Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Marin Grassroots, Asks the Governor to declare a "State of Emergency" on Free Speech



Raw Footage of "State of Emergency" Rally in Marin on July 23, 2013.

See the story here in the Marin IJ

The following is from the press release of Marin GrassRoots:



Marin Grassroots, who works to support the engagement of low-income people in civic engagement, is requesting a State of Emergency to be placed in Marin County due to severe limitations to the democratic process and threats to residents’ civil rights. The obstructionism and gridlock that the Tea Party has brought to the U.S. House of Representatives has now descended on Marin County, where local government is beset by a growing mob of angry homeowners.

"Residents of color report being singled out in the controversy. Raphael Durr of San Rafael states that, “I feel like it’s the Civil War here in Marin. I’m afraid of backlash I’ll receive from attending a public meeting as a Black man.” Martha Vega, single mother of two declared that, “As a Latina, it’s difficult to get landlords to rent to me, despite my steady income and strong references.”

Speakers at public meetings have put an explicitly racial lens on their concerns. One prominent realtor, for instance, accused a Marin County Supervisor of “volunteering us for the ghetto,” and went on to comment that, “If you’re white in Marin, looks like you are out of luck.”

Among the most affluent counties in the U.S., with the smallest proportion of minority residents in the entire Bay Area, Marin is facing a growing crisis over whether its democratic institutions can function. The voices of constructively-engaged citizens, including low-income and minority residents, are routinely drowned out at County board meetings by what one resident calls, “an angry mob of hundreds of mainly white homeowners.” With no coherent vision of the future of Marin or the Bay Area, these homeowners appear bent on shutting down public discussion and decision making altogether, regardless of the consequences.

Hopefully a state of emergency will bring the focus of discussion back to a coherent vision of Marin County’s future, and to reduce the increasingly threatening voices heard locally, in the media, and in public meetings. One Marin resident who has long been accustomed to bring constructive ideas to their locally-elected representatives is predicting a descent into complete chaos if current trends continue. Because civic engagement in a democratic society is how to promote the best interests of the larger community, rather than to polarize and shout down the opposition, they fear that the civic institutions responsible for local self-government will soon become incapable of taking important actions that the vast broad majority publically supports."

Here is a clip from the above full press conference showing Sustainable Marin director Kiki La Porta:





Here is a clip that shows how I was treated when I arrived at the press conference by a well known activist, Lynne Wasley from "Stand up for Neighborly Novato"  also heard on tape is Dave Coury who declared, "This is War" in a Board of Supervisors meeting  HERE




I let you decide who the "bully" is in the above unsolicited confrontation.
"Now say you love Plan Bay Area, sissy"

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