California Black Media

Black, Latino Leaders Denounce San Jose Mayor’s Comments on Prop. 36

California community leaders denounced the comments of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan regarding Proposition 36, demanding that he disavows his “woefully ignorant” statements in a recent interview with Elex Michaelson of the Fox network. The community advocates said Prop 36 is a dangerous measure on California’s November ballot that aims to restart the failed War on Drugs.

Published

10 months ago

September 22, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The community advocates said Prop 36 is a dangerous measure on California’s November ballot that aims to restart the failed War on Drugs.

During the interview, Mahan said that Black and Brown communities stood to benefit from Prop 36.

Advocates opposing the measure argued that passing the law would cut money for drug treatment and make simple drug possession a felony, increasing mass incarceration affecting communities of color.

“Mayor Matt Mahan’s comments are woefully ignorant of the ways that decades of failed criminal justice policies destroyed thousands of lives in California,” said the Rev. Jethroe Moore, president of the NAACP San Jose-Silicon Valley Branch.

“This is especially true for Black men, who are ten times more likely than their White counterparts to be incarcerated. We are not going back to Proposition 36’s failed approach and the harm those policies inflicted on so many families across our state.”

Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), agrees with Moore.

“I was a mayor, and I know the mayor knows better. It is clear what will happen if Proposition 36 is passed – thousands of lives will be destroyed, and most of those lives will be Black and Brown men,” said Wilson.

“We need to increase money for treatment programs that work, not make the deep cuts to drug treatment that Proposition 36 would inflict,” she added.

Hilda Solis, member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, stated that Black and Brown communities need real solutions from leaders who understand the problems that people experience statewide.

“Proposition 36 is nothing but a bunch of empty promises, proposing cuts to proven treatment programs, while wasting billions of dollars on additional jail and prison spending. Incarceration strategies have proven ineffective, and treatment and jobs are better ways of addressing systemic poverty and crime,” said Solis.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 25 – July 1, 2025

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6 days ago

June 29, 2025

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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2 weeks ago

June 20, 2025

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Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

Air Quality Board Rejects Two Rules Written to Ban Gas Water Heaters and Furnaces

The proposal would have affected 17 million residents in Southern California, requiring businesses, homeowners, and renters to convert to electric units. “We’ve gone through six months, and we’ve made a decision today,” said SCAQMD board member Carlos Rodriguez. “It’s time to move forward with what’s next on our policy agenda.”

Published

3 weeks ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Two proposed rules to eliminate the usage of gas water heaters and furnaces by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in Southern California were rejected by the Governing Board on June 6.

Energy policy analysts say the board’s decision has broader implications for the state.

With a 7-5 vote, the board decided not to amend Rules 1111 and 1121 at the meeting held in Diamond Bar in L.A. County.

The proposal would have affected 17 million residents in Southern California, requiring businesses, homeowners, and renters to convert to electric units.

“We’ve gone through six months, and we’ve made a decision today,” said SCAQMD board member Carlos Rodriguez. “It’s time to move forward with what’s next on our policy agenda.”

The AQMD governing board is a 13-member body responsible for setting air quality policies and regulations within the South Coast Air Basin, which covers areas in four counties: Riverside County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and parts of Los Angeles County.

The board is made up of representatives from various elected offices within the region, along with members who are appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, and Senate Rules Committee.

Holly J. Mitchell, who serves as a County Supervisor for the Second District of Los Angeles County, is a SCAQMD board member. She supported the amendments, but respected the board’s final decision, stating it was a “compromise.”

“In my policymaking experience, if you can come up with amended language that everyone finds some fault with, you’ve probably threaded the needle as best as you can,” Mitchell said before the vote. “What I am not okay with is serving on AQMD is making no decision. Why be here? We have a responsibility to do all that we can to get us on a path to cleaner air.”

The rules proposed by AQMD, Rule 1111 and Rule 1121, aim to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from natural gas-fired furnaces and water heaters.

Rule 1111 and Rule 1121 were designed to control air pollution, particularly emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Two days before the Governing Board’s vote, gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa asked SCAQMD to reject the two rules.

Villaraigosa expressed his concerns during a Zoom call with the Cost of Living Council, a Southern California organization that also opposes the rules. Villaraigosa said the regulations are difficult to understand.

“Let me be clear, I’ve been a big supporter of AQMD over the decades. I have been a believer and a fighter on the issue of climate change my entire life,” Villaraigosa said. “But there is no question that what is going on now just doesn’t make sense. We are engaging in regulations that are put on the backs of working families, small businesses, and the middle class, and we don’t have the grid for all this.”

Rules 1111 and 1121 would also establish manufacturer requirements for the sale of space and water heating units that meet low-NOx and zero-NOx emission standards that change over time, according to SCAQMD.

The requirements also include a mitigation fee for NOx-emitting units, with an option to pay a higher mitigation fee if manufacturers sell more low-NOx water heating and space units.

Proponents of the proposed rules say the fees are designed to incentivize actions that reduce emissions.