Redwood ACLU to Hold 1st District Supervisor Candidate Debate

The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is holding a Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties for the candidates for Humboldt County Supervisor (1st District) on Friday, May 25th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on live television -- Access Humboldt Channel 11 -- out of the Community Media Center studio at Eureka High School.


This debate will be held before a televised audience and in cooperation with independent producers working with Access Humboldt it will also be aired several times on public access Channels 11 & 12 and will likewise be available for later viewing on-line.


The debate will be moderated by Redwood ACLU Boardmember Christina Allbright, and shall be staffed by other members of the Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU, although any persons who have made any sort of campaign contribution or endorsement of any of the candidates in this year's election are excluded from involvement.


"The debate allows the voters to get a handle on what the candidates have to say in this important election," Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen said.


The candidates have already expressed their willingness to participate in this debate, and all three (Rex Bohn, Annette De Modena and Cheryl Seidner) are expected to attend.


The Redwood ACLU held the only televised debate for all candidates for the Northern Humboldt High School District in 2005 at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, and has also presented civil liberties-oriented forums for local city council races over the last seven years. In 2010, the Redwood ACLU hosted two televised debates, in both the primary and general elections, for all of the candidates running for District Attorney of Humboldt County -- the October 2010 run-off debate between Paul Gallegos and Allison Jackson was the first live event to be televised from the Access Humboldt studio at Eureka High School. The Redwood ACLU, based in Eureka with over 850 members across the North Coast, is a non-partisan organization that never endorses or opposes candidates for public office.


The format of the debate will start with opening statements and an airing of the candidate’s views on questions posed by the moderator concerning civil liberties issues in Humboldt County. All other questions will be posed by phone-in questions from the television audience at (707) 336-2258, followed by closing statements. Each candidate will have the opportunity to issue rebuttals to the statements of others.


Members of the press or public with questions may contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 336-2258 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com, or drop by our office at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka.

Nomination Slate for 2012 Redwood ACLU Board of Directors

Presented by the Redwood ACLU Board of Directors.

(NOTE: The Board of Directors may add candidates to this slate at a special meeting on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 at 12 p.m.)

Annual Election held on April 23, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in Bayside.

Current Redwood ACLU Boardmembers Steve Bridenbaugh, Stephen Davies, Peter Martin, Xandra Manns, Jack Munsee, and Timothy Such are midway through their two-year terms on the Board of Directors, and are thus not subject to this election.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - AT LARGE SEATS
- two year terms -
CHOICE VOTE FOR 7

Greg Allen (incumbent)

Parke Bostrom (incumbent)

Charles Douglas (incumbent)

Minerva Williams (incumbent)

Christina Allbright

_________________________
(write-in name of Redwood ACLU member)

_________________________
(write-in name of Redwood ACLU member)

Members may make additional nominations from the floor at the time of the election to run as valid write-in candidates.

Redwood ACLU to Hold Eureka School Board Candidate Debate

The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is holding a Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties for the candidates for Eureka School Board, to be held on Wednesday, October 26th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on live television -- Access Humboldt Channel 11 -- out of the Community Media Center studio at Eureka High School.

This debate will be held before a televised audience and in cooperation with independent producers working with Access Humboldt it will also be aired several times on public access Channels 11 & 12 and will likewise be available for later viewing on-line.

The debate will be moderated by Redwood ACLU Boardmember and Eureka resident Xandra Manns, and shall be staffed by other members of the Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU, although any persons who have made any sort of campaign contribution or endorsement of any of the candidates in this year's election are excluded from involvement.

"The debate allows the voters to get a handle on what the candidates have to say in this important election," Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen said.

Unlike previous ACLU debates, one of the candidates for this public office has so far indicated their unwillingness to participate. Judy Anderson, the incumbent running for re-election to the Eureka School Board, sent the Redwood Chapter an e-mail indicating her decline of the invitation.

She wrote: "I believe an open format debate with questions coming from a live audience provides a fairer forum," even though, like the League of Women Voter's forums traditionally broadcast live on KEET TV, there will be a live television audience calling in their questions for the candidates.

"To even say that is patently absurd," Allen retorted. "History has shown that the debates we sponsor have been unbiased and impartial."

The Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU met last week and unanimously determined to hold the debate regardless. There will be a chair held open for Judy Anderson; the other candidate, Susan Johnson, has already agreed to appear and participate without any demands to change the debate format.

The Redwood ACLU held the only televised debate for all candidates for the Northern Humboldt High School District in 2005 at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, and has also presented civil liberties-oriented forums for local city council races over the last seven years. In 2010, the Redwood ACLU hosted two televised debates, in both the primary and general elections, for all of the candidates running for District Attorney of Humboldt County -- the October 2010 run-off debate between Paul Gallegos and Allison Jackson was the first live event to be televised from the Access Humboldt studio at Eureka High School. The Redwood ACLU, based in Eureka with over 850 members across the North Coast, is a non-partisan organization that never endorses or opposes candidates for public office.

The format of the debate will start with opening statements and an airing of the candidate’s views on questions posed by the moderator concerning civil liberties issues in Humboldt County. All other questions will be posed by phone-in questions from the television audience, followed by closing statements. Each candidate will have the opportunity to issue rebuttals to the statements of others.

Members of the press or public with questions may contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com, or drop by our office at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka.

PRESS RELEASE: Redwood ACLU Questions Arcata’s Anti-Protest Practices

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, April 19, 2010

Redwood ACLU Questions Arcata’s Anti-Protest Practices

Annual 4/20 pro-marijuana legalization demonstration draws concern

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union expressed concern today over the pattern of practices by City of Arcata officials in relation to the annual “4/20” marijuana legalization protest in Redwood Park, which falls every year on April 20^th.

In particular, Redwood ACLU Boardmembers and other community members have witnessed a number of peculiar actions over the last couple of years by Arcata Police Department officers and other city staff. These include:

• The erection of roadblocks on public streets leading to Redwood Park; and,

• The blocking of public trails through public parkland leading to
  Redwood Park; and,

• The shutdown of public parking lots and public restrooms; and,

• The marching of a platoon of armed APD officers through Redwood Park to harass and intimidate college students and others engaged in peaceful protest, barking orders at them concerning the “trampling of foliage” and other nuisance-level complaints; and,

• The ticketing of members of the public in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

“The over-reaction of the City of Arcata to what amounts to a low-impact, non-violent mass action to protest federal law is really uncalled for,” Vice Chair Jack Munsee said. “It’s possibly unconstitutional -- you have the right to peacefully protest.”

Redwood ACLU Boardmembers will be on hand tomorrow to act as observers.

The Redwood Chapter, ACLU represents over 850 ACLU members across Del Norte, Humboldt, Western Trinity and Northern Mendocino Counties. Their offices are located at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka. For more information, call the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or visit redwoodaclu.blogspot.com.

Redwood ACLU Annual Meeting

Please join your fellow lovers of liberty for the Annual Meeting of the Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union!

Our keynote speaker is Dan Hamburg, former Congressman and newly elected Supervisor of Mendocino County. He'll discuss the future of civil liberties on the North Coast and take your questions!

The event starts at 6 p.m. with a potluck and music by Joe Garceau, followed by the election of our 2011 Redwood ACLU Board, our keynote speech and the awarding of the 2010 Redwood ACLU Patriot Award to a local civil rights champion.

For more information, call (707) 442-4419 or visit redwoodaclu.blogspot.com

Redwood ACLU Board Meeting Tuesday Jan 18th Noon

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet Tuesday, January 18th at 12:00 p.m. at the ACLU office at 917 Third Street, Suite Q (between J & K Streets) in Eureka.

The agenda will include an update on the implementation of Eureka's medical marijuana ordinance; an update on Humboldt County's Law Enforcement Committee; review of potential legal action against the City of Arcata over their anti-panhandling ordinance; updates on election reform efforts; discuss revisions to next year's nominating process for the Patriot Award; reports from Chapter officers and committees; and consideration of other items which Boardmembers or at-large members may bring up.

Board meetings are open to all ACLU members in good standing. Please call 442-4419 or drop by our office for more information or to request the inclusion of a new item on the meeting agenda.

Nomination Slate for 2011 Redwood ACLU Board of Directors

Presented by the Redwood ACLU Nominating Committee to the Board of Directors.

