Dear Mayor Taylor, Vice Mayor Combs, City Councillors Nash, Carlton and Mueller, and Menlo Park Senior staff, My name is Nico Poux, resident of Menlo Park. I’ve called the South Bay my home for a long time, having graduated from Gunn High School and Stanford, and I care very deeply about our community as I know you do too. I am writing in light of protests against race-based violence and the injustices perpetrated by our criminal justice system that have been happening throughout our county recently, which have been compounded by the disproportionate effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on communities of color and low-income communities. I would like to know what programs and plans the city of Menlo Park has for addressing these issues, and how it intends to use its role in the county of San Mateo county to confront our county's mixed record. I know that San Mateo County has been ahead of the curve on embracing more restorative perspectives on criminal justice reform. Nonetheless, we remain a county that disproportionately imprisons people of color (especially of black and latino/a descent) and people coming from low-income communities. In addition, our county is not innocent of violent deaths at the hands of police officers. Just last year, Chinedu Okobi, an unarmed black man, was tased to death on the streets of Millbrae and the officers involved were acquitted of charges. His death was not the only violent taser death in our county. Our current national environment has shown how our criminal justice system is fundamentally broken and inflicts violence and contributes to the poverty of minorities. I would like to know what efforts the city of Menlo Park has in mind to achieve a certain number of goals: - President Obama’s taskforce on 21st century policing released a set of recommendations in 2015, after the national conversation on race-based violence sparked by the deaths of Michael Brown and other unarmed black men. I would like to know what the county has done to implement these practices and recommendations since 2015 and what progress continues to be done. - Given that our jails disproportionately house people of color and people from low-income communities, I would like to know what efforts are being made to 1) reduce the number of people in jail 2) reduce the proportion of people of color and low-income people in our jails and 3) help former inmates reintegrate into our communities and decrease recidivism. - I would like to know what efforts are being made to eliminate cash bail and institute other simple reforms that have been shown to have a tangible impact on people’s lives. Cash bail, which is still employed by our county, has been shown to disproportionately harm low-income individuals. Pre-trial detention causes the loss of employment and perpetration of violence and poverty before any establishment of guilt, in addition to being huge economic cost. The spread of COVID in jails across the country shows the public health and safety dangers of housing such a large part of our population in detention centers and ought to serve as a further reminder that it is inhumane to detain people before being found guilty. San Francisco has already eliminated the cash bail system throughout the county. Let us follow suit as quickly as we can. I have met staff in the sheriff’s office through my volunteer work in the San Mateo County Jail and I know that our county is full of dedicated public servants who want the best for our community. Nonetheless, we need to reckon with the fact that we live in a system that targets vulnerable people and inflicts violence on them. It is not sufficient for us to have good-hearted people when the systems we built are unjust. Good intentions do not atone for the cruelty of our status-quo. I know that we are all grappling with the national news and I want to express my support, as a member of San Mateo county, for efforts to make our county fairer and more compassionate to all people. A lack of justice for anyone means that there is a lack of justice for everyone. I have faith in your abilities, as a leader in our community, to enact change. Based on the protests that have been going on in our county and throughout the Bay, I know that our community will be behind efforts to make our city and county a better place for all people. We are watching your actions and your words. Thank you for your service to our community, especially in these trying times of pandemic. Nico Poux Received on Wed Jun 03 2020 - 10:08:51 PDT
