Time for a San Leandro Stand
Well, if reading is too hard, then it's time to get good. If you think being sad about the corruption and destruction of American democracy is funny, then we're not on the same side. If you're angrier at me for calling out the failures in our leaders and institutions, than the failures themselves, then you don't actually care about building a better San Leandro.
But if you want to learn more so you can help, well, then let's go.
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First things first, you need to know the basics about what San Leandro is: we're a city in a major metropolitan area pretending to be a small town. We've got a history of systemic racism, antisemitism, homophobia, and misogyny, from redlining to cross-burnings, and graffiti slurs painted on brick walls to harassment in city hall. We were stolen from native tribes, founded by Spanish colonizers, built by Portuguese immigrants, hardened into a Whites-only enclave for decades, only to now find ourselves a majority-minority community.
Our government is a Mayor-Council-Manager charter city, divided into six districts. That means, in theory, that we have a weak mayor, a moderately strong council, and a very strong city manager. The mayor is first among equals on the city council, all of whom are currently voted on citywide, in violation of the California Voting Rights Act and basic democracy. (But not for long!) About half of the council is up for election every four years.
The council votes on funding for city services, passes laws, and hires the city manager (plus the city attorney, and formerly the city clerk). They have a few internal committees for specific tasks. The finance committee decides what we spend our money on. The rules committee decides what laws we'll pass. Recently, the mayor has unilaterally broken the rules to make it impossible for most councilmembers to do anything outside of these increasingly bureaucratic and painstaking paths.
The council also delegate some of their authority and oversight to various boards and commissions: human services, planning, police review, rent review, seniors, arts/library/culture. In practice, these groups help decide policy, work closely with city staff, and report back their findings to the city councilmember who appointed them. They also can and do set up future candidates for elected office.
Under the city charter, the council technically aren't allowed to intefere with day-to-day operations, which fall strictly under the purview of the city manager. That means if a police officer murders an innocent Black person with a mental illness, if homeless people are scary for existing in public, if roads aren't getting fixed, if there's something wrong that city employees need to fix immediately, the mayor and city council are supposed to be barred by law from interfering. All of that has to go through the city manager. At best, the mayor and council can fire the city manager and hire someone new who will do what they want and the residents presumably want.
Any theory of change needs to reckon with this reality and plan for it accordingly.
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So what do we do with that infodump? Knowledge bomb more people on the internet? Write more letters to the editor of the SL Times? Yell at people on Nextdoor for yelling at other people on Nextdoor for yelling at people who aren't even our neighbors? Absolutely not.
Here's what you do:
1. Go to this webpage on the city website.
2. Learn the names and biographies of the people on city council.
3. Call and email them with your questions, concerns, requests, demands, or whatever.
4. Check the schedule and go to one of their regular meetings or work sessions.
5. Give public comments in person or remotely on anything and everything you think is important happening in San Leandro.
6. Listen to other people doing the same thing, learn about them, and talk to the people you agree with.
7. Rinse, repeat.
That's it. That's the absolute bare minimum. But if you do that, you will be doing almost 100% more than what everyone else is doing. Because I can tell you from experience, that civic education and engagement is on the floor and desperately in need of resuscitation. Seriously, our society needs a double shot of adrenaline into our collective veins to shake us from this stupor of being chronically apathetic and ignorant.
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Are you looking for extra credit? Feel like doing more? Well, start studying the city website I shared above. Believe it or not, it's actually a veritable treasure trove of information -- if you know where to look. From resources for protecting immigrants to affordable housing programs, and even a page dedicated to ensuring you have 24/7 access to city staff for all of your complaints, concerns, and random ideas.
After that, go to the city staff directory. Pick someone at random or someone from a department you're interested in. Call them. Email them. Have a 30 minute chat. Have an hourlong conversation. Hell, schedule an entire meeting with them. Learn about their job and then tell them what you think. They are quite literally paid to listen to you, whether they like it or not. (Speaking from experience, most city staff actually enjoy talking to residents who actually care. They just don't want to get yelled at.)
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That's all I've got for right now. Don't worry though. This was just the beginner's course. Next up we'll have an intermediate lesson, followed by advanced, specialized, and expert levels. I'll happily take you through decades of navigating bureacracy and public administration until you, too, can enjoy annoying your elected officials as much as I do into doing their damn jobs to the best of their ability. It's literally the best, easiest, and maybe the only way to save San Leandro from itself and from what's coming.
Take note and take care.
Take note and take care.
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CASL, AEJIS.
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