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Home My WebLink About06/16/2015 06 Audience ParticipationDistributed at the Meeting 6,--) 1S - REV. ROBERT L. TRIMBLE YAKIMA, WA June 16, 2015 TO: MEMBERS OF THE YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL Thank you for allowing me to speak before you today. The United States, including our City of Yakima, is currently undergoing important changes in its racial and ethnic composition. The challenges and conflicts brought about by these changes will continue for the next several decades. Whether you are African American, Hispanic, or Native American; whether you are Caucasian or Asian American, we are all part of the great American Dream, and members of the Beloved Community that the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned, and gave his life for. We in Yakima must move forward and let our great democracy work.....for all people! If this dream is to come true, we must recognize the demographic changes that have taken place in the City of Yakima during the past 30 or more years and work together to make sure that all of the citizens of Yakima are represented at the table where decisions are made that greatly impact their lives. We can do this if this Council will work with us to honor the recent re -districting ruling that will provide a voice for a large segment of citizens who have been left out of the governance of this city. We are all equal citizens and should have equal political rights and the right in this City to sit at Yakima's tables as equal citizens. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 guaranteed all Americans equal rights, and opened the door to millions of People of Color, and gave them new opportunities to enjoy an inclusive life. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has attempted to make certain from then on, that People of Color would be enabled to use their vote to affect equal governance no matter the color of their skin. Today, I call on the members of the Yakima City Council to recognize these rights and the huge struggle that took place to bring them about. You can do this by reversing your recent decision to ask the Ninth Circuit Court to stay the ruling in order to let the City Council continue the old way of districting, thereby suppressing the voices of an almost majority of its citizens. We call your attention to the 25 enthusiastic candidates who have stepped up and demonstrated the passion and desire to serve. This in and of itself, shows that if given the opportunity, your citizens will, and want to become participants in the governance of their lives. You can give us this opportunity by reversing your recent decision to ask for a stay of the ruling. I call upon your conscience and your responsibility to serve all, regardless of skin color or other circumstances that seem to preclude their constitutional guarantee that, "all men are created equal by their Creator, with certain inalienable rights." I believe that if you believe in that statement, you will reverse your decision and let the new elections take place. Yours in Christ: Rev. Robert L. Trimble Distributed at thej Meeting(,/ i / a Press Statement 6-15-15 Rev. Willie Pride President, NAACP Yakima Branch 1140 360-487-9703 wfpridel@gmail.com The right for citizens to vote is protected by the 15th Amendment, and further secured by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The NAACP is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates for political office, but the NAACP does support fair and equal opportunities for all races to vote and be represented. In addition, the NAACP does not engage in litigation to punish people or companies. We do it to redress wrongs, to make victims whole, to educate the public, and to move toward a discrimination -free society. And this is what we want for Yakima: a discrimination -free society with equal opportunities and rights and representation for all of our citizens. Distributed at th Meeting(,- S Hello, my name is Margie Van Cleve; I live in Selah and am here tonight representing the 170 Sierra Club members that live in Yakima and the Yakima Valley. Why is a 123 year-old conservation organization interested in the Yakima City Council elections? To protect our environment, we must protect our democracy. What does democracy look like? It looks like the record 25 candidates that filed for city council seats after Judge Rice's February 2015 ruling that Yakima's City Council election system was unlawful. The Sierra Club encourages the Yakima City Council to once again change their decision regarding the 2015 fall elections. This time let the elections proceed, let the voices of Latino, people of color and other marginalized residents be heard. Encourage the civic participation and engagement that has come from Judge Rice's ruling. Save Yakima's tax dollars, put them toward parks and sidewalks rather than legal fees. Distributed at the Meeting (0-(r June 16, 2015 Yakima City Council Yakima, Washington RE: Yakima City Council Motion to Stay dated June 9, 2015 I Montes v City of Yakima We represent 13 local community groups. Most of us have worked for many years to make Yakima and the Yakima Valley a better place for all to live, work, and raise families. We represent a cross section of the Yakima community including business owners, long-time community members and activists, and faith leaders. The purpose of this letter is to express our opposition to the Yakima City Council's recent motion to stay the implementation of upcoming city council elections. Since Judge Rice's February ruling that Yakima's election system was unlawful the community has exploded with civic engagement. With a record 25 candidates filing for city council seats, many of them Latino/a candidates, the community is responding to this historic opportunity with huge collective action, including a large civic engagement conference organized by local community members in May. Together we are organizing a rally to be held this evening in Yakima where we hope to draw 100-200 local residents. At our "Every Community Deserves a Voice" rally we will draw attention to local civic engagement efforts, celebrate and support those doing this important work, and call on the Yakima City Council to allow democracy to flourish and withdraw their motion to stay. After our rally many will walk to the city council chambers where we will speak during the open public comment period and give our message directly to the city council, who has up to this point failed to hold any public hearings on their decisions in response to Judge Rice's order. The local groups named below organize or support civic education and voter registration efforts. The re -districted voting system excites our groups, some of which are community staples and key actors, others of which are new groups, energized by this historic opportunity for civic participation and engagement. The City of Yakima has a longstanding history of using its electoral system to suppress the voices of minority and other marginalized residents. We have experienced first-hand the lack of representation of our communities on the Yakima City Council, and believe this has resulted in neglect on the part of city government toward portions of the city in terms of community safety, basic city services, and economic development. The opportunity for residents to elect city council members of their choice from their own districts is needed in order to address this longstanding neglect. The City Council's decision to seek a stay of the election and remedy imposed by Judge Rice of the Eastern District of Washington will cause serious harm to the Yakima Latino Community, the candidates who have chosen to run, and the people who have invested heavily in taking advantage of the opportunity that the redistricting provides. We are experiencing a once-in-a- generation change in political leadership and upswell from the community. A decision to alter the ruling will, therefore, have a significant impact on Latinos in Yakima and add to the historical disenfranchisement of our community. Thank you for allowing us to express our desire for ari election system that is fair and allows everyone in our community to participate in democracy. Yakima Valley Latin@ Leaders for Change Signature u.-90. (A.7pet cum) - Sig ature Nick Marquez Community Engagement Team Faviola Lopez Let's Talk member/community activist Ester Huey YVCC MeCHA Scott Villa Yakima County DREAM Team Eva Chavez NAACP Yakima Reverend Willie Pride Somos Comunidad Stephen Robbins United Ministerial Alliance Reverend Robert Trimble Sierra Club Margie Van Cleeve La Casa Hogar Laura Armstrong SEIU Local 925 Patricia Flores SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Shadrick Kautzman Unitarian Universalist Church of Yakima Ken Jones nature Signature S ignature) ignature Signature nature Signature • Signature ignat, ignature ark Date Date to 1,1421 Date (0' (fC(/C Date Q'r Date Date Date 6%/ �1i5 Date C9(t ( Date 6/(e//s Dlzte Date