Statement On Governor Newsom’s May Revise Budget
I applaud the Governor’s continued focus on providing resources to struggling Californians affected by the pandemic. The fact that California has an historic budget surplus of $95.7 billion, at a time when a global pandemic caused serious disruption in the global economy, education, and public health and safety, places us in a unique position to support the needs of residents.
Equitable Access in Housing Development
While the severe lack of affordable and accessible housing has hurt Californians across the board, communities of color have been the most impacted. Black and Latino households are rent burdened at much higher rates than white households, and own their homes at more than 20% lower rates than Whites.
Statement on Deadly National Shootings
Bounty Hunter Bill to Change Industry
FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26 NEWS) — Tuesday, FOX26 News reported on a group of bounty hunters arresting a man in Fresno. Fresno Police say the man they were after threw a hatchet at the bounty hunters, so one of them shot at him; no one was injured in that process and the man was arrested.
That happened at Latresa Hamburger’s house in a neighborhood near Shaw and West
LA Unrest 30 Years Later
For two California lawmakers, April 29, 1992 became a day that continues to impact their legislative careers three decades later.
Assemblyman Mike Gipson was a police officer and Assemblyman Reggie-Jones Sawyer was working as an emergency preparedness coordinator.
LA Civil Unrest - 30 Years Later
The video that captured the beating of Rodney King was profound in so many ways. For the very first time, the nation witnessed police brutality in a raw form as filmed, not by a member of the media, but rather from an average citizen.
And marginalized communities of color now had evidence of what we had been saying for years – law enforcement used unlawful tactics and tended to target Black males and used excessive force without cause or care of discipline.
Bounty Hunting is a Public Safety Matter
By Reggie Jones-Sawyer
Imagine you are home asleep at 2 a.m. and you hear violent banging on your front door. You see from your video security camera someone who looks like a single police officer attempting to break down that door. As you call 911 for police assistance, the individual at your front door enters your home and tries to arrest you.
Now imagine that when police arrive, they see you struggling with the person who broke into your home. The officers, believing he is a fellow officer, begin to assist him in your arrest, which ends with your being killed.