Letters from the Public — San Jose City Council, October 24, 2023

10/16/23, 1:41 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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FW: Please Oppose Resolution 23-1441 Agenda 3.5 for Meeting 10/24/2023 City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 10/16/2023 8:10 AM
To:Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: Ha Tran < >
Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2023 5:26 PM
To: Doan, Bien <[email protected]>; Batra, Arjun <[email protected]> Cc: Mahan, Ma <Ma[email protected]>; Cohen, David <[email protected]>; Davis, Dev <[email protected]>; Foley, Pam <[email protected]>; Jimenez, Sergio <[email protected]>; City Clerk <[email protected]>; Kamei, Rosemary <[email protected]>; Torres, Omar <[email protected]>; Orz, Peter <Peter.Or[email protected]>; Candelas, Domingo <[email protected]> Subject: Fw: Please Oppose Resoluon 23-1441 Agenda 3.5 for Meeng 10/24/2023

I forgot to include Bien Doan and Arjun Batra. Sorry about that. Please see below.

Hello-
I have lived in San Jose for more than 40 years. I am a concerned citizen and parent with 2 kids.

I am shocked about the proposed resolution 23-1441 (Agenda 3.5 for meeting 10/24/23) written by Councilmembers Pam Foley and Omar Torres.

I oppose the resolution to condemn groups that promote parent’s rights and protect children from groomers and age inappropriate materials. Giving bookmarks/flyers to parents to let them know their rights to opt out of age inappropriate curriculum does not equate to anti-LGBQT+ or anti-transgender. Preventing age inappropriate books/materials in the school libraries does not equate to anti-LGBQT+ or anti-transgender. Thus, the resolution has false claims and should be eliminated.

Some schools are not doing their jobs…they are not focusing on teaching the core subjects and maintain a bully-free and respectful environment for all. The schools try to promote LGBQT plus and transgenders. When you promote those groups in school like pride month and flag, you are causing other kids to want to be like them…you cause confusion and chaos and kids are unable to focus on the core subjects when there are distractions and make parents like me worry. I told my kids if they want to change their sexes, feel free to do so when your brain matures at 25 years old. I was a tomboy when I was young. If I was told that I might be lesbian or a boy, I would have believed and would have regretted it.

Government- do not make the same mistakes like some schools do. You need to be strong and don’t promote one group like LGBQT+ above another. We need equal treatment for all groups.

Government’s job is to keep all citizens safe, reduce crime and homelessness rates, and maintain and build a clean, safe working infrastructures for all.

Please stop promoting one group over another…stop dividing us by race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. We are all Americans and should be treated equally. No on the resolution and stop bullying groups that work hard to let parents know their rights and protect our children from groomers and inappropriate materials.

Thank you,
Ha Tran

10/23/23, 3:11 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 10/23/2023 8:08 AM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Lavonne < >
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2023 8:56 AM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Regarding resolution, 23–1441
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Dear City Clerk,
My name is LaVonne Carrick.

I have lived in Santa Clara County for proximately 50 years. I have children, grandchildren and great grandchildren in this community.

I am shocked about the proposed resolution 23-1441 (Agenda 3.5 for meeting 10/24/23) written by Council members Pam Foley and Omar Torres!
I oppose the resolution to condemn groups that promote parent’s rights and protect children from groomers and age inappropriate materials.

The service of giving bookmarks/flyers to parents to let them know their rights to opt out of age inappropriate curriculum does not equate to anti-LGBQT+ or anti-transgender behavior.

Preventing age inappropriate books/materials in the school libraries does not equate to anti-LGBQT+ or anti-transgender behavior.

Thus, the resolution has false claims and should be eliminated.

Some schools are not doing their jobs...they are not focusing on teaching the core subjects and maintain a bully-free and respectful environment for all.

The schools try to POMOTE LGBQT plus and transgenders.

When you promote those groups in school (for example, pride month and pride flags) you are Influencing other kids to want to be like them...you cause confusion and chaos, kids are unable to focus

10/23/23, 3:11 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQA… 2/2 on the core subjects when there are these distractions! Do not promote ONE group like LGBQT+ above another! We need equal treatment for all groups. Sex, in one form or another, is not up to the schools to promote. Biology is appropriate in a biology class.

Sexual Education belongs with the parents, mother and father.

The Government’s job is to keep all citizens safe, reduce crime, homelessness and also maintain and build a clean, safe working infrastructure for all citizens.

Stop promoting ONE group over another...stop dividing by race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

We are all Americans and should be treated equally.

NO on the resolution and STOP bullying groups that work hard to let parents know their rights.

Do protect our children from groomers and inappropriate materials.

Sincerely,
LaVonne Carrick
Resident of Santa Clara County
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10/23/23, 3:12 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/[email protected]/inbox/id/AAQkADUxOWI4ZjE3LTRkNDEtNGUzMS04MjAwLTIzNzdiYTdkMjc5NAAQA… 1/2 FW: My comments on Resolution 23-1441 (Agenda 3.5 on 10/24/23) condemning groups that promote parent’s rights
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 10/23/2023 8:13 AM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>
-----Original Message-----
From: Jo Kawanami
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2023 11:32 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: My comments on Resolution 23-1441 (Agenda 3.5 on 10/24/23) condemning groups that promote parent’s rights
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Dear San Jose City Clerk,
My name is Josephine Kawanami. I’ve lived in District 10 for 37 years, have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

Since I am unable to attend the 10/24/23 meeting, I am writing my comments and sending it to all City Council Members. This resolution to condemn groups that promote parent’s rights to be informed about the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender + curriculum is wrong and violates our first amendment.

I don’t understand why the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender+ group is favored over other groups, and that all children have to totally indoctrinated in this curriculum. This includes explicit book (Push) in school libraries that would make a parent blanche and angry that their children should be subject to it. I am not anti-Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender + but prefer that my child be an adult to understand this agenda. Why aren’t parents given choice to this curriculum? Our schools are for learning reading, writing, math, history and not to indoctrinate them in sexual awareness, especially at ages younger than 12 years old! It just doesn’t make sense, and is very harmful to their young minds and innocence. Please let our kids be kids and enjoy school and not be overwhelmed with this type of curriculum.

I have heard that the parents handing out the Opt Out bookmarks are being harassed by certain parents, and they are the one that are belligerent to the volunteers and not the other way around at certain school districts. Next time, get the facts straight from both sides! Multiple parents have said thank you

After all, City Council Members are elected by constituents and must remember to put families first, not agendas selected by council members.

Sincerely,
Josephine Kawanami
Sent from my iPad
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10/23/23, 3:13 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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FW: Council Agenda: October 24, 2023 Item 3.5
City Clerk <[email protected]>
Mon 10/23/2023 3:05 PM
To: Agendadesk <[email protected]>

From: SV IP < >
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2023 3:01 PM
To: City Clerk <[email protected]>
Cc: CAO Main <[email protected]>; Webmaster Manager <[email protected]> Subject: Council Agenda: October 24, 2023 Item 3.5

Council Agenda: October 24, 2023
Item 3.5

Open Letter for Immediate Release
To: San Jose City Councilmembers
From: Informed Parents of Silicon Valley
Re: Edited Resolution (no longer) targeting Informed Parents October 23, 2023

Honored San Jose City Councilmembers:

We noticed, while wandering around the Web, that you have edited the misguided Foley/Torres resolution such that our name no longer appears in the resolution.

So, in a certain sense, you have addressed some of our concerns expressed in our previous communications as you no longer explicitly and directly claim falsehoods and slander about our organization.

But while that's a welcome change, it's nowhere near enough to satisfy our deep-seated ethical and legal concerns about the memo, which remain unaddressed. Namely:

* The resolution's complete inability to acknowledge that the parental right to opt-out their children from public school curriculum is an explicitly stated right enshrined in California education code;

* The chilling assault on the First Amendment the Resolution advances by limiting the ability and rights of parents who choose to opt out, as the Resolution coerces all local elected officials to otherize and shut

10/23/23, 3:13 PM Mail - Agendadesk - Outlook
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* The monumental overreach of the memo as it attempts to hijack the responsibilities of another branch of government--the elected representatives of School Districts--by coercing those School Districts, via the City's financial and regulatory power, into doing the Council's bidding;

* The ever-broadening, if vaguely defined, foci of the Resolution's punitive ire. Previously, the Resolution just called our Informed Parents and the Values Advocacy Council as preferred targets. The Resolution's updated draft now includes any parent who has the temerity to believe that they're allowed to follow state law and advocate for that law to their elected representatives. "These groups," which is the Resolution's replacement language for Informed Parents and Values Advocacy Council, throws such a wide net that the Resolution pre-emptively convicts tens of thousands of local parents of the Thought Crime of challenging the false and malicious Narrative peddled by Foley and Torres.

We will not be attending your council meeting on October 24, as we have already expressed on the record our concerns regarding the unethical, potentially illegal, and certainly misguided and illiterate ramblings of the Resolution.

We acknowledge your edits and look forward to working with you in the future. That is, of course, if any one of you will take our calls.

Respectfully,

Informed Parents

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October 23, 2023
Mayor & City Council
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San José, CA 95113
Sent via electronic mail
Re: Item 3.5, City Council Meeting, October 24, 2023
Dear Mayor Mahan and City Council:

This letter was prepared by the City of San José Racial Justice Workgroup of the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition. (See below for more information about the REAL Coalition.)
We are writing to strongly urge the Mayor and City Council to support the resolution drafted by Councilmembers Foley and Torres that challenges efforts by some organizations in our region to oppose the fundamental values of inclusion and justice that have long been hallmarks of the City of San José.

As active members of a racial equity coalition, we have often contacted City leaders indicating our positions on budget and policy issues. In many cases, there is room for negotiation and compromise on these matters. But there is no room for compromise when we are confronting groups that would deny the basic human rights of long-marginalized segments of our community. The lessons from history are too horrific to be ignored. Attempts to prevent schools from acknowledging the dignity of LGBTQ+ families deserve to be condemned. Moreover, unless repudiated, they will likely lead to demands for further levels of dehumanization. The organizations that initially target people based on sexual orientation, if successful, will return to target others based on race, religion, or national or ethnic identity.

We also call to the Mayor and City Council’s attention the fact that in the recent election, the voters approved the Measure I charter amendments. These included provisions requiring the City to adopt a statement of values promoting racial and social equity and inclusion. This resolution is an action that moves the City forward in beginning to fulfill that charter mandate. Failing to take a strong stand against the organizations that are denounced in this resolution will be not only assisting in the spread of hatred and bigotry but will also be at odds with clear City charter language recently endorsed by the electorate.

Letter from Members of the REAL Coalition
October 23, 2023
City Council Item 3.5, October 24, 2023
We wish that it was not necessary to express our viewpoints so strongly. But the consequences of silence or timidity in the face of organized hateful behavior leaves people of good will no other option.

Please consider this letter signed by 45 member organizations of the REAL Coalition and a number of individuals. You can reach REAL by emailing [email protected].

Signed by:

Mark Tolley
American Leadership Forum
Misrayn Mendoza
Amigos de Guadalupe
Bea Pangilinan
Asian Law Alliance
Dennis Chiu
Asian Pacific American Leadership
Institute
Elisa Koff-Ginsborg
Behavioral Health Contractors'
Association (BHCA)
Josh Selo
Bill Wilson Center
Marsha Hovey
Collaborating Agencies'
Disaster Relief Effort
(CADRE)
Zahra Billoo
CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
Gregory Kepferle
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara
County
Shana Peete
Center for Excellence in Nonprofits
Erin O’Brien
Community Solutions
Pete Settelmayer
Downtown College Prep
Jason Su
Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
Susan Frazer
Jewish Family Services of Silicon
Valley
Ashley Raggio
Joint Venture Silicon Valley
Letter from Members of the REAL Coalition
October 23, 2023
City Council Item 3.5, October 24, 2023
Bob Nuñez
La Raza Roundtable
Alison Brunner
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Quency Phillips
Lighthouse Silicon Valley
Héctor Sánchez-Flores
National Compadres Network
Colsaria Henderson
Next Door Solutions to Domestic
Violence
Rhonda Berry
Our City Forest
Heather Cleary
Peninsula Family Service
Dianna Zamora-Marroquin
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Mary Gloner
Project Safety Net
Kathy Cordova
Recovery Cafe San José
Poncho Guevara
Sacred Heart Community Service
Michael Dao
San José State University Human
Rights Institute
Wisa Uemura
San José Taiko
Carlos Rosario
Santa Clara County Black Lawyers
Association
Jessica Paz-Cedillos
Vanessa Shieh
School of Arts and Culture at the
Mexican Heritage Plaza
Huy Tran
Services, Immigrant Rights, &
Education Network (SIREN)
Gabriel Hernandez
¡Sí Se Puede Collective!
Sandhya Laddha
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Shiloh Ballard
Emerita, Silicon Valley Bicycle
Coalition
Kyra Kazantzis
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
Sheri Burns
Silicon Valley Independent Living
Center
Angelica Flores
SOMOS Mayfair
Letter from Members of the REAL Coalition
October 23, 2023
City Council Item 3.5, October 24, 2023
Kim Guptill
SURJ at Sacred Heart
Regina Celestin Williams
SV@Home
Michele Lew
The Health Trust
Yvonne Maxwell
Ujima Adult and Family Services
Kevin Zwick
United Way Bay Area
Sujatha Venkatraman
West Valley Community Services
Lucila Ortiz
Working Partnerships, USA
Leif Erickson
Board, Youth Community Service
Mora Oommen
Youth Community Service
Jennifer Masuda
Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center
Adriana Caldera
YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley
About the REAL Coalition
The REAL community of nonprofit leaders and allies has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially-just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge.

The REAL coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food distribution, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGTBQ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, and intermediary organizations, and others. Over 125 organizations have participated in the REAL coalition.

San Jose City CouncilOctober 24, 2023

San Jose City Council
October 24, 2023