(NOTE: The Board of Directors may add candidates to this slate at their December 21^st meeting. Further nominations may be submitted by petition through January 16, 2011.)

Annual Election held on January 31, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. in Bayside.

Current Redwood ACLU Boardmembers Greg Allen, Parke Bostrom, Charles Douglas and Minerva Williams are midway through their two-year terms on the Board of Directors, and are thus not subject to this election.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS - AT LARGE SEATS
- two year terms -
CHOICE VOTE FOR 8

Steve Bridenbaugh (incumbent)

Stephen Davies (incumbent)

Peter Martin (incumbent)

Jack Munsee (incumbent)

Xandra Manns

_________________________
(write-in name of Redwood ACLU member)

_________________________
(write-in name of Redwood ACLU member)

_________________________
(write-in name of Redwood ACLU member)

Members may make additional nominations from the floor at the time of the election to run as valid write-in candidates.

Redwood ACLU Nominating Committee Tuesday Nov 16th 11:15 a.m.

The first and only meeting of the year for the Nominating Committee of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet on Tuesday, November 16 at 11:15 a.m at our office at 917 Third Street in Eureka.

The members of the Nominating Committee include three current Boardmembers and two at-large ACLU members who are not currently on the Chapter Board: Greg Allen, Charles Douglas, Steve Bridenbaugh, Xandra Manns and Jamie Rose.

This committee is charged with developing a slate of up to eight [8] candidates for consideration by the Chapter Board for new two-year terms on the Board. The Chapter Board will then adopt this slate, with or without amendment, to be presented to the Redwood Chapter membership to stand for election to the next Chapter Board at the Annual Meeting on January 31st, 2011 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall in Bayside, CA.

Redwood ACLU Board Meeting Tuesday Nov 16th Noon

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet Tuesday, November 16th at 12:00 p.m. at the ACLU office at 917 Third Street, Suite Q (between J & K Streets) in Eureka.

The agenda will include an update on the implementation of Eureka's medical marijuana ordinance; an update on Humboldt County's Law Enforcement Committee; review of potential legal action against the City of Arcata over their anti-panhandling ordinance; updates on election reform efforts; discuss revisions to next year's nominating process for the Patriot Award; reports from Chapter officers and committees; and consideration of other items which Boardmembers or at-large members may bring up.

Board meetings are open to all ACLU members in good standing. Please call 442-4419 or drop by our office for more information or to request the inclusion of a new item on the meeting agenda.

Redwood ACLU Board Meeting Tuesday Oct 19th Noon

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet Tuesday, October 19th at 12:00 p.m. at the ACLU office at 917 Third Street, Suite Q (between J & K Streets) in Eureka.

The agenda will include an update on the implementation of Eureka's medical marijuana ordinance; an update on Humboldt County's Law Enforcement Committee; review of potential legal action against the City of Arcata over their anti-panhandling ordinance; updates on election reform efforts; discuss revisions to next year's nominating process for the Patriot Award; reports from Chapter officers and committees; and consideration of other items which Boardmembers or at-large members may bring up.

Board meetings are open to all ACLU members in good standing. Please call 442-4419 or drop by our office for more information or to request the inclusion of a new item on the meeting agenda.

Redwood ACLU to Hold DA Runoff Candidates’ Debate on Civil Liberties

PRESS RELEASE



Attention: For Immediate Release



Redwood ACLU to Hold DA Runoff Candidates’ Debate on Civil Liberties



The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union announces the Runoff Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties for both remaining candidates for District Attorney of Humboldt County, to be held on Tuesday, October 12th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on live television -- Access Humboldt Channel 12 -- out of the Community Media Center studio at Eureka High School.


This debate will be held before a televised audience and in cooperation with independent producers working with Access Humboldt it will also be aired several times on public access Channels 11 & 12 and will likewise be available for later viewing on-line.


The debate will be moderated by Redwood ACLU chair Greg Allen, and shall be staffed by other members of the Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU, although any persons who have made any sort of campaign contribution or endorsement of any of the candidates in this year's election are excluded from involvement.


“We’re anticipating a lively debate where we really dig deep into the justice system here in Humboldt County,” Allen said. “We’ve strived to strike a balance where the debate will get some answers on vital civil rights issues from each candidate, but also leave plenty of room to address other concerns raised by community members.”


