City Council Meeting, January 28, 2014

At the January 28th City Council meeting, Councilman Dodge claimed that our group “Let the People Vote” as well intentioned as we may be, are merely reacting to past events. That isn’t quite the whole truth. This City Council can accomplish very little without community buy-in and support. All three of our initiatives seek to build a foundation of fairness and to promote civic participation so that together, the citizens of Watsonville have the opportunity to take on the more serious problems facing our city.

Councilman Hurst demanded transparency about where our money was being "funneled" from. He added insult to injury by claiming that 4,000 registered voters were misled or manipulated into signing our three petitions. Was he calling 4,000 registered voters stupid? I hope his comment is remembered by the voters in November at reelection time, especially District 3 constituents.

Planning Commissioner Pedro Castillo tried to sound the alarm about outside influences, like the Republican Party, trying to dictate Watsonville’s business. Apparently he has forgotten that almost ALL of the money for the ‘Yes on T” campaign came from developers in Monterey County and out-of-county labor unions as far away as Alameda. It was those same "outside influences" who were the main contributors to the epically failed Measure T campaign that cost Watsonville taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

Dr. Lupe Rivas, a Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee actually went on record and stated that "only the rich and powerful vote." She also added that non-citizens and those working on their citizenship – those who do not have the right to vote anyway- would be disenfranchised. It’s scary to me that this is the belief of someone we trust to make decisions about the education of our children. Recall anyone?

Concerned resident Robert Chacanaca stated that he was worried that Comcast would come into town and start renaming everything. Seriously? He also said that "the current process works" and with eyebrows raised and a lowered voice, alluded to "the people behind him" (the Let the People Vote folks) using race as an underlying factor and reminding us what Watsonville looked like 25 years ago. If this were true, why then did over 4,000 registered voters from all ethnic and economic backgrounds and political persuasions say that the process doesn’t work and that they want change?  

Mayor Cervantez cited that our youth and non-citizens would be disenfranchised by being left out of the voting process. Since you must be 18 years of age and an American citizen in order to vote I don’t think disenfranchise is the correct word but it sure sounds good don't it? What about the registered voters in districts 6 & 7, the largest voting bloc in the city, who have been disenfranchised for over 14 years? If I were the Mayor, this is something I’d seriously think about if the city plans to ask these same voters for a sales tax increase in June.

The fact remains not one of them has come up with a convincing argument against good and fair government. It is their collective refusal to acknowledge that over 4,000 registered voters say that they want a City Council that places democracy and the right of the people to have a voice as a higher priority than their own personal agendas. YOU(on the City Council) are the reason we got the signatures required to get on the ballot in the first place! Some of them have tried placing obstacles in our way by filing complaints with the Fair Political Practices Commission – and we have learned the hard way- and some of them have blatantly lied about what we are trying to accomplish. Many of the opposition have used race and partisan politics against us too, but I believe the people in our community are smarter than that. But win or lose, we are not going away. Change is what people want, and no matter how long it takes, change is what they will get. Count on it.