May, 2009: Spotlight on Santa Cruz, CA.

Developing WILPF’s Legislative Priorities at the Local Level

By Jan Harwood

Rescue Democracy, Curb Corporations committee:

Six Santa Cruz WILPF members attended a Democracy School training conducted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) in May, 2008 and formed the  branch's Corporation vs Democracy Committee the next month.  After study and discussion, the group focused on two activities.

The first was to work with the existing Light-Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) and Californians Against the Spray groups in Santa Cruz, to develop an ordinance that will prevent any government entity or corporation from spraying any toxic substance in Santa Cruz without the express permission of the people of Santa Cruz.  The ordinance is in its final editing and will be presented to the Santa Cruz City Council after further community organizing for support.

The second activity was to develop a schedule of events to educate the public about the undue power of corporations over our lives, our health, our education and our government, with the goal of training people to take action to restore democracy.  The series is called “Restore Democracy: Curb Corporate Power.”  To date, there have been five events in this series:  Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine, speaking about the bail-out of Wall Street; the CELDF trainers holding a public meeting on the spray ordinance; and David Dilworth of Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment (HOPE) explaining how to revoke the charters of corporations which do public harm.  In December  showed the film Are Corporations People? and  Jim Mosher of Felton Flow described how their community fought and won back their water rights against a mega-corporation.

The series continued with a public talk and trainng earlier this month featuring David Cobb / Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap of Democracy Unlimited Humboldt County (DUHC). The goal of the training was the formation of issue coalitions to develop actions in the Bay Area to assert the peoples’ rights against corporate power. We expect to continue with educational events, skill training and community actions."

WILPF US Section Has Endorsed the 100 Days Campaign 

*Why a 100 Days Campaign?*
Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt became President in 1933, setting a new standard for action and imagination in his first 100 days in office, the
American people have watched closely the first 100 days of all new presidents. Numerous pundits have pointed out that-- not unlike FDR--
Barack Obama will enter the White House as the nation faces many crises.

*Obama's Promise*
In FDR's day, the promise was a "New Deal." Today, Obama is promising change. Some are very specific: Recently, for example, Obama told /60
Minutes/: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I've said repeatedly that America
doesn't torture. And I'm going to make sure that we don't torture."

*100 Days More is 100 Days Too Long *
After seven years of detaining hundreds of men without trial, 100 days more is 100 days too long. We go to Washington with high hopes that
President Obama will close Guantanamo on his first day in office. But if he does not, we will stand vigil for 100 days as a reminder of his
promise, and a reminder of those seven years of torture and indefinite detention carried out in our names.