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On October 10, social justice advocates and community membersgathered to discuss the state of social justice reform in California.
The state legislature cut funding this year to Prop 36, California's treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, which won 61 percent of the vote in 2000. In 2004, the people rejected Prop 66,a Three Strikes reform initiative. In order to examine the barriersto social justice reform, advocates gathered at the Drug PolicyAlliance's Southern California office, where they looked back onattempted reforms as well as ahead to momentum-building and themovement's next steps.
Over dinner, about 25 advocates and community members spent thefirst part of the evening venting their frustration at recent failedreforms. The group noted all that went wrong with Three Strikes reformin 2004: an imperfectly drafted initiative, a troubled pro-reformcoalition, and finally, in the last moments of the campaign, anunprecedented multi-million dollar opposition ad campaign.
Treatment providers in the audience then analyzed the under-fundingof Prop 36 this year: treatment providers were distracted and divided,law enforcement was pushing hard for zero funding, and legislators fellback on politics as usual rather than sound policy.
With the past failures and problems out in the open, the discussionturned toward next steps. The refunding of Prop 36 in June 2007surfaced as the movement's next opportunity for victory. MargaretDooley of DPA Southern California, who led the discussion, said, "Thismeeting gave us an important opportunity to regroup, reassess andreenergize. After the discussion, our consensus was that we can learnfrom our experiences this year and do better in 2007, when Prop 36funding is up for renewal again."
Participants in the discussion represented the range of groupsworking on this issue: Dave Fratello, co-author of Prop 36, Campaignfor New Drug Policies; Luis Lozano, Executive Director, The BeaconHouse; Susan Burton, Executive Director, A New Way of Life; CherylBranch, Chair, AAAOD; Gretchen Bergman, Executive Director, A New PATH;Peter Laarman, Director, Progressive Christians Uniting; CynthiaMcDonald, Prop 36 graduate, San Diego County; Tony Jackson, Prop 36graduate, Orange County; Alberto Mendoza, DPA Southern CaliforniaDirector.
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