Mayor Scott Kennedy backpedals

on promise to put Homeless Bill on the City Council agenda

By Becky Johnson

May 24, 2004

 

Santa Cruz, Ca. \u2013 How liberal are the liberals? Well it depends
on how close to home they are. Mayor Scott Kennedy of Santa Cruz is
considered to be quite liberal by most regards. He is the Mideast
Coordinator staff person at the Resource Center for Nonviolence and as
a member of the Fellowship for Reconciliation, he advocates for the
rights of Palestinians living halfway around the world.

But the depth of his convictions in his own backyard were exposed as
being extraordinarily shallow when Human Rights Organization member,
Bob Patton spoke at the city council meeting on April 13th. Bob
chronicled his efforts to place the Bringing America Home Act before
the council which, if passed, would provide a national plan for ending
homelessness with a package of supportive housing, benefits, and civil
rights. Bringing America Home is being supported by the National
Coalition on Homelessness in Washington, D.C.

After Bob delivered his reasons why the City Council should support
the bill, he was pleasantly surprised to have Mayor Scott Kennedy
announce that the bill would be an agenda item at the

next regular meeting on April 27, 2004.

 

Bringing America Home Act (H.R. 2897) currently being discussed in
Washington D. C. is meant to address homelessness at the national
level. It was introduced in the 108th. Congress by Rep. Julia Carson
(D-IN) and John Conyers (D-MI) in July of 2003. The bill is designed
to end homelessness in the United States and includes housing, health,
income and civil rights components.

"I felt pretty positive that the Mayor would stand by his word, "
Patton said, "since he had said it in such a public way and with such
a definite tone of voice, but I felt a nagging doubt that something
might go wrong. So I scheduled a meeting with Mayor Kennedy in order
to exchange information ahead of time."

 

On Thursday April 22 Bob Patton met with Mayor Kennedy, in his
office. Bob wrote in his notes about the meeting that "the carrot was
dangled, but the prize was unavailable."

" I found out the item was not on the agenda. The main reason for this
meeting with Scott was to ask for an additional two minutes of time
for an outside speaker to address the issue when it came up." Bob had
already made arrangements with Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of
L.A Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness and chair person for The
Bringing Home America Campaign, was preparing to come to Santa Cruz to
speak to the Santa Cruz City Council in support of endorsement of the
bill.

Bob struggled with an explanation as to why Kennedy had not followed
through and placed the item on the agenda. Maybe he had misspoken
himself, or did not know the provisions of the bill and was not aware
of the dissent within the council. Bob pressed Mayor Kennedy for an
explanation. The Mayor explained that he could possibly add it to the
agenda with his privilege as Mayor but he would have to add equal time
for dissenters or make public note of dissension within the council
members.



This is not true of any item placed on the council agenda. Any item
must allow public comment and commentary by the other council members
including those who agree and those who dissent.


None the less Bob was willing to accept his terms. "When he sensed I
was ready to except that, he than backpedaled again. He claimed that
other council members he shared information with and took council from
had strong reservations as to addressing this issue. As our meeting
progressed he further hardened his stance to say that he would not go
against the will of those on the council who oppose having the bill
addressed."

Bob explained to Kennedy that the effort around this bill was to bring
additional resources to the homeless issues here in Santa Cruz and
yes, laws which primarily affect homeless people will have to be
reviewed, revised or even repealed.


The most controversial part of the bill, according to the mayor, is
the Civil Rights Provisions that would deny funding to communities who
have anti-homeless laws on the books. These questionable laws are part
of the so called Santa Cruz Downtown Ordinances. Activists have
claimed these laws to be anti-homeless and much division exists within
the community often pitting human rights against economic
gains. According to Scott Kennedy the City Council members do not want
to put anything on the agenda that would "bring opportunity to those
who would confront and embarrass them around the city\u2019s camping
and sleeping bans." The sleeping ban makes it illegal to sleep at
night between 11PM and 8:30AM anywhere out of doors or in a
vehicle. And this in a city with 48 spaces in its emergency shelter
and 1500 to 2000 homeless people in the city limits on any given
night.


Erlenbusch said he was disappointed but not surprised; most
communities that are unwilling to support this act have such laws on
the books. These communities might just find themselves in an
uncompromising situation, left out and legislated against in the
future. This could be the future in Santa Cruz if we can not find the
will to change these laws.


For more information on The Bringing America Home Act see;
www.bringingamericahome.org/act.html. To contact local support group,
Human Rights Organization at E-mail, hrosc061@hotmail.com. Santa Cruz
Mayor Scott Kennedy can be reached through City Clerk's Department at
(831) 420-5030.