We are celebrating some significant victories this election cycle in the push towards racial, economic, and gender justice.
From the passage of Measure J in Los Angeles to the defeat of proposition 20, to Suely Saro’s win as the first Cambodian American elected to Long Beach City Council, to Waunette Cullors‘ win for School Board in Antelope Valley of LA County to Senator Holly Mitchell’s position on L.A. Board of Supervisors first all-women board!
PROPOSITIONS
- Proposition 17- PASSED
Proposition 17 restores the voting rights to Californians on parole and builds towards a more inclusive democracy. The racist nature of our criminal justice system means that tens of thousands of Californians who have completed their prison terms, the majority of whom are people of color, are being blocked from their right to vote. Folks on parole participate in our communities in every other way and they deserve the right to participate in civic life at the ballot box. - Proposition 20 – REJECTED
Proposition 20 reverses important progress California has made on criminal justice reform and is harmful to community safety. This measure reinstates unjust policies that increase prison sentencing and make it harder to qualify for parole. Various provisions in the measure lower the felony threshold from $950 to $250, mandate the collection of DNA from anyone convicted of certain misdemeanors like shoplifting, and double the number of crimes considered “violent.”
Prop 20 would roll back the advances California has made in criminal justice reform and increase the number of people in prisons and jails disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous and people of color communities across the state.
WFC BOARD MEMBERS & WPI ALUMS ELECTED
- Suely Saro
Long Beach City Council - Senator Holly J. Mitchell
Los Angeles Board of Supervisors - Waunette Cullors
School Board in Antelope Valley of LA County
A look at this year’s ballot results makes it clear that Women’s Foundation California sees and seeds shifts in who leads in California and how that leadership shows up. We are advancing the organizations, individuals, and strategies that put racial, economic, and gender justice front and center. We can’t stop now.