Hi all - The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has been slow to act to protect vulnerable communities in the county. Like most of the cities in the county, they will speak out against the bully down the street, but have not moved to reject human rights violations from the bully in Washington, DC. They have promised to continue to provide services to all residents of the county - which is a good thing - but is not protection. They are promising to study other options, but have presented nothing else to date. They are counting on the passage of SB54 - the California Values Act - to keep them from having to take an aggressive stand. It Won't Happen Here hopes that SB54 passes - it will clearly limit the power of the sheriff to cooperate with ICE in a way that the Board cannot. But SB54 says nothing about the LBGTQAI community, people of color, followers of Islam or Judaism and others. But the City of Petaluma has stood up to protect all of its residents with a very strong resolution (see below) based upon the wording of It Won't Happen Here. Thanks to the strong efforts of Petaluma activists, we know that it can be done! It is time to bring that same kind of dedication to convincing our supervisors that they really don't want to stand on the wrong side of history. We need to let them know that if they take this step, we will be there with them every step of the way. We are making a push to convince them to take this up at their May 9th meeting (if it's cancelled for any reason, it will be the next meeting). So, please contact your supervisor and let them know you want them to put a resolution based upon It Won't Happen Here (or Petaluma's resolution) on their agenda. If you don't know who your supervisor is, you can find out at www.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Board-of-Supervisors/Services/Supervisorial-District-Lookup/ Here are the contacts for each supervisor: 1st District - Susan.Gorin@sonoma-county.org 2nd District - David.Rabbitt@sonoma-county.org 3rd District - Shirlee.Zane@sonoma-county.org 4th District - James.Gore@sonoma-county.org 5th District - Lynda.Hopkins@sonoma-county.org You can reach their staff by phone at 707-565-2241. We hear constantly about the calls we should make to Washington, DC or the national petitions we should sign telling Trump - who isn't about to listen - what we want. Let's make a difference right here in Sonoma County. The rhetoric coming out of Washington, DC gets worse by the day. Let your supervisor know that you want them to say "It Won't Happen Here!" And please ask your friends to call or email their supervisors, as well. Here is the text of the Petaluma resolution. A county resolution would differ somewhat because of the different relationship between the Board and the Sheriff's Office. A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE PROTECTION OF THE HUMAN, CONSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER RIGHTS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA WHEREAS, the President, many members of his administration, and certain members of Congress have expressly states an intent to pursue policies that could threaten the human rights, freedom, and dignity of specific groups of people based on sexual orientation, religious beliefs, immigration status, gender, race, disability, economic status, ethnicity, national origin and other characteristics protected by California and federal anti-discrimination statutes and the Unites States and California Constitutions; and WHEREAS, discrimination on the basis of these characteristics raises clear concerns of being contrary to the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of California which City of Petaluma governmental officials and agencies have sworn to uphold and protect; and WHEREAS, there is an increasing sense of fear and distress among people living in the City of Petaluma as a direct result of discriminatory rhetoric and behavior emanating from the President and his administration; and WHEREAS, to safeguard the equal and inalienable right and inherent dignity of all people that is the foundation of the relationship between a government and the people, the City Council of the City of Petaluma, on behalf of the entire Petaluma community, recognizes the rights, freedom and dignity of all people are under threat and that children and families face devastating and permanent harm; NOW, THEREFOR BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA, AS FOLLOWS: The City of Petaluma will refuse to cooperate with any demands from the federal government to institute detentions, deportations, registries, conversion therapies, imprisonment or any other acts that target or discriminate against Petaluma community members or others based on immigration status, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, political affiliation, economic status, age, gender identity or sexual orientation, or other characteristics protected by California and federal anti-discrimination statutes and the United States and California Constitutions. City of Petaluma law enforcement officers will not detain an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody, unless, at the time the individual becomes eligible for release from custody, certain conditions are met, including that the individual has been convicted of specified crimes delineated in the California Trust Act, a copy of which is incorporated for reference as Exhibit A to this Resolution. The City of Petaluma stands in support of individuals, organizations, and governing authorities and agencies who are taking action to ensure all community members in the City of Petaluma and all visitors are safe here, and that their human, constitutional and other rights and freedoms are respected. The City of Petaluma re-affirms publicly its commitment to preserve and protect the human, constitutional and other rights of all community members, and our willingness to adopt policies as necessary that challenge any requests which would compromise those right.