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Orozco, Norma From:Melissa Palmerin <palmerinmelissa@yahoo.com> Sent:Tuesday, June 15, 2021 12:37 PM To:eComment Subject:Item 6 What do you want for people in Santa Ana? Not just residents because this assumes only those who live in apartments and houses, ignoring the houseless folks in Santa Ana. I will tell you what I want because as representatives of me, you have the power to enact what people endure. Looking at the budget, I see that the priorities of this council have not changed. Last year, y’all feared the backlash, regarding funding the police, because there were and are mass killings of black and brown people by police officers. However, there was a failure to move beyond that fear and understand why people were and are angry. One moment that stands out to me was when the chief of police asked for a grant for a new SWAT vehicle because the one they had was already 30+ years old. Bacerra was reluctant because he could not deny the voices of people most impacted by the militarization of the police. Yet, those voices dimmed when the chief of police stated it was needed just in case there was an event that demanded it. The dimming of the voices of those most impacted has been a recurrent theme in this council. I think about rent control, the budget, the general plan, and gentrification. There is pride in this idea of democracy in this council. Y'all represent us yet dim our voices when you vote because y'all believe you know better. 40% of the budget is going to the police. A part of this is going to increasing the number of officer’s interactions with houseless people. I should not have to tell you how problematic it is to attempt to solve the issue of unemployment, lack of quality education, lack of resources, lack of affordable health care, lack of affordable housing with criminalization. Last year when people were demanding the defunding of police. We were and are talking about the phenomena of using police as the answer to the "lack of". To envision a society that does not criminalize people of color and poor people, we must start to act in a way that addresses why poor people and people of color are more susceptible to incarceration. The budget should be the first place where we should act because it determines where the city allocates funds. If crime is the first thing y'all focus on then what you want for the people in Santa Ana is to be criminalized because what occurs is you disengage from the needs of the people most vulnerable: Undocumented folks, the houseless folks, LGBTIQ+ folks, people who are incarcerated or formally incarcerated, people who are differently-abled, single parents, foster youth, etc. What I want for the people of Santa Ana is to recognize that the needs of the people seen as unworthy of our attention are the people who we need to engage with because they endure the ineffectiveness of this council. Rather than criminalize people engage with them. Rather than using police to forcefully remove houseless folks from areas in Santa Ana engage with them. Engage with the workers who protest. Engage with LGBTIQ+ people who are saying this council has neglected to engage with them. Engage with those perceived as gang members. Engage. Only then will you understand truly what the people in Santa Ana want. However, in order to do so, the first people to engage with the people in Santa Ana should not be the police. It should be members of the community who do not have the power to criminalize people, but rather help find solutions. We have a lot of local organizations, but we also should allocate funds, meaning diverting from police to professionals who can help people get the security, stability, and safety they are lacking. AFFORDABLE, ACCESSIBLE, EQUITABLE, REHABILITATIVE, DECRIMINALIZING Best, Melissa Palmerin Ward 6 1