RULES COMMITTEE: 05/17/2023
Item: B.1
File ID: ROGC 23-199
TO: Honorable Mayor & FROM: Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Council City Clerk
SUBJECT: The Public Record DATE: May 17, 2023
May 4 – May 11, 2023
ITEMS FILED FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD
Letters from Boards, Commissions, and Committees
Letters from the Public
1. Letter from Arisha S, dated May 8, 2023, regarding: Public comment for San Jose City Council meeting, Tuesday 5/9, Open Forum.
2. Letter from Alex Eulenberg and Ari Solovyonva, dated May 8, 2023, regarding: Open Forum comment for meeting of May 9.
3. Letter from Nicolas Lorain, dated May 10, 2023, regarding: Solar Access Act.
4. Letter from Martha O’Connell, received May 11, 2023, regarding: Anti Semitism and Racism at Rules.
____________________________
Toni J. Taber, CMC
City Clerk
TJT/tt
[External Email]
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Fw: Public comment for San Jose City Council meeting, Tuesday 5/9, Open Forum Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Mon 5/8/2023 3:16 PM
To: Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas [email protected] From: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, May 8, 2023 3:11 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
Subject: Fw: Public comment for San Jose City Council meeting, Tuesday 5/9, Open Forum Office of the City Clerk | City of San José
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From: Arisha S
Sent: Monday, May 8, 2023 3:09 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Public comment for San Jose City Council meeting, Tuesday 5/9, Open Forum You don't often get email from . Learn why this is important Hi,
Please note that the City of San Jose Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination policy is obsolete:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76359/638016911487730000 Its main authority is the Santa Clara County public health orders page (https://covid19.sccgov.org/public-health-orders), which li t ***only one*** active health order, and thi order doe n’t mention any vaccination requirement http //covid19 ccgov org/health order requiring u e face ma k patient care area health care delivery facilitie during Plea e re cind your di criminatory employment policy a oon a po ible Thank you for your attention to thi matter
Ariadna Solovyova,
South Bay resident
Public Record: 1
Public Record: 2
April 23, 2023
Mountain View, California
Dear members of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara:
We truly believe in the vision of “Community for All” that has been adopted by the County of Santa Clara.
It is a vision that can be achieved, but one that will require specific changes to the county policy.
In particular, the County of Santa Clara needs to prohibit all exclusion from public activity based on COVID-19 vaccination status. Unfortunately, this unfair discrimination is still taking place on County property, and worse, it is happening as a matter of County policy.
The County of Santa Clara, in the name of safety, is denying employment to persons who are not fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, even extending this exclusion to County contractors and interns.
All this is happening when it is well established that these vaccines were never approved or even authorized to, and in fact do not, prevent either infection or transmission of any disease, and so do not make the workplace any safer. In fact, as of this date, none of the COVID-19 vaccines currently available are approved by the Food and Drug Administration; they are only “Emergency Use Authorized” which means that the benefits have not been proven to outweigh the risks for those who take them. These considerations are not a matter of opinion, but a matter of fact, and should be enough to have the vaccination requirement lifted. But there is more.
Since being unvaccinated is a medical condition, or is perceived as such (e.g. presumed infectiousness or likelihood to become debilitated), excluding the unvaccinated from the workplace violates civil rights statutes of the United States (Americans with Disabilities Act) and California (Unruh Civil Rights Act), which both expressly equate being regarded or treated as having a disability with actually having a disability. Furthermore, due to the high rate of COVID-19 vaccine refusal among several minority religious, ethnic communities, as well as long-standing political communities, such a policy constitutes de facto religious, ethnic, and political discrimination.
We have a resolution that you can pass at your next meeting that will end all this. It will allow anyone to work for the County of Santa Clara without being asked about vaccination status. It will also keep any organization using County facilities as a public accommodation (such as special events at County parks) from perpetrating this discriminatory practice.
Please put it on the agenda at your next meeting and pass it unanimously.
Your neighbors,
Alex Eulenberg Ariadna Solovyova
DRAFT RESOLUTION
PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION
ON THE BASIS OF VACCINATION STATUS
BY THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
WHEREAS, after two years of wide availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not determined that any COVID-19 vaccine or booster prevents infection with or transmission of the pathogen that causes COVID-19; and WHEREAS, neither the Public Health Department of the County of Santa Clara, nor the California Department of Public Health, nor the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recommends the exclusion of COVID-19 unvaccinated people from any activity; and WHEREAS, many people in the County community who are otherwise eligible to work for the County, or to take part in events held at County facilities, have not taken these vaccines, for religious, medical, or other legitimate reasons; and
WHEREAS, it is a violation of an employee’s right to religious and medical privacy for an employer to require the disclosure of religious beliefs, or of a medical condition unrelated to the performance of one’s work duties, in order to avoid undergoing a medical procedure not necessary to ensure safety in the workspace; and
WHEREAS, it is wrong to exclude people from the community or stigmatize them for making a personal medical decision that does not have a direct adverse affect on others; and WHEREAS, the County of Santa Clara is committed to providing a workplace free of harassment, discrimination, and abusive conduct; and
WHEREAS, the County of Santa Clara is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible community, a “Community for All”;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara that the County Executive is directed to rescind all policies requiring COVID-19 vaccination, with or without exceptions, including those established by memoranda “Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for County Personnel” and “Application of COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement to County Contractors, Interns, and Volunteers” as well as any County policy requiring medical treatment or testing not required by applicable law.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Executive shall issue a memorandum prohibiting the enactment of any vaccination or booster requirement, with or without a pre-entry negative test result alternative, at events hosted at County facilities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Executive shall issue a memorandum prohibiting the use of County facilities for conferences, workshops, camps, or any other activity advertised to the public, where participation is restricted in any way on the basis of vaccination status.
Public Record: 3
[External Email]
Anti Semitism and Racism at Rules
martha O'Connell
Thu 5/11/2023 9:39 AM
To: Rules and Open Government Committee Agendas [email protected] ;The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan <[email protected]>;Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>;Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>;Torres, Omar <[email protected]>;Cohen, David <[email protected]>;Ortiz, Peter <[email protected]>;Davis, Dev [email protected] ;Doan, Bien [email protected] ;Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]>;Foley, Pam <[email protected]>;Batra, Arjun <[email protected]>;martha O'Connell
For Rules Packet
To Mayor and Council
Anti-Semitic and Racist comments at Rules
On 5 10 23 a member of the public referred to a Councilperson as a “Jewish white man” in an apparent attack on his perspective. This reference has been made before by this caller to this same Councilperson.
The Councilperson handled the matter with grace and dignity, however this issue goes beyond this one Councilperson.
The City needs to see that such references stop post haste.
What message does this send to Jews in San Jose, especially children, when such references stand unopposed? What message does this send to the survivors of the Holocaust? What message does this send to those of us who have visited Dachau or Auschwitz.
This is not ok.
לעולם לא עוד - again Never
This same caller has also repeatedly made comments about the Vietnamese Community.
That is also unacceptable.
Racism and antisemitism should not be tolerated because the maker of such comments is himself a man of color.
Shut down anti-Semitism and across the board racism. Step up to the plate and show moral courage.
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your Public Record: 4
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