Dear Friend,



We have big news! Due to public pressure, Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan announced she’ll introduce a motion to reconsider the budget amendments at the city council meeting this Tuesday, June 30th! 



This is our last chance to influence Oakland’s budget until June 2021. We must act now if we want to defund Oakland police! 



How can you help? 



- Phonebank <[link removed]> with us tomorrow evening, 6/29, from 6–8 p.m. and 

- Make a public comment <[link removed]> at the City Council meeting on Tuesday 6/30!



What happened?



This past Tuesday, a group of Oakland Council members, calling themselves the “Equity Caucus,” undemocratically rushed a vote on the 2021 budget <[link removed]>. Though they claim to have defunded the police by $12 million dollars, the truth is that they only reduced the Oakland Police Department budget by $2.5 million (less than 1%).



On Saturday June 27, we began a social media campaign to hold Oakland City Council President and DSA member, Rebecca Kaplan accountable for voting “yes” on the rushed budget that continued excessive funding of OPD. On Sunday June 28, after tireless work from many Black organizers and community organizations, Kaplan joined <[link removed]>the Anti-Police Terror Project and Councilmember Nikki Fortunato-Bas (D2) at a press conference this afternoon and announced she would seek to reopen amendments for the Oakland budget. The budget must be finalized by June 30. This is our last chance for an entire year to make real change and to significantly defund OPD! We must put pressure on the remaining six council members now!



Details for action



PHONEBANK CITY COUNCILMEMBERS

Join our phone bank on Monday, June 29, from 6pm to 8pm. RSVP here <[link removed]> and we will send you the Zoom link. We will provide training at the beginning of the phonebank.



MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Attend the City Council Meeting on June 30th, at 1:30 PM. Find the details here.  <[link removed]>



Ways to comment:



- 💻 E-comment: To send your comment directly to your Councilmember BEFORE the meeting starts please click on [link removed]  and click on the “comment” link for the corresponding meeting. Note that eComment submission closes five (5) minutes before posted meeting time. 

- 📸 Live Video: Click on this link: [link removed]. Click the “Raise Your Hand” button to request to speak when public comment is being taken on the agenda item at the beginning of the meeting. You will be permitted to speak during your turn, allowed to comment, and after the allotted time, re-muted.

- ☎️ Dial-in: To listen to the meeting by phone, dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 929 436 2866 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 Webinar ID: 836 3063 9536. If asked for a participant ID or code, press #. You will be prompted to “Raise Your Hand” by pressing “*9” to speak when Public Comment is taken. You will be permitted to speak during your turn, allowed to comment, and after the allotted time, re-muted. Please unmute yourself by pressing *6.



Please take action as soon as possible! Together, we can defund OPD and win. 



Solidarity forever!



Chairs of EBDSA's Defund OPD Campaign

Neha, Kara and Ruwi







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East Bay DSA - United States

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