pages: CityCouncil/2020-06-29.pdf, 14
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CityCouncil | 2020-06-29 | 14 | community is told the Police are not going to respond to non-crime calls, Council will also be able to tell them what that means and how concerns will be responded to; what is important is to get going so by the end of the month, there are goals and objectives Council has agreed to; systemic racism is what Council is trying to overcome, but the question is how the City can start acting like anti-racists and how actions can be taken that work against racism and it imbues everything Council does; he has benefitted from and participated in racism; he is part of a racist system and every time he does not speak up or take action, he is perpetuating that; he rejects the idea that law enforcement, community services, planning, or anything can be talked about without talking about racism; Council needs to work with law enforcement staff and help them understand that racism and racist outcomes can be discussed without impugning the people's moral goodness or badness because that is a false dichotomy; we cannot set up the dichotomy that if we are not cheering on the Police as saviors and patriots that somehow we are anti the people and the job that they are doing; every year Council should meet with them outside the Police Station and honor the Officers that have been shot and killed; he appreciates Mr. Horvath speaking out and being open, even though they may disagree on the tactical vehicle; at the end of the day, he is here to represent the people that voted; he does not want to talk about law enforcement being good or bad; he wants to talk about what the community want; and how to get to the outcomes desired; he understands the frustration and perception that Council is dragging its feet; the budget can be cut tomorrow, but there is nowhere to put the money and Council will not fire half the Police Department overnight; he does not think Council will fire half the Police Department, but everything is on the table; tonight the Council needs to identify and approve a process; he hopes it will be community-led, not staff-led; he appreciates staff's input, but does not want to put more on their plate right now; staff will be engaged and involved but the people who do not generally get to sit at the table should be heard and be put front and center. Councilmember Oddie stated he respects Vice Mayor Knox White and enjoys working with him, but there was recently passed a Code of Conduct which basically says Councilmembers are not supposed to attack the integrity or impugn other colleagues; he has tried to live up to that Code of Conduct and is not sure Vice Mayor Knox White's remarks lived up to that; he does not think a person can be called a racist just because they want folks to see the human side of someone behind a badge; as leaders, when things are said, whether they are important or not, they mean things and people react to them; when Councilmembers get up in public or go on Facebook and accuse people of things whether or not it is true, it will incite hardening of feelings; he witnessed a hardening of feelings on one side with a group that will not even utter the phrase Black Lives Matter and another group that wants to abolish the Police Department; neither one of those are feasible alternatives; in trying to ask people to calm down the rhetoric, he is being criticized in violation of the Code of Conduct for asking for a rational approach to solving a major problem; he does agree with a lot of what has been said and believes goals can be set today; if the goals are centered around Black Lives Matter and everyone regardless of age, race and gender; everyone has to feel secure and be secure, then everything else can fall into place; he is open to however the process can be done; he likes the ideas Vice Mayor Knox White and Councilmember Special Meeting Alameda City Council 14 June 29, 2020 | CityCouncil/2020-06-29.pdf |