I support this action
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Well, it was a 3-3 vote so it did not pass. Wright put forward a motion that put it on the agenda for next weekâs meeting, which someone said is on Tuesday, but need to confirm.
Wright, Warmsley, and Villapudua voted yes.
Lincoln, Padilla, and Blower voted no.
Lenz was absent.
Lenz used to sit on the board of the Pride Center, so she may be a yes vote. But she is also on her way out, so she may give everyone a middle finger on her way.
Lincoln, I think voted no because if Tom Patti is running for Mayor, he does not want to get outflanked from the right. I thought he would vote yes because he has been moving to the center. But with the salience of LGBTQ+ issues right now and election season around the corner, he must have concluded that voting Yes would lose him more right wing votes than it would gain him left/center wing ones.
What do you all think we should do next? What types of actions should we plan or what people should we reach out to? Should we continue engaging with this issue?
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Hi all. I recommend starting an EMAIL BLAST to each of the City Council Members and Mayor Lincoln.
The meeting is next Tuesday. Confirmed with Warmsley.
The 3 who vote yes (Warmsley, Villapudua, Wright): we thank and encourage them to vote yes again.
The 3 who voted no (Lincoln, Padilla, Blower): we express disappointment and appeal to them to vote yes next week.
The 1 who was absent (Lenz): we ask her to vote yes and appeal to her.
I recommend starting ASAP.
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I think I agree with this strategy.
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I sent emails to Supervisors Canepa, Rickman and Villapudua thanking them for voting in favor of raising the Pride Flag at the San Joaquin Administration Building and asking the Board to consider lowering the threshold for such actions in the future.
Emails may seem small, but you donât ever want a politician to be in a position, on a subject you care about, to be able to say: âI had a lot of people reach out to me in opposition to X but very little in favor of it.â
Ideally, you want them to be principled on certain issues regardless of where the majority of the public lands. But, if theyâre not, then that support (emails, calls, letters, public comments, social media posts, etc.) gives them the confidence to know that they have at least some political cover to pursue the things you want them to.
So, it couldnât hurt to do that with Councilmember Lenz.
She is going to be terming out of office at the end of 2024, and it can be a little harder to exert influence over people who are already on their way out because they arenât as concerned with pleasing voters.
But she is an accountant & a business owner and if she feels like there will be some sort of social costâa cost to her reputationâto voting down the resolution to raise the Pride Flag in front of City Hall for seven days, maybe sheâll throw a vote our way.
Sheâs already dealing with a lot of flak from her constituents regarding the Cityâs plan to remove 400 trees (**many of which are trees in her District), so that may work in our favor. I canât imagine she wants any more negative publicity as the deciding vote that keeps the Pride Flag from being displayed.
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Could you post their email addresses?
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Supervisor Miguel Villapudua, District 1
Supervisor Paul Canepa, District 2
Supervisor Tom Patti, District 3
Supervisor Steven J. Ding, District 4
Supervisor Robert Rickman, District 5
STOCKTON CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Kevin J. Lincoln II
Councilmember Michele Padilla, District 1
Councilmember Dan Wright, District 2
Councilmember Michael Blower, District 3
Councilmember Susan Lenz, District 4
Councilmember Brando Villapudua, District 5
brando.villapudua@stocktonca.gov
Vice Mayor Kimberly Warmsley, District 6