[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: Please post ASAP!: Please help the Berkeley Greens with their