The Redwood ACLU held the only televised debate for candidates for the Northern Humboldt High School District in 2005 at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, and has also presented civil liberties-oriented forums for local city council races over the last six years. The Redwood ACLU, based in Eureka with over 850 members across the North Coast, is a non-partisan organization that never endorses or opposes candidates for public office. Our state affiliate, the ACLU of Northern California, is also providing support for this event.


The format of the debate will start with opening statements and an airing of the candidate’s views on questions posed by the moderator concerning civil liberties issues in Humboldt County. All other questions will be posed by phone-in questions from the television audience, followed by closing statements. Each candidate will have the opportunity to issue rebuttals to the statements of others.


Members of the press or public with questions may contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com, or drop by our office at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka.

PRESS RELEASE: Redwood ACLU Opposes Unconstitutional Campaign Finance Proposals

PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Redwood ACLU Opposes Unconstitutional Campaign Finance Proposals

Arcata’s Committee on Democracy and Corporations continues to push extremist agenda

The Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announces today their complete and continued opposition to the campaign finance law amendments being pushed on the Arcata City Council by the Committee on Democracy and Corporations.

Specifically, the proposed changes, most of which are unchanged from a proposal first made in January and then hastily withdrawn, would ban any campaign contributions by all organizations to any candidate, initiative, referendum or recall campaign; impose limits on contributions (from any source) to support or oppose ballot initiatives, referenda and recall campaigns; ban any campaign contributions by minors; impose severe campaign spending limits; ban campaign loans; and severely limit the ability of the City Council to make inflation-adjusted changes to the candidate contribution limits approved by voter initiative over a decade ago.

“It’s regrettable that all this time and effort is being put into an ordinance that will not achieve its goal,” Redwood ACLU Treasurer Peter Martin said.

It is longstanding ACLU policy on the local, state and national level that political contributions, as well as political expenditures, are core constitutional activities affecting freedom of expression and freedom of association. While the Redwood ACLU does not oppose the current reasonable campaign contribution caps currently in place in Arcata, the chapter did oppose Measure T on constitutional grounds, concerns which were validated by Federal Judge Susan Illston in her ruling which completely invalidated Measure T.

“The California Corporations Code, Section 18, preempts the ability of any local government to define a person in a different way from state law,” Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen said. “These self same issues have already gone to federal court and resulted in a stipulated judgment that ended up costing the county of Humboldt over $100,000. Now the same people are trying the exact same type of scheme in Arcata.”

The courts have repeatedly ruled that extremely low contribution limits towards ballot initiatives are unconstitutional, and no such limits are in place in California, or in any city in California, or in any county in California. The courts have also found that banning organizations (even non-profit ones such as the ACLU) from making contributions to initiative campaigns is also unconstitutional.

“While at face value I can see why these people want to oppose the power of large campaign contributions, they’re not considering the implications of these actions,” Redwood ACLU Boardmember Steve Bridenbaugh said. “The answer lies in an equitable system of public financing of elections and unencumbered access to the public airwaves.”

“This ordinance is predestined to fail,” Redwood ACLU Secretary Parke Bostrom said. “It is nothing more than an attempt to generate publicity.”

The Redwood Chapter, ACLU represents over 850 ACLU members across Del Norte, Humboldt, Western Trinity and Northern Mendocino Counties. Their offices are located at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka. For more information, call the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or visit redwoodaclu.blogspot.com.

Redwood ACLU Board Meeting Tuesday May 18th Noon

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet Tuesday, May 18th at 12:00 p.m. at the ACLU office at 917 Third Street, Suite Q (between J & K Streets) in Eureka.

The agenda will include an update on the draft medical marijuana ordinances in Eureka and Humboldt County; review of the proposed Arcata law to severely restrict campaign contributions; review of potential legal action against the City of Arcata over their anti-panhandling ordinance; updates on election reform efforts; discuss revisions to next year's nominating process for the Patriot Award; reports from Chapter officers and committees; and consideration of other items which Boardmembers or at-large members may bring up.

Board meetings are open to all ACLU members in good standing. Please call 442-4419 or drop by our office for more information or to request the inclusion of a new item on the meeting agenda.

PRESS RELEASE: Redwood ACLU to Hold DA Candidates’ Debate on Civil Liberties

April 7, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Attention: For Immediate Release

Redwood ACLU to Hold DA Candidates’ Debate on Civil Liberties

The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union announces the Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties for all four ballot-qualified candidates for District Attorney of Humboldt County, to be held on Thursday, April 15th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, 321 Community Park Way.

This debate will be held before a live audience (the capacity of the Senior Room is over 100 people) and in cooperation with independent producers working with Access Humboldt it will also be aired live on public access Channel 12 and will likewise be available for later viewing on-line.

The debate will be moderated by Redwood ACLU chair Greg Allen, and shall be staffed by other members of the Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU, although any persons who have made any sort of campaign contribution or endorsement of any of the candidates in this year's election are excluded from involvement.

“We’re anticipating a lively debate where we really dig deep into the justice system here in Humboldt County,” Allen said. “We’ve strived to strike a balance where the debate will get some answers on vital civil rights issues from each candidate, but also leave plenty of room to address other concerns raised by community members.”

The Redwood ACLU held the only televised debate for candidates for the Northern Humboldt High School District in 2005 at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, and has also presented civil liberties-oriented forums for local city council races over the last six years. The Redwood ACLU, based in Eureka with over 850 members across the North Coast, is a non-partisan organization that never endorses or opposes candidates for public office. Our state affiliate, the ACLU of Northern California, is also providing support for this event.

The format of the debate will start with opening statements and an airing of the candidate’s views on five questions posed by the moderator concerning civil liberties issues in Humboldt County. All other questions will be posed by the live audience via notecards, followed by closing statements. Each candidate will have the opportunity to issue rebuttals to the statements of others.

Members of the press or public with questions may contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com, or drop by our office at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka.

ADDENDUM POSTED TO CANDIDATES 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE:

Humboldt County DA Candidates,

As promised, here's our five questions (in no particular order) which will be asked in the first phase of our Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties on Thursday night. Any last minute queries may be directed to Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen. See you all tomorrow evening!

1. The state is facing the worst budget crisis in nearly a century and

spending on corrections is an enormous drain on the General Fund. Please

explain how your charging and plea bargaining policies would consider the

impact of your decisions on the state budget. Do you support reducing

spending on corrections, if so, how, and if not, how do you propose to

fund the current corrections system?

2. Please explain what the policy of your office would be regarding the

application of the Three Strikes Law and what criteria you would use to

determine when to charge someone with a second or third strike. Would you

ever prosecute non-violent felonies such as petty theft as a third strike

under the law, and would you support reforming the Three Strikes Law to

require that the third strike be a violent felony?

3. While studies show that people use and sell drugs at the same rate

regardless of race and ethnicity, persons of color are more likely to be

sent to prison on drug charges. Please explain what the policy of your

office would be regarding plea bargaining in drug offense cases. Do you

support sending non-violent drug offenders to state prison, and would you

encourage plea bargains that include drug treatment and rehabilitation in

place of incarceration and state prison?

4. Zero tolerance policies in schools have led to greater criminalization

of young people. When a school calls the police, the District Attorney

decides whether to prosecute the behavior as a crime or to respond through

another route such as school discipline. Once they are part of the

criminal justice system, youth are much more likely to re-offend in a more

serious way, creating a pipeline from schools to prisons. Do you support

sending young offenders to restorative justice programs and other avenues

that divert young people out of the juvenile justice system and toward new

opportunities, and if so, what would you do as District Attorney to

promote such programs?

5. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted last year to form a Law

Enforcement Committee which empowers local citizens to review the

policies, practices and procedures of the Sheriff's Department, and

also opens the door for the hiring of an independent police auditor in

situations where law enforcement is involved in a controversial use of

violent or deadly force. The Arcata General Plan adopted ten years ago

likewise calls for police review, and the City Council of Eureka has also

considered hiring an independent police auditor. Please explain your

position on independent civilian oversight of law enforcement. How would

you handle a fatal use of force incident involving local police?

Arcata's anti-panhandling law back on Wednesday

Redwood ACLUers and allies,

Once again the Arcata City Council is set this Wednesday at 6 p.m. to approve an anti-panhandling law that would effectively outlaw Girl Scout cookie vendors and the Salvation Army Santa in their misguided attempt to further persecute the growing homeless and poverty-stricken population of our community.

http://arcata.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=14&meta_id=35861

The proceeding link will show you the latest draft of the law, which fails to take into account most of the points raised by ACLU of Northern California staff attorneys, who sent the City of Arcata a detailed letter spelling out how unconstitutional and unenforceable their proposed ordinance is. The "new" draft keeps language effectively criminalizing ANY requests for aid (whether aggressive or peaceful) within 20 feet of any doorway or at any intersection. The ACLU of Northern California sued the City of Berkeley over a decade ago when they passed a similar law. The ACLU won, and the taxpayers of Berkeley paid for the mistake of their representatives. Can Arcata afford a similar mistake?

It's a good time to remember that our Redwood ACLU vice chair, Christina Allbright, was going to meet with the City Manager (the former Police Chief) and the City Attorney -- despite the city's claims of consulting with local citizens, the City of Arcata blew off this meeting at the last minute, and has refused to respond to any e-mails, letters or phone calls from the ACLU or anyone else in the local civil rights community. To his credit, Councilmember Shane Brinton was still willing to meet with us, and his advocacy for civil liberties in this matter has been notable.

We urge all community members who live, work or play in Arcata to visit the Arcata City Council this Wednesday evening and speak out for the dignity and worth of all persons regardless of class or circumstance. Our representatives should not use our present economic calamity to persecute the least among us and further attempt a purge of the homeless from this city just to score points in an election year.

For more information, visit http://RedwoodACLU.blogspot.com and we'll see you on Wednesday night.

Redwood ACLU Board Meeting Tuesday Feb 16th Noon

The Board of Directors of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet Tuesday, February 16th at 12:00 p.m. at the ACLU office at 917 Third Street, Suite Q (between J & K Streets) in Eureka.

The agenda will include seating the Redwood ACLU Boardmembers elected at the Annual Meeting last month; electing Redwood ACLU officers for the new year; an update on the draft medical marijuana ordinances in Eureka and Humboldt County; review of the proposed Arcata laws to severely restrict campaign contributions and institute anti-panhandling regulations; updates on election reform efforts; discuss revisions to next year's nominating process for the Patriot Award; reports from Chapter officers and committees; and consideration of other items which Boardmembers or at-large members may bring up.

Board meetings are open to all ACLU members in good standing. Please call 442-4419 or drop by our office for more information or to request the inclusion of a new item on the meeting agenda.

PRESS RELEASE: Redwood ACLU Opposes Unconstitutional Campaign Finance Proposals

PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Redwood ACLU Opposes Unconstitutional Campaign Finance Proposals
Arcata’s Committee on Democracy and Corporations continues to push extremist agenda

The Redwood Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announces today their complete opposition to the campaign finance law amendments being proposed to the Arcata City Council by the Committee on Democracy and Corporations.

Specifically, the proposed changes would seek to criminalize any campaign contributions by corporations, impose limits on contributions (from any source) to support or oppose ballot initiatives, referenda and recall campaigns, criminalize any campaign contributions by minors, criminalize campaign loans (except for those necessary for filing fees) and severely limit the ability of the City Council to make inflation-adjusted changes to the candidate contribution limits approved by voter initiative over a decade ago.

It is longstanding ACLU policy on the local, state and national level that political contributions, as well as political expenditures, are core constitutional activities affecting freedom of expression and freedom of association. While the Redwood ACLU does not oppose the current reasonable campaign contribution caps currently in place in Arcata, the chapter did oppose Measure T on constitutional grounds, concerns which were validated by Federal Judge Susan Illston in her ruling which completely invalidated Measure T.

“The California Corporations Code, Section 18, preempts the ability of any local government to define a person in a different way from state law,” Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen said. “These self same issues have already gone to federal court and resulted in a summary judgment that ended up costing the county of Humboldt over $100,000. Now this proposal attempts the exact same type of scheme in Arcata.”

The courts have repeatedly ruled that extremely low contribution limits towards ballot initiatives are unconstitutional, and no such limits are in place in California, or in any city in California, or in any county in California.

“While at face value I can see why it would appeal to people who wish to oppose the power of large campaign contributions, they’re not considering the implications of these actions,” Redwood ACLU Boardmember and Arcata resident Steve Bridenbaugh said. “The answer to the campaign finance dilemma does not lie in proposals like these, but rather in an equitable system of public financing of elections and unencumbered access to the public airwaves.”

The Redwood Chapter, ACLU represents over 850 ACLU members across Del Norte, Humboldt, Western Trinity and Northern Mendocino Counties. Their offices are located at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka. For more information, call the Redwood ACLU at (707) 442-4419 or visit redwoodaclu.blogspot.com.

Redwood ACLU announces Patriot Award nominees

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Redwood ACLU announces Patriot Award nominees

The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2009 Patriot Award. The chapter gives the Patriot Award annually to the member or members of the community who, in the opinion of the chapter, have demonstrated a patriotic commitment to defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in our country.

The 2009 nominees are:

Betty Chin and John Shelter for their work defending the rights of people who are houseless.

The Crisis Intervention Team of the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services Mental Health Branch, which assists people who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

Eureka Councilman Larry Glass for working with the ACLU on items of common interest, including Eureka’s “True Ward” initiative.

County Supervisor Bonnie Neely for supporting the ongoing development of a framework for citizen police review.

Tad Robinson for defending freedom of speech and the right of the people peaceably to petition the government for redress of grievances.

“It is inspiring to see so many local citizens committed to enhancing our civil liberties,” said chapter Vice-Chair Christina Allbright.

The winner will be announced and honored at the Redwood Chapter’s annual membership meeting. The meeting will be held on Monday January 25th at 6pm at the Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall in Bayside. The keynote speaker will be Northern California ACLU Executive Director Abdi Soltani. Soltani’s speech will be on the topic “Civil Liberties in the Age of Obama.” The meeting will be a pot-luck style dinner and the public is invited to attend. Also at the meeting, the over 870 members of the Redwood ACLU will elect the chapter’s Board of Directors for 2010.

“I encourage all ACLU members, and any interested members of the public to attend our annual meeting on the 25th,” said Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen. ”With the Patriot Award ceremony and a keynote speech by our new regional executive director, it should certainly be a worthwhile evening.”

The Redwood Chapter of the ACLU is the local, all-volunteer presence of the ACLU. The ACLU is our nation’s guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

Arcata Anti-Panhandling Ordinance to be introduced‏

Following the rude treatment of city staff in agreeing to meet with Redwood ACLU vice chair Christina Allbright, then reneging on this meeting, City Attorney Nancy Diamond, City Manager/Police Chief Randy Mendosa and Mayor Mark Wheetley have introduced their Anti-Panhandling Ordinance without any consultation with the ACLU or anyone else in the local civil rights community.

http://arcata.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&event_id=14&meta_id=32587

As you can read at the above link, this proposed law would seek to completely ban constitutionally-protected solicitation activity in wide swaths of the city, basically anywhere near any supermarket, any retail facility, the HSU footbridge, and more. While "aggressive" behavior and physical assault is already unlawful, these scare stories are being used to foist upon Arcata a law designed to further criminalize the homeless and punish them for continuing to exist in Arcata.

The City Council meets Wednesday night (Dec. 2) at 6 p.m., although the ordinance's introduction is under "new business" and will be rather late in the agenda, so showing up an hour or two into the meeting is probably a safe move. If you can make it to speak out on this matter, whether you live in Arcata or just visit, please do so.

Redwood ACLU Nominating Committee Tuesday November 24 12:00 p.m.

The first and only meeting of the year for the Nominating Committee of the Redwood Chapter, ACLU will meet on Tuesday, November 24 at 12:00 p.m at our office at 917 Third Street in Eureka.

The members of the Nominating Committee include three current Boardmembers and two at-large ACLU members who are not currently on the Chapter Board: Greg Allen, Christina Allbright, Charles Douglas, Xandra Manns, Jamie Rose.

This committee is charged with developing a slate of up to seven [7] candidates for consideration by the Chapter Board for new two-year terms on the Board. The Chapter Board will then adopt this slate, with or without amendment, to be presented to the Redwood Chapter membership to stand for election to the next Chapter Board at the Annual Meeting on January 25th.