People wanted the opportunity for a city-wide vote to impeach Bush and Cheney.


For more information on the local effort to Impeach Bush, please see:

City Council: Vote to Impeach Bush
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/25/18291328.php


For more information on the sensible marijuana policy initiative for Santa Cruz, please see:

Support sensible marijuana policy initiative @ city council mtg
http://indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/25/18291331.php
§Richard Fitzmaurice, Father of Tim
by ~Bradley
richard_7-25-06.jpg
US War Veteran Richard Fitzmaurice, father of Santa Cruz City Council Member Tim Fitzmaurice, spoke passionately about fighting for freedom and to protect the United States. He know feels that this country, led by the Bush Regime, is spinning out of control. He called on City Council Members to support the agenda item calling for the impeachment of George Bush and Richard Cheney.
§Bob, Human Rights Organization
by ~Bradley
bob_7-25-06.jpg
§Let The People Vote!
by ~Bradley
people-vote_7-25-06.jpg
§Public Comment
by ~Bradley
public-comment_7-25-06.jpg
§Letter To Council
by ~Bradley
letter_7-25-06.jpg
§Louie, CodePink and COIN
by ~Bradley
louie_7-25-06.jpg
§Free the Weed & Jail the Bush
by ~Bradley
free-weed_jail-bush_7-25-06.jpg
§Let People Vote
by ~Bradley
let-people-vote_7-25-06.jpg
§Impeach Now
by ~Bradley
impeach-now_7-25-06.jpg
§Ed Porter, City Council Member
by ~Bradley
ed_7-25-06.jpg
§Santa Cruz City Council
by ~Bradley
city-council_7-25-06.jpg
Tony Madrigal, Ed Porter and Tim Fitzmaurice voted to put the measure on the november ballot
§Coalition for Impeachment Now (COIN)
by ~Bradley
coin_7-25-06.jpg
§Give The Bushies A Pink Slip Now
by ~Bradley
bushies_7-25-06.jpg
§Cheney: V.P. Of Torture
by ~Bradley
cheney_7-25-06.jpg
§Stop W
by ~Bradley
stop-w_7-25-06.jpg
§Honor The Constitution
by ~Bradley
constitution_7-25-06.jpg
§Regime Change Begins At Home
by ~Bradley
regime-change_7-25-06.jpg
§Notice Of Termination
by ~Bradley
termination_7-25-06.jpg
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
by Robert Norse
Nice photographic coverage of the event, Bradley. Check out
http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb060727.mp3 for my commentary on the Rotkin-Mathews coup preempting Fitzmaurice's "Let the People Vote on Impeaching Bush" resolution.

At http://www.radiolibre.org/brb/brb060730.mp3, to be posted in early August, I'll be replaying some audio from the City Council's public comment and debate.

A plausible argument can be made that Rotkin hurriedly introduced his own resolution and opposed Fitzmaurice's to facilitate his own reelection in November. Voters who might be drawn to the polls with the Bush impeachment resolution won't be going (though the "Tax and Regulate" Marijuana Initiative and the Minimum Wage Initiative will be on the ballot).

Rotkin continued to claim that his action was because he thought a "symbolic" action would be "illusory". Of course, he wasn't moving for stronger action like declaring the city a "war criminal free zone" and instructing police not to cooperate with demands that COs and draft resisters be arrested.

Whatever the truth, Rotkin initiated the Council move to deny the voters of Santa Cruz the right to vote on the issue--which reflects his restrictive view of public participation at City Council.

[Full disclosure: I continue to face 1 1/2 years in jail in a September jury trial. Rotkin personally had me arrested in June 2005 at City Council and charged with "disrupting a meeting" for waiting at the microphone to talk for two minutes.]

A defeat for Rotkin at the polls in November (and his close ally Mathews) would be a defeat for Rotkinism. Rotkinism = more police power, harsh downtown ordinances, a sleeping ban, destruction of rent control, pro-developer activity, knee-jerk support for an abusive city attorney and city manager. support for virtually no checks on police surveillance, and unfortunately, much more.

You be the judge.

by Robert Norse
City Council's July 25th squashing of the ballot impeachment resolution will be replayed on August 3rd or August 6th on FRSC and archived on the HUFF website several days thereafter.

In the meantime get your nomination papers filed, if you want to run for City Council to speak up in the forums against Rotkin and Mathews.
Let the record be very clear:

Tim Fitzmaurice led the effort to put this measure on the ballot and Tony Madrigal and Ed Porter supported it.

Mike Rotkin set this measure up for failure *before* he even heard people speak about it. This is clear by his "alternate resolution" he included in the City Council agenda. His lackeys, Mayor Cynthia Matthews, Emily Reily and Ryan Coonerty who seemed to have stuffed their ears with cotton, couldn't have cared less about what people had to say about the suggested ballot measure. These councilmembers proceded to insult the intelligence of the people who took time out of their busy lives to attend the 3 pm council meeting by claiming that, instead of focusing on a local impeachment measure that would be "powerless," they should instead focus on getting democrats elected so they can get George Bush / republicans out of office.

You mean those brave souls who gave us Samuel Alito, money for continued slaughter in Iraq and praise (and more money) for the carnage carried out by the criminal Israeli Government?
And in our own backyard, those politicians who have done nothing for our most vulnerable residents that are dying from exposure, those politicians who are selling off the rights of our communities to Monsanto and AT&T??

The People are getting wise to what is going on and will no longer be held hostage to a false dichotomy of having to support the "least-worst" politician any longer. I must admit that I'm almost looking forward to the week after election day when it is these hypocrits who are forced to go job hunting in a suddenly unfriendly world.
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