City Government
City Agencies Partner with SF Superior Court to Reinstate Driver’s Licenses
Over 10,000 residents— mostly in low-income neighborhoods – have suspended licenses
City agencies are joining together to conduct outreach to the city’s most vulnerable unemployed and underemployed residents to implement a program signed into law by Governor Brown, whereby individuals with suspended driver’s licenses can have them reinstated immediately, and reduce debt associated with court orders.
The program, which ends March 31, provides low-income San Franciscans an opportunity to relieve debt and lift one of the most intractable barriers to employment.
“Suspended driver’s licenses disproportionally impacts communities of color and low income individuals. In San Francisco, we want to ensure through this program, that every resident effected has access to this Amnesty program and to has equal access to job opportunities—leading to a pathway out of poverty,” said Todd Rufo, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development.
The Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and the Financial Justice Project, an initiative of the Treasurer’s Office, launched a multi-lingual Public Service Announcement and outreach campaign to increase the number of San Francisco residents who apply for the Amnesty program before the deadline.
“Driver’s license amnesty is a critical opportunity for people to get out of debt and back on the road,” said José Cisneros, treasurer of the City and County of San Francisco. “As the Governor indicated in his budget, suspending licenses for failures to appear in court or pay a fine doesn’t improve public safety and it harms poor people.”
Most driver’s license holds in California originate from either a failure to appear in court (FTA) or a failure to pay court-ordered fines (FTP) infraction. In the three year period ending in March 2015, more than 10,000 San Francisco drivers received over 15,500 holds for FTAs alone according to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
These drivers are disproportionately represented in the City’s lower-income neighborhoods including in the Bayview Hunters Point, Treasure Island, and the Tenderloin. The San Francisco Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights has noted an above-average suspension rate across the State in zip codes with 20% or more African American residents.
In addition to the official web link on the Amnesty Program on the San Francisco Superior Court’s web site, the city also launched a web page about the program, and 311 will provide information to callers in multiple languages.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of September 4 – 10, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 4 – 10, 2024
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of August 28 – September 4, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 28 – September 4, 2024
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Activism
A New Coalition Says: ‘Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!’
Opposing the recalls of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and labeling the efforts as a new form of voter suppression, the coalition, “Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!” kicked off its organizing efforts last Saturday, Aug. 17, with a mass, public meeting, attended by over 100 people in East Oakland at At Thy Word Ministries Church, 8915 International Blvd. in East Oakland.
By Ken Epstein
A broad, diverse coalition has come together to mobilize local communities to vote against the recalls of two East Bay reform-minded leaders, who could potentially be thrown out of office in November after serving less than two years in office.
The recall effort is a result of multi-million-dollar campaigns that the coalition says are fueled by fearmongering with funding from a Piedmont financier and promoted by a public relations campaign in the corporate media.
Opposing the recalls of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and labeling the efforts as a new form of voter suppression, the coalition, “Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!” kicked off its organizing efforts last Saturday, Aug. 17, with a mass, public meeting, attended by over 100 people in East Oakland at At Thy Word Ministries Church, 8915 International Blvd. in East Oakland.
Servant B.K. Woodson, Sr., pastor of the Bay Area Christian Connection in Oakland and chair of the coalition, links the surging national movement to reject the fearmongering and hateful agenda advocated by Donald Trump and the rightwing authoritarian proposals of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 to their own battle against the efforts to unseat progressive leaders in Oakland and Alameda County.
“This is a powerful moment, (and) across the nation you can feel it,” he said. “There’s joy, there’s hope, there’s expectation. We Oaklanders are at the center of the universe right now because the joy that’s bubbling up against the antipathy and the anger and the mindlessness, the battle for hope is being waged right here (against those) who profit by our poverty.”
“This is the inaugural event of ‘Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!’ because we want all people’s votes to be respected,” Pastor Woodson continued. “We are a diverse coalition, and we are open to more.”
The coalition already has the participation of the Wellstone and John George Democratic clubs, the Latino Task Force, and the Asian Americans for a Progressive Alameda, as well as active involvement of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, whites, and others, he said.
“(Together), we want to expose what’s happening,” Woodson said. “The vehicle of recall (was intended to be) a people’s device against entrenched power (but) has been co-opted by billionaires,” who have funded these campaigns.
Those attending the meeting raised concerns about Foundational Oakland Unites, a political action committee that received $605,000 from Piedmont financier Philip Dreyfuss, which contributed $480,000 to back the Sheng Thao recall.
Dreyfuss also contributed to recall Price. A political action committee, Supporters of Recall Pamela Price, which Dreyfuss helped create, received about $400,000 to pay for signature-gathering, as well as a $200,000 loan.
Other speakers at the rally included Stewart Chen, president of the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council; Carmen Peng of Asian Americans for Progressive Alameda; Jess Inson, lead organizing fellow for Oakland Rising Action; Chaney Turner, chair of the City of Oakland’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission; and Mariano Contreras, member of the Latino Task Force and co-chair of the African American Latino Action Alliance.
Contreras said in past decades, voter suppression was mostly designed to keep African Americans, immigrants, and poor people from being able to vote.
“(But) now we’re seeing a new type of voter suppression, the denial of our vote after we cast it,” he said.
“The recall process was (originally) designed to ensure that elected officials would represent the interests of their constituents. But the recall process has been hijacked by shadowy, conservative money that finds defeated candidates (and others) who are willing to deny you and me our vote as we originally cast it,” he said.
“This is a new, dangerous voter suppression that exists right here in our city,” he said, adding that: “We are seeing the use of fear and misinformation to attract spokespeople to promote attacks and charges that are nothing more than smokescreens to roll back progressive alliances that have been built in our local government.”
Chen said that there has been a “false narrative” about rampant crime, which is a “bunch of baloney.”
There have long been problems with crime in Oakland, and the recalls against Price and Thao began shortly after they were elected and before they had a chance to do much, he said. “Unequivocally, the people who lost wanted their candidates to win. These are sour grapes.”
“This is undemocratic. We have to stand together, unite together,” Chen said. “That’s why I’m here.”
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