The Healthy Communities Resolution
In my district, Gavin Newsom’s curfew is a dead letter. All three Sheriffs are not enforcing it, trusting people to make their own decisions. The same is true of many Sheriffs across California.
Collective action at the local level can be a powerful counterweight against Newsom’s one-man rule. That’s why I’ve written the Healthy Communities Resolution, which is now being considered by the Board of Supervisors in 15 counties.
The Resolution comes out of the Conference of North State Representatives we convened in Red Bluff. I worked with James Gallagher and other legislators to crystallize the points of agreement from the Conference into a Resolution for each county’s Board of Supervisors to consider and adapt as they see fit. Here are a few of the introductory clauses:
- WHEREAS, California has struggled as much as any state during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the third highest unemployment rate in the country, the largest backlog of unpaid jobless claims, and the fifth worst excess death rate west of the Mississippi; and
- WHEREAS, California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” provides a one-size-fits-all approach to reopening communities that fails to allow the flexibility to respond in a data-driven way to what is occurring in our county; and
- WHEREAS, The Blueprint largely impacts the operation of businesses and schools without any showing that those environments are responsible for COVID-19 cases observed in our county; and
- WHEREAS, Our county has seen increases in drug abuse, delayed medical care, depression among our youth, and the overall need for mental health services
The Resolution concludes that “these facts demonstrate a need for collective and unified action from our county and surrounding communities,” including:
- That our county is best served by an ability to respond locally to the COVID-19 virus in accordance with our local data and circumstances
- That our county is geographically diverse and ill-suited for the county-wide restrictions imposed by the Blueprint
- That school districts in our jurisdiction are urged to safely open all schools as soon as possible
While we’ve sent the Healthy Communities Resolution to the 15 Northern California counties at the Conference, any county can pass it. So no matter where in California you live, you can get in touch with your Board of Supervisors (or even your City Council) to have it set as an item on the agenda for an upcoming meeting.
For all of California government’s shortcomings, it nevertheless contains a rich institutional tapestry interwoven with 170 years of history. These institutions provide distinct reserves of power, sites for organizing, and vehicles for opposition.
Gavin Newsom can only turn California into a full-fledged autocracy if we let him. So let’s not let him.
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