220303 1132 Fwd_ One more time, this time with link! Re voting rights for pwdFrom:Frances Marquez
To:michele Magar
Subject:Fwd: One more time, this time with link! Re voting rights for pwd
Date:Thursday, March 3, 2022 11:31:55 AM
Begin forwarded message:
From: Michele Magar <tanyaprojectmlp@gmail.com>
Subject: One more time, this time with link! Re voting rights for pwd
Date: March 3, 2022 at 10:22:48 AM PST
To: Jonathan Kung <jkung@ucsd.edu>
Cc: Frances Marquez <fmarquez@cypressca.org>
https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/8%2028%20HAVA%20Formatted
%20KJ%20V5%20508.pdf
My thinking is to collect info this year so it’s ready to go once Frances is in the
majority next year, and finally able to do more than be the sole vote against the
Guardians of the Status Quo.
Here are the other topics Frances and I discussed, so Jonathan can stick helpful
press reports he may see into our resource library, along with the legal stuff I’ll be
sending him:
1. SB 1141: how Cypress is/is not implementing the nation’s first state coercive
control law, that broadens the definition of domestic violence to include
nonphysical abuse. FRANCES: there is funding for pilot programs in 2022
VAWA reauthorization, so one it passes Congress I’ll figure out if Cypress is
eligible for federal $$ to implement our new coercive control law.
2. Affordable, Accessible, and fully integrated housing: We need all three
adjectives for new housing solutions for Cypress! Newsome just outlawed single
family home zoning, which means more and more localities will enact laws
similar to the ones up here that allow single family homeowners to build
“accessory dwelling units” in their back yards. Small studio/one bedroom
apartments would do wonders for single people, and esp for seniors who would be
happy to downsize, freeing up their homes to young families who need the extra
bedrooms to flourish, and reducing the Bay Area’s prohibitive rent levels for
everyone of all ages. There’s also a program here that matches seniors with extra
unused bedrooms with seniors who can’t afford to rent more than a bedroom. That
could easily be copied in Cypress via a website that automates the matching
process without requiring more than a few staff members, so it’s cheap to fund.
3. Voting rights: much of this will be out of our hands since Cypress seems
determined to fight Shenkman’s promise to litigate. Cypress will eventually settle
once it’s clear it cannot win, but not before dragging out the process so there will
be no district voting in November 2022. So in all likelihood this lawsuit may still
be raging in 2023, but Frances and her two allies can vote to immediately settle
the case once they have the majority votes.
4. Disability rights in Cypress: we can cover any part of it Frances wants to cover,
from special education to services that benefit seniors with disabilities. All of it
can be improved using best practices examples from similar CA cities. It’s also a
world that obviously overlaps with the rights of seniors . . . so provides an
opportunity for coalition building among advocacy organizations inside Cypress,
and between Cypress and LA-based nonprofits.
5. Dealing with hate crimes. Hopefully a strong response will blunt more anti-
semitic hate mail letters appearing in Cypress . . . I’m just not sure there will be a
meaningful response from Cypress unless Frances forces it by teaming up with
the Cypress police chief to help him solve the current case, either by offering a
reward or by any other means the police chief says will help. Most important is
reassuring affected protected classes that Cypress has zero tolerance for hate
crimes and will prosecute them energetically.
6. Training the next generation of advocates. Frances can do a lot to inspire
secondary, college, and grad students to become activists. We’ll have to figure out
the best way for her to do that, but including summer internships for students is
one great way to start.
Those are the main areas thus far. But remember, none of this will work unless we
help Frances get two more votes in November, via the at-large voting system that
will still exist, hopefully for the last election in Cypress to vote via a method that
dilutes the strength of protected classes in Cypress. That’s going to take a LOT of
energy and outreach to voters, and will likely be the most time-intensive work all
three of us will be doing this summer.
Otherwise, we’ll face nothing but the same for the last two years of Frances’ term
of office, and I think her head will explode if she’s forced to tolerate this level of
hostility for longer than November!
— Michele
Begin forwarded message:
From: Michele Magar <tanyaprojectmlp@gmail.com>
Subject: Re voting rights for people with disabilities
Date: March 3, 2022 at 10:02:17 AM PST
To: Jonathan Kung <jkung@ucsd.edu>
Hi Jonathan,
Please stick this link in the resources you’re collecting for Frances re
voting rights. You can see from the executive summary at the top the
main problems they found and the solutions they offered. Although
it’s nearly a decade old, my assumption is many of the problems still
exist.
Take care,
Michele