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Bike Advocates Endorse Staunchly Anti-Poor Candidate
The local bicycle advocacy group People Power, part of the Progressive Coalition, is again showing their questionable progressive credentials by supporting the election of David Terrazas, part of the City's conservative Council majority that has consistently voted against the side of poor people and evidence-based policies.
An open letter to People Power:
Dear People Power,
As a dedicated cyclist, I have supported your organization for over a decade, including five years serving on the steering committee, and working as the bookkeeper and membership coordinator. I very much value the work you have done and continue to do. However, I have always had mixed feelings about your endorsements of candidates including in the past individuals like Mike Rotkin, who last time you endorsed him in 2008 was clearly lining up against poor people through policies like opposing a living wage, and supporting the City's call for people to literally call 911 on people picking cans out of the garbage to scrape by a living.
At the time I was first invited to be more involved, I expressed this concern and got the response that the group agreed with me and such endorsements were not necessary. This year however People Power has endorsed and continues to support a much-worse candidate in David Terrazas. Even in the realm of transportation, he has a mixed record, sometimes clearly coming down on the side of sustainable transportation, but other times not. He also voted with the Council majority to not restore the program of distributing the City's unclaimed bikes to youth, but instead to ignore the shady dealings that led to that change, and make disparaging comments instead about the Bike Church.
More importantly, in his first term on Council Terrazas has constantly voted for repressive and ineffective policies. Going along with the conservative majority that we've had over the last four years (especially since 2012), he supported sending police to raid homeless camps, without offering anywhere for people to go, to further criminalize being poor downtown and in parks, and to restrict the needle exchange which all studies have shown to reduce both disease transmission and littered needles. This Council majority has also tried to ban street performers downtown, opposed a proposal to limit campaign spending, and pushed through a hotel development that violates zoning law, heritage tree law, and the input of neighbors.
Because transportation planning is just one of many issues that concerns me, I am therefore quite dismayed to see an organization I support helping to elect someone I find so deeply disturbing. For that reason I have decided that so long as People Power continues to endorse candidates for elections, I am no longer willing to support the organization.
Best regards,
Steve Schnaar
Dear People Power,
As a dedicated cyclist, I have supported your organization for over a decade, including five years serving on the steering committee, and working as the bookkeeper and membership coordinator. I very much value the work you have done and continue to do. However, I have always had mixed feelings about your endorsements of candidates including in the past individuals like Mike Rotkin, who last time you endorsed him in 2008 was clearly lining up against poor people through policies like opposing a living wage, and supporting the City's call for people to literally call 911 on people picking cans out of the garbage to scrape by a living.
At the time I was first invited to be more involved, I expressed this concern and got the response that the group agreed with me and such endorsements were not necessary. This year however People Power has endorsed and continues to support a much-worse candidate in David Terrazas. Even in the realm of transportation, he has a mixed record, sometimes clearly coming down on the side of sustainable transportation, but other times not. He also voted with the Council majority to not restore the program of distributing the City's unclaimed bikes to youth, but instead to ignore the shady dealings that led to that change, and make disparaging comments instead about the Bike Church.
More importantly, in his first term on Council Terrazas has constantly voted for repressive and ineffective policies. Going along with the conservative majority that we've had over the last four years (especially since 2012), he supported sending police to raid homeless camps, without offering anywhere for people to go, to further criminalize being poor downtown and in parks, and to restrict the needle exchange which all studies have shown to reduce both disease transmission and littered needles. This Council majority has also tried to ban street performers downtown, opposed a proposal to limit campaign spending, and pushed through a hotel development that violates zoning law, heritage tree law, and the input of neighbors.
Because transportation planning is just one of many issues that concerns me, I am therefore quite dismayed to see an organization I support helping to elect someone I find so deeply disturbing. For that reason I have decided that so long as People Power continues to endorse candidates for elections, I am no longer willing to support the organization.
Best regards,
Steve Schnaar
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under the city's found bike program? The program that was ended by SCPD and an ensuing cover-up and then protective vote by Santa Cruz City Council? THAT people power?
And they endorsed David Terazzas?
And they endorsed David Terazzas?
People Power was not directly involved in the bicycle distribution program, rather it was the Bike Church who helped the City distribute bikes to various nonprofit organizations.
The two groups do have a relationship, in that they are located in the same community center, and also the charitable programs of People Power (like their youth program Green Ways to School) are sponsored by the same nonprofit as the Bike Church--the Santa Cruz Hub For Sustainable Living. People Power's youth program did used to receive a lot of City bikes for teens, but their mission has always focused on infrastructure issues and transportation planning, not supplying people with bikes.
The two groups do have a relationship, in that they are located in the same community center, and also the charitable programs of People Power (like their youth program Green Ways to School) are sponsored by the same nonprofit as the Bike Church--the Santa Cruz Hub For Sustainable Living. People Power's youth program did used to receive a lot of City bikes for teens, but their mission has always focused on infrastructure issues and transportation planning, not supplying people with bikes.
other issues.
I don't know how anyone who considers themselves progressive could endorse a candidate who wears his SCPD allegiance on his sleeve, who consistently votes to criminalize the homeless, who only defines safety as it relates to middle and upper income voters, who spearheads the increasing police actions in our community. There is absolutely NOTHING progressive in David Terrazas other than the fact that he's not completely hostile to bikes. Big fucking deal.
If that's enough to get an endorsement from People Power that just shows that they are simply a narrow focused special interest group and not much else.
How does their endorsement process work exactly?
I don't know how anyone who considers themselves progressive could endorse a candidate who wears his SCPD allegiance on his sleeve, who consistently votes to criminalize the homeless, who only defines safety as it relates to middle and upper income voters, who spearheads the increasing police actions in our community. There is absolutely NOTHING progressive in David Terrazas other than the fact that he's not completely hostile to bikes. Big fucking deal.
If that's enough to get an endorsement from People Power that just shows that they are simply a narrow focused special interest group and not much else.
How does their endorsement process work exactly?
I would call Terrazas a conservative, and he raises money from sketchy sources.
The GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz County endorsed Cynthia Chase, David Terrazas and Bruce Van Allen for SC City Council.
Bratton had this to say:
"Merrie Schaller co-chair of GLBT did end up endorsing Leonie. According to rumors (and hear-say) their board and steering committee recommended endorsing Leonie Sherman, a strong woman candidate. Those rumors also said that a bunch of people like Carol Fuller, Darrell & Karen Darling joined GLBT at the last legal moment just to stuff the ballot for their candidates, Chase and Terrazas. Fuller and the Darlings used to do that same thing in other political groups, but those groups changed their voting rights laws. "
http://brattononline.com/september-26-october-2-2014/
The GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz County endorsed Cynthia Chase, David Terrazas and Bruce Van Allen for SC City Council.
Bratton had this to say:
"Merrie Schaller co-chair of GLBT did end up endorsing Leonie. According to rumors (and hear-say) their board and steering committee recommended endorsing Leonie Sherman, a strong woman candidate. Those rumors also said that a bunch of people like Carol Fuller, Darrell & Karen Darling joined GLBT at the last legal moment just to stuff the ballot for their candidates, Chase and Terrazas. Fuller and the Darlings used to do that same thing in other political groups, but those groups changed their voting rights laws. "
http://brattononline.com/september-26-october-2-2014/
The reputation(s) of Santa Cruz haven't matched the ugly realities in decades (if ever). It could be argued that the rest of the country is rotting to the core so, relatively, Santa Cruz isn't so bad, but I suspect that argument is rooted in people of whiteness 'reality'. Then again, recently, someone mentioned that they thought OPD was bad until they experienced the bigotry and racism of St. Louis, so Santa Cruz could be a lot worse than it already is.
The bicyclist scene seems to be more spandex than green, so their politics aren't surprising. But a noticable percentage of homeless youth/prey are LGBT. Why is the Santa Cruz LGBT scene so callous? Simple ignorance?
The bicyclist scene seems to be more spandex than green, so their politics aren't surprising. But a noticable percentage of homeless youth/prey are LGBT. Why is the Santa Cruz LGBT scene so callous? Simple ignorance?
For more information:
http://PeaceCamp2010insider.blogspot.com/
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