Open to all topics of course, but this month we'll focus on cutting off the City Council's allowance money!

To highlight this month's primary topic, here is my testimony sing-a-long from last night's City Council meeting (2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsy-s6viEaU

Here are the lyrics:

Spend On (sung to the tune of "Dream On" by Aerosmith)

Every time that I look at the budget
All these lines on the books, they try to fudge it
The money's gone
It went by like a unwatered lawn
Isn't that the way?
The City always spends more than it can pay, yeah

I know, nobody knows
Where the money comes and where the money goes
I know it's the City Council’s sin
You've got overspend in order to win

[ kazoo bridge ]

Half the spending is on bottomless budget pages
Ladder trucks, zip lines and climate changes
You know it's true, oh . . .
All this spending, come back to you

Spend with me, Spend through the years
Spend on the soccer field, and on housing crisis fears
Spend with me, not just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take the City Debt, away

But until then . . .

Vote No, Vote No, Vote No
Vote No on Measure Q!

Vote No, Vote No, or Spend On!  Spend On!
Vote No!, Vote No!, Vote No! - Waaaaaaaaa-oooooooo!

[ kazoo piano fade ]

By Scott Steward

51 Weeks of Protest, Yolo for Palestinian Justice weekly protest in front of Mike Thompson's Woodland Office. We witness a genocide and Mike does nothing. It will be a year next week.n

51 Weeks of Protest, Yolo for Palestinian Justice weekly protest in front of Mike Thompson's Woodland Office. We witness a genocide and Mike does nothing.  It will be a year next week.

It is some comfort, if small comfort, that the moorings of our Davis democracy are relatively intact, even as our "leadership" gambles our democracy on US/Israeli war crimes.  I would say that Israel has drawn Iran into war and the US along with it, except that it is obvious that the US has been party to the war plan all along.  12 months of Genocide?  That is the cost of doing business for Israel and the US.

After yesterday's 200 mostly destroyed Iranian missile attacks on Israeli military targets, “Make no mistake,” Joe Biden said, “The United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.” October 1 2024, Michael Birnbaum Washington Post.

Blinken has been lying about peace (see Veterans for Peace lawsuit below). Joe is delusional. Together along with most all of our federal representatives, including our Congressman Mike Thompson, we have been lied to about any and all consternation concerning Israel. No serious thoughts of how to secure the return of the hostages, no thoughts on how to give honor to those killed on October 7th, just a year of killing (42,000 Gazan's dead, mostly women and children).

As we debate Measure Q and the rest of the November ballot here in Davis, you are about to see your future hopes, dreams, and dollars be flushed down the war toilet - again. Why not pay the extra 1% sales tax for Measure Q, and get our $11 million local dollars.  We might as well, we are about to experience the same Iraq/Afghan Washington Beltway war f-- up with Iran  ($21 Trillion US dollars, 2,000 US and 200,000 Iraq killed). In the end, we will have a more radicalized and impoverished Arab world when it is all over.  Let's all go buy Raytheon stock! 

Let's set the record straight regarding the position the No on Q speakers shared at the recent League of Women Voters Forum.

No on Q stated that Interfaith Housing Justice Davis (IHJD) is urging residents to vote for Measure Q because the city is planning to direct more money to homelessness. They implied that the city has already committed to funding new programs addressing housing. While IHJD supports Measure Q, the city has not promised anything other than that housing is on the list of possible recipients of funding along with other legitimate city needs including replenishing the General Fund reserve, and infrastructure. The city has not promised to prioritize housing issues or indeed any particular recipient because Measure Q is a General fund tax and therefore by law, they can't.

No on Q stated that a plan for the City to spend money on homelessness is in the staff report. A review of the 6/4/24 staff report clearly demonstrates a wish list of projects "including urban forestry, climate action, affordable housing and social services, and infrastructure ". No commitments were made (nor can they be made!!) about where funds may be used.

Yes, IHJD supports Measure Q because we hope revenue will be generated sufficient to fund housing related issues. But we understand that passing Measure Q is only the first step. When the council begins the budgetary process after the election, IHJD will advocate for a commitment to address affordable housing and homelessness.

Ellen Kolarik, co-chair IHJD