McConnell, for change

A recent poll by Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies highlights that 26% of undecided voters are largely Democrats and liberal voters, which is the voting segment most in support of the measure. This provides hope that undecided voters can answer the call to fight systemic racism in our institutions, create opportunity for our most marginalized communities, and reduce the economic and health disparities that are so apparent during this health crisis. Proposition 16 would give state and local governments the ability to consider ways to address decades of historic injustices that have created barriers to economic mobility and health equity for Black and Brown communities.

A recent study by Berkeley economist Zachary Bleemer found that enrollment for underrepresented minorities in the UC system declined after Proposition 209 went into effect. The ban on affirmative action in higher education has been harmful, and has exacerbated socioeconomic inequities. What people may not realize is that this issue also impacts the racial health inequities we see, which have been highlighted by the pandemic. Black and Latino communities are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and are overrepresented in jobs that are considered “essential.” Barriers to economic mobility, including access to higher education and discrimination in hiring, lead to lower paying jobs with higher health risk. Essential workers, mostly Black and Brown, do not have the necessary resources to protect themselves and their families. These are people who cannot work from home, and they keep our society from collapsing in the midst of a public health crisis.

As a proud graduate of

Vallejo schools — one of the most diverse school districts in the nation — I urge my fellow

Vallejoans and all Californians to vote to pass Proposition 16.

— Jessica Ortiz/Graduate student at UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Many people are fed up with how this city has been run, and I am one of them.

Vallejo paid out millions to settle lawsuits when police killed residents unnecessarily. Vallejo has to cut $25,000 — yes, 25 thousand — funding to our Naval and Historical Museum because we run out of money, but happily paid $14 million for an empty building shell on earthquake liquefaction zone for the police.

The list goes on and on. Hakeem Brown and company conveniently blame all the bad behavior/non-improvement/status quo to Robert H. McConnell because Robert has been on the council longer than Brown, but are those accusations justified?

To answer this question, we have to understand how things change/not change within Vallejo.

Robert understands the mechanism of change in the city and distills the process of change into a straightforward formula. I call it Robert McConnell’s formula for change, which is “4 + 1 + 1 = Change.”

In the case of changing the VPD, the formula is used as follow:

4 : At least 4 City council members wanted to change.

1: City manager wants to change.

1: Police chief wants to change.

If we have all 3 components, then change could happen. If any one component is missing, then the change will not happen.

Using Robert’s formula for change, we can also understand why our VPD keeps on killing people. Vallejo keeps on paying out millions in settlements year after year, and there was still no change. Sounds crazy, huh?

The answer is actually straightforward — the Vallejo Police Officers Association does not think this is a problem, and since there is no problem, there is no need to change.

Go back to Robert McConnell’s formula for change, 4+1+1 = Change. The “4 “is missing in demanding VPD changes. JumpStart/VPOA has controlled our city council for a long time. If JumpStart/VPOA does not want changes, no change will happen.

Currently, 4 out of 7 city council members (Hakeem Brown, Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Pippin Dew, and Hermie Sunga) were endorsed by JumpStart/ VPOA. Most of the time, this JumpStart Pack voted in favor of what VPOA wanted — which is no change, status quo. Hence, there is no change.

Robert McConnel understands the mechanics of change. He gives us the formula for change. If you really wanted change, follow his formula 4 + 1 + 1 = Change.

My question to Mr. Brown: “Do you understand how change happen/not happen in Vallejo?”

Vote Robert McConnell for real change

— Ken Szutu/Vallejo