Claremont Change

09/27/2022

Please read! We need your support tonight!

Claremont Family,

At tonight’s City Council meeting, City Council will vote on a framework that decides the future of the School Resource Officer (SRO) role in Claremont schools. We need all hands on deck at the City Council meeting this week if we want to see real change and safety in our schools.

The Council has two versions of the SRO framework on the table for a vote—(A) the original framework developed and recommended by the SRO Working Group of educators, parents, and students that was appointed last December to reimagine safety in Claremont schools; and (B) a butchered version of the original framework, modified by City staff and CUSD, that maintains status quo for both the SRO role and school safety more generally.

Business-as-usual is not the best way to keep our students and school employees safe! Our students have said this repeatedly, and we see it playing out on the national stage. If you believe we can do better in keeping our students and campuses safe, please support the SRO Working Group's framework in its original form and let City Council know to do the same.

Click the link below to read about both frameworks in their entirety (short and easy reading, but you have to scroll through the meeting agenda packet), brush up on the history of the SRO/school safety process over the past two years, and the link to the City council meeting.

lnk.bio/claremontchange

We look forward to joining you in standing firmly behind real and meaningful measures for safety in our schools. We've come so far—we cannot let years of advocacy, research, data collection, honest conversations and sense from the SRO Working Group, our students, and our community fall to the status quo.

09/27/2022

Claremont Family,

At tonight’s City Council meeting, City Council will vote on a framework that decides the future of the School Resource Officer (SRO) role in Claremont schools. We need all hands on deck at the City Council meeting this week if we want to see real change and safety in our schools.

The Council has two versions of the SRO framework on the table for a vote—(A) the original framework developed and recommended by the SRO Working Group of educators, parents, and students that was appointed last December to reimagine safety in Claremont schools; and (B) a butchered version of the original framework, modified by City staff and CUSD, that maintains status quo for both the SRO role and school safety more generally.

Business-as-usual is not the best way to keep our students and school employees safe! Our students have said this repeatedly, and we see it playing out on the national stage. If you believe we can do better in keeping our students and campuses safe, please support the SRO Working Group's framework in its original form and let City Council know to do the same.

Click the link below to read about both frameworks in their entirety (short and easy reading, but you have to scroll through the meeting agenda packet), brush up on the history of the SRO/school safety process over the past two years, and the link to the City council meeting.

lnk.bio/claremontchange

We look forward to joining you in standing firmly behind real and meaningful measures for safety in our schools. We've come so far—we cannot let years of advocacy, research, data collection, honest conversations and sense from the SRO Working Group, our students, and our community fall to the status quo.

07/02/2022

Folks,

Claremont Change will have a booth at Claremont's 4th of July Celebration. We will be at Memorial Park from 10AM-2PM. Come by and say hi, meet our board members, and learn more about our mission for a more equitable Claremont.

We're looking forward to seeing you!

06/14/2022

Claremont Family,

2 years of progress may be lost. We need your voices at tomorrow’s City Council meeting!

Police Commissioners Margiotta and Mohamed have been active in various ad hoc committees, including the SRO review, since their appointment two years ago. When the Police Commission was expanded from 7 to 9 members in 2020, Commissioners Margiotta and Mohamed were only offered 2-year terms. The traditional term is 4 years. Allowing their terms of service to end would be a disruption and a disservice to the projects they are actively working on. You have two incredibly qualified residents who have served admirably, have a desire to serve again, and have six potential years to volunteer their time and efforts to make this city a safer, more inclusive, more just place. It would be an insult to their last two years of work and the City of Claremont if they are not offered more time to act upon the City of Claremont’s recently stated priority of antiracism.

Join us this Tuesday at 6:30 PM in providing public comment. The meeting and agenda links are below.

If you’d like to submit a written public comment, click the link below.
https://www.claremontchange.org/voice-your-support-for-commissioners-margiotta-and-mohamed

Meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/256208090
Agenda Link: https://bit.ly/3HoCjf5

06/13/2022

Please check this out! We need you!

06/13/2022

Claremont Change Family,

We urgently need your support and voices this Tuesday to avoid losing two outstanding police commissioners!

The City Council is considering going back to a 7 person police commission. They only gave Commissioners Margiotta and Mohamed a two-year term and that is now coming to an end. Commissioners are able to serve for up to 8 years - meaning both commissioners have plenty of eligibility left. Their work has been critical to the changing landscape in Claremont. Specifically, they were integral to the removal of the SRO and amplifying the voices of our students. They have been voices of reason and have pushed an otherwise performative commission to actually take action. In short, there is so much work left to do and WE NEED THEM BOTH!

Please join us during public comment at Tuesday’s City Council meeting and voice your support for retaining both Commissioners Margiotta and Mohamed on the Police Commission.

There are three opportunities for public comment:

1. At the beginning of the meeting
2. At the end of the meeting
3. Or, click the link below and use the script below to e-mail your public comment.
https://www.claremontchange.org/voice-your-support-for-commissioners-margiotta-and-mohamed

–

Dear councilmembers,

When the City Council voted unanimously in 2020 to expand the Police Commission from seven to nine commissioners, the reasoning was clear: it would better serve the commission, the city, the police department and the community to have a more diverse group of representatives. This was stated explicitly, and in order to ensure this was not merely a performative display of “diversity hiring,” we strongly recommend retaining both Commissioner Margiotta and Commissioner Mohamed, extending their terms of service in order to reappoint them as you have done for so many commissioners before them. Following the murder of George Floyd the council knew would be important to take the time to review police department policies and practices, as well as their interactions within the community. You tell us change and politics takes time, well then two years is clearly not enough.

Commissioners Margiotta and Mohamed have only served for two years and are able to serve up to eight; according to the 2020 ad hoc (Councilmember Calacay and Councilmember Stark), their outstanding qualifications were a part of the reason that two positions were added instead of one. Each has been active in various ad hoc committees, including the SRO review, since their appointment two years ago, and to allow their terms of service to end would be a disruption and a disservice to the projects they are actively working on within them. You have two incredibly qualified residents who have served admirably, have a desire to serve again, and have six potential years to volunteer their time and efforts to make this city a safer, more inclusive, more just place. We urge you to retain these valuable commissioners, and act upon the City of Claremont’s recent stated priority of antiracism and prove their inclusion was not merely for show.

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We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at 6:30PM!

Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/256208090
Agenda Link: https://bit.ly/3HoCjf5

05/27/2022

Last week, our co-founders Noah Winnick and Josue Barnes were on the Unleashing Social Change podcast hosted by our very own Becky Margiotta. The three of them talked about fostering fearlessness, the weight and responsibility of speaking out in the town they were raised in, and bringing humor and joy to the daunting journey that is advocating for social justice.

Click the link below to listen to the episode!
https://bit.ly/3GFYnBL

05/24/2022

Folks,

At 6:30 PM tonight, City Council will be meeting. Take a look at the agenda and prepare a public comment. The agenda and meeting links are below.

Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/256208090
Agenda: https://bit.ly/38eoN0x

06/07/2021

Claremont Family, tomorrow at the City Council Meeting, the 2021-22 proposed operating and capital improvement program budget is being adopted. Public comment is critical for any area(s) of the budget that don’t promote change and growth for our city. Specifically, there is still an opportunity to influence how the 6.8 million in ARP funds are spent. We think an equity lens should drive that decision - specifically a third-party review of our policy practices relating to human services, policing, and more. Can we count on you to provide public comment?

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Visit https://www.claremontchange.org/budget for budget resources.

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/256208090
Meeting Agenda: https://bit.ly/2Tb1DQw (Budget recommendation is on page 12)

05/24/2021

We look forward to seeing you all this week at the City Council Meeting. Be sure to prepare a public comment!

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/256208090

09/25/2020

No lectures here! This will be a community discussion! Come prepared to participate!

09/09/2020

Join our Town Hall next Monday at 7pm! We’ll talk about the needed steps to navigate the current crisis and chart the course for the future of Claremont. I’ll share concrete ideas and vision, and I’m eager to hear your questions and concerns.

Register here: https://www.christineforclaremont.com/events/event-two-j48kf-dk2rw-lbl2s