7 22-0382 Subject: Emerald New Deal Healing And Reparations Fund
From: Councilmembers Taylor, Reid And Gallo
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution On The City Council's Own Motion Submitting To The Voters At The November 8, 2022 General Municipal Election An Amendment To The Oakland City Charter To Add Article XVII To: (1) Establish The "Emerald New Deal Fund" For Cannabis Business Tax Revenue To Be Used For Services And Programs To Address Racially Inequitable Impacts Of The War On Drugs On Individuals, Families, And Communities In The City Of Oakland; And (2) Re-Establish The Cannabis Regulatory Commission, As The "End-Harm Cannabis Regulatory Commission," With Revised Membership And Responsibilities, Including To Advise The Council On Expenditure Of The Emerald New Deal Fund; And Directing The City Clerk To Take All Actions Necessary Under Law To Submit This Item To The Voters At The November 8, 2022 General Election
As a District 2 resident I urge you to put
END on the Ballot.Let’s not get stalled by analysis paralysis. The Emerald New Deal lays out a laser-focused plan that begins to truly meet the collective needs of our communities, especially to repair the HARM done to communities of color through strict enforcement of drug laws. The argument of the impact of removing a mere 1 percent of the general budget is moot, there is no way to track money/impact through the general budget. END HARM offers ways of actually tracking, course correcting, and measuring the impact of resourcing communities impacted by the war on drugs. Let’s put it on the ballot, and let us, Oakland residents, decide.
I am writing in support of the Emerald New Deal and ask that you vote YES on July 5 to place END HARM on the ballot.
As a young woman of color, I honestly have lost faith in politicians who claim they want to “burn down the house,” yet sit so comfortably in their position of power, unwilling to make real change. I am shocked and disappointed that the Councilmembers who have come from a tradition of community organizing have chosen to stall and thwart this racial justice measure. As community organizers and advocates, you should know that the status quo is broken. Listen to your community. Listen to us.
The Emerald New Deal was born in Sobrante park– it is a response to decades of pain and suffering from the racist war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people in Oakland. This measure is a testament to People Power– the community has been behind every step of this movement, from writing the ordinance to door knocking to sharing their stories.
END is a common-sense piece of legislation that begins to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs through a comprehensive, community-driven approach to equity and restitution. Will you fight for racial justice or will you give up on Oakland? It’s time to END HARM now.
My name is Ryan a local resident of Oakland currently living in Chinatown. The black and brown community is still in dire need and suffering from the war on drugs. The END deal is a chance for the city to help heal its very loyal residents that have fought through the war and are still here. Please take the time to read the deal the 1% is a very realistic and doable aske to get out of the general fund. Vote yes put it on the ballot give the people a chance to decide. YES ON END
I’ve lived in the lakeshore neighborhood of District 2 for the last ten years and as a supporter of Emerald New Deal I am asking this committee to advance END HARM to our November ballot without any more delay. I was moved to join protests for the first time in my life in the summer of 2020, and proudly marched in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. I have yet to see the City enact any meaningful policy to back up its promises to advance racial equity. If the intent of END could be reached within the current budget process, it would have been passed by now. How was an END-style policy not passed when cannabis was legalized?? Right this wrong now, and let the voters do the right thing and institutionalize addressing the harms caused by the war on drugs through END HARM. Please vote YES to place END HARM on our November ballot at this meeting.
My name is Sara Chakri and I am an Oakland resident of district 4, and I endorse and support the Emerald New Deal because it is intended to benefit the communities harmed by the war on drugs like mine. I urge our city council members to move the END Harm measure forward to the ballot on July 5th, so Oakland residents can have a saying on this important initiative. The concerns expressed by the city council members are over just a 1% of the City’s General Fund, the reallocation of these funds will have a great impact on Black and brown communities, and these are the communities that have been historically disenfranchised and targeted by the war on drugs. Emerald New Deal wants to reinvest the Cannabis Business Tax revenues in the targeted communities to help the reentry of formerly incarcerated folks through reentry programs, mental health services, affordable housing, and economic development services. This is a chance to repair the harm that has been done and to invest resources in the harmed communities. Thank you!
I am a resident of D2 and I urge my Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas and her colleagues to vote today (July 5) to place the Emerald New Deal on the November ballot. The cannabis business tax revenue is currently unlabeled and untraceable in the city's general fund - we have no idea how it's being used in the budget. It is time to dedicate this money towards repairing the harms of the War on Drugs, as voters intended with Measure Z and Prop 64. As someone who has listened through several City Council budget meetings, I urge you not to submit desperately needed investments for folks coming out of incarceration for offenses for something that is now legal to the cycle of changing City Councilmembers and Mayors. The War on Drugs has spent decades targeting and harming Black and Brown individuals and neighborhoods and not until we invest in righting these wrongs can we move on from this failed War on Drugs, really a war on people. END HARM can institutionalize this as a policy, as a secure fund no matter the people in charge. And certainly, when people are in charge whose values align, the budget process can add to the END HARM fund, but it ensures that when folks are in power whose values are not aligned, these communities are still being invested in. This is the long-term approach we desperately need. Emerald New Deal has satisfied the legislative process and deserves to go to the voters to decide in November. Thank you!
As a District 2 resident I urge you to put
END on the Ballot.Let’s not get stalled by analysis paralysis. The Emerald New Deal lays out a laser-focused plan that begins to truly meet the collective needs of our communities, especially to repair the HARM done to communities of color through strict enforcement of drug laws. The argument of the impact of removing a mere 1 percent of the general budget is moot, there is no way to track money/impact through the general budget. END HARM offers ways of actually tracking, course correcting, and measuring the impact of resourcing communities impacted by the war on drugs. Let’s put it on the ballot, and let us, Oakland residents, decide.
I am writing in support of the Emerald New Deal and ask that you vote YES on July 5 to place END HARM on the ballot.
As a young woman of color, I honestly have lost faith in politicians who claim they want to “burn down the house,” yet sit so comfortably in their position of power, unwilling to make real change. I am shocked and disappointed that the Councilmembers who have come from a tradition of community organizing have chosen to stall and thwart this racial justice measure. As community organizers and advocates, you should know that the status quo is broken. Listen to your community. Listen to us.
The Emerald New Deal was born in Sobrante park– it is a response to decades of pain and suffering from the racist war on drugs that has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people in Oakland. This measure is a testament to People Power– the community has been behind every step of this movement, from writing the ordinance to door knocking to sharing their stories.
END is a common-sense piece of legislation that begins to right the wrongs of the War on Drugs through a comprehensive, community-driven approach to equity and restitution. Will you fight for racial justice or will you give up on Oakland? It’s time to END HARM now.
My name is Ryan a local resident of Oakland currently living in Chinatown. The black and brown community is still in dire need and suffering from the war on drugs. The END deal is a chance for the city to help heal its very loyal residents that have fought through the war and are still here. Please take the time to read the deal the 1% is a very realistic and doable aske to get out of the general fund. Vote yes put it on the ballot give the people a chance to decide. YES ON END
I’ve lived in the lakeshore neighborhood of District 2 for the last ten years and as a supporter of Emerald New Deal I am asking this committee to advance END HARM to our November ballot without any more delay. I was moved to join protests for the first time in my life in the summer of 2020, and proudly marched in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. I have yet to see the City enact any meaningful policy to back up its promises to advance racial equity. If the intent of END could be reached within the current budget process, it would have been passed by now. How was an END-style policy not passed when cannabis was legalized?? Right this wrong now, and let the voters do the right thing and institutionalize addressing the harms caused by the war on drugs through END HARM. Please vote YES to place END HARM on our November ballot at this meeting.
My name is Sara Chakri and I am an Oakland resident of district 4, and I endorse and support the Emerald New Deal because it is intended to benefit the communities harmed by the war on drugs like mine. I urge our city council members to move the END Harm measure forward to the ballot on July 5th, so Oakland residents can have a saying on this important initiative. The concerns expressed by the city council members are over just a 1% of the City’s General Fund, the reallocation of these funds will have a great impact on Black and brown communities, and these are the communities that have been historically disenfranchised and targeted by the war on drugs. Emerald New Deal wants to reinvest the Cannabis Business Tax revenues in the targeted communities to help the reentry of formerly incarcerated folks through reentry programs, mental health services, affordable housing, and economic development services. This is a chance to repair the harm that has been done and to invest resources in the harmed communities. Thank you!
I am a resident of D2 and I urge my Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas and her colleagues to vote today (July 5) to place the Emerald New Deal on the November ballot. The cannabis business tax revenue is currently unlabeled and untraceable in the city's general fund - we have no idea how it's being used in the budget. It is time to dedicate this money towards repairing the harms of the War on Drugs, as voters intended with Measure Z and Prop 64. As someone who has listened through several City Council budget meetings, I urge you not to submit desperately needed investments for folks coming out of incarceration for offenses for something that is now legal to the cycle of changing City Councilmembers and Mayors. The War on Drugs has spent decades targeting and harming Black and Brown individuals and neighborhoods and not until we invest in righting these wrongs can we move on from this failed War on Drugs, really a war on people. END HARM can institutionalize this as a policy, as a secure fund no matter the people in charge. And certainly, when people are in charge whose values align, the budget process can add to the END HARM fund, but it ensures that when folks are in power whose values are not aligned, these communities are still being invested in. This is the long-term approach we desperately need. Emerald New Deal has satisfied the legislative process and deserves to go to the voters to decide in November. Thank you!