Everything we said would happen last night, happened. Like clockwork. The usual 15 "Meghanites" spoke out to defund or abolish the police, accompanied by whatever students they could find from the high schools.
We only had one speaker: Keith Jones. And he laid down the line for us remarkably. He called out this "mob culture" of whoever speaks the loudest at council meetings claiming a mandate. And he held accountable our councilmembers who did not defend our police department against the smears of agitators. Read the transcript here or Listen to his remarks here.
We hoped his remarks would remind council that the loudest, earliest shouters do not reflect the wishes of the people of Culver City. Unfortunately, but predictably, council did not pick up on that. They preferred to discuss at length CCAN's demands to abolish our police department.
The main criticism of our "Defend Don't Defund" campaign has been that we are overblowing these demands. After last night, we honestly wonder how those critics feel.
At this point, we need to start writing or calling our councilmembers directly. We must demand answers from them. Here's where they all stand on defunding our police department:
Mayor Goran Eriksson - the only councilmember who consistently and publicly defends our police department. Please send him your gratitude. Goran.Eriksson@culvercity.org or (310) 559-6015
Vice-mayor Alex Fisch - did not vote to cut CCPD's budget by 20% on the 15th. But really paid the defund people a lot of attention last night. Our concern is that vote was simply a formality, so he can claim a mandate to eliminate CCPD as we know it in three months. Alex.Fisch@culvercity.org or (424) 253-4724
Councilmember Thomas Small - same as Fisch. Except his seat is up for grabs in November. We're not sure he's running again, as he has a potential conflict of interest. Thomas.Small@culvercity.org or (310) 922-7286
Councilmember Meghan Sahli-Wells: fully on board with eliminating our police department. She's termed out in November, and is trying to do what she can to "make her mark" before she leaves. We believe she's one of the prime organizers of CCAN. Meghan.Sahli-Wells@culvercity.org or (310) 845-5831
Councilmember Daniel Lee: Also fully on board with eliminating our police department. Works hand in hand with Sahli-Wells. Daniel.Lee@culvercity.org or (310) 253-6000 (which is the Culver City switchboard - he's notoriously unresponsive)
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