Daly City Community Demands for Black Lives
Glenn R. Sylvester (Mayor), Juslyn C. Manalo (Vice Mayor), Raymond A. Buenaventura (Councilmember), Pamela DiGiovanni (Councilmember), Rod Daus-Magbual (Councilmember)
To see the petition, scroll halfway to "Petition by Daly City 4 Black Lives."
Why is This Important?
In the wake of George Floyd's murder by police and the escalated violence against grieving communities, we are in desperate need of leadership that can shift Daly City's infrastructures and priorities to actively address systemic racism and to reimagine what public safety looks like.
While we appreciate the Mayor’s recent public statement about ongoing efforts to ensure accountability and transparency of the Daly City Police Department (DCPD) and the two study session in June and July, Daly City still falls short of addressing racism and anti-Blackness in our community, especially when it comes to the police. We commend the efforts towards unity, but we must recognize that our community is not exempt from participating in systemic racism and anti-Blackness. It is not enough to simply verbally commit that we will be unified.
We can only move towards solidarity with Black lives if our economic priorities reflect our moral values as a city. For a city that invests 40% of our overall city budget on police, it’s time for Daly City to redirect police funding and resources towards sorely funded community needs especially: affordable housing and safe shelter, youth programs, community centers, libraries, immediate small business relief, education and culturally relevant curriculum, mental health services, critical equipment for health workers, and resources for seniors impacted by the pandemic.
We need action and progress now to protect Black and Brown lives, and we know it is possible. In June 2020 alone, we’ve seen dozens of city councils, county boards, school boards, and local commissions take action to disband and defund police departments. Meanwhile, Daly City has delayed real and meaningful steps and actions. We can change that.
The City Council's commitment to our two community demands in our petition below will actively transform the interactions between our community and the police force, align our infrastructures and economic priorities to honor and uplift Black and Brown lives, and actively address racist beliefs and behaviors within the Daly City community.
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UPDATES
7/22 Special city council Meeting - BLM Resolution
Almost two months after we shared our concerns with City Council and started this petition, the City Council finally scheduled a special meeting on Wed, 7/22 @ 5 PM to discuss a resolution in support of BLM. City council passed the resolution to support Black lives despite our asks for a stronger resolution to include explicit commitments to create an Oversight Commission and to reprioritize funding for community services by reallocating DCPD funds. Though we didn't get a stronger version of the resolution we had hoped for, this is still a step in the right direction.
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DCPD Bans Chokeholds
At the 6/17 Daly City Study Session, DCPD announced banning banning choke holds. However, this is incrementalism and largely performative. We still need to ensure use of force policies are amended and that a Community Police Oversight Commission is in place so that violation of the use of force policies will result in discipline/termination.
#DalyCity4BL
Petition by
To:
Glenn R. Sylvester (Mayor), Juslyn C. Manalo (Vice Mayor), Raymond A. Buenaventura (Councilmember), Pamela DiGiovanni (Councilmember), Rod Daus-Magbual (Councilmember)
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Daly City City Council,
In the wake of more Black lives lost by police brutality and the escalated violence against grieving communities, we are looking to you to shift Daly City's priorities to actively address systemic racism in Daly City.
We demand that the Daly City Mayor and City Council take the following actions to actively reimagine what public safety looks like in our city:
1. The Mayor pledges to launch a community work group by this summer (2020) to design a Community Oversight Police Commission, which will provide comprehensive community oversight and ensure accountability and transparency of the Daly City Police Department. This community work group should involve a variety of community stakeholders that represent varying perspectives, and should at least include:
- A member of Daly City 4 Black Lives
- A Daly City Youth Commissioner
- A member of a community organization directly serving marginalized families
- A parent/guardian
- An educator
- A small business owner
- Diversity in racial identities
- Diversity in socioeconomic status
2. Daly City City Council pledges by the next city council meeting, July 13, 2020, to reprioritize essential needs and services by deprioritizing the city’s police budget for FY 2020-2021 and in ongoing budget development processes. The pledge should include:
- Never again voting to increase the police budget
- Redirect funds towards COVID-19 relief & recovery (i.e. PPE for essential workers and immediate small business relief)
- Funding alternatives to policing such as Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Street (CAHOOTS), restorative justice programs, and trauma-informed practices
- Youth enrichment and recreation programs for leadership development, mental and physical health, and social/emotional learning
- Funding affordable housing developments
- Increase funding for community centers and libraries that serve as safe places for youth, families, and seniors
- More support for seniors
- Additional educational resources
- Redirect annual allocations to essential infrastructures and critical services
- Arts and culture that address and uplift the diversity of our community
Thank you,
Daly City Community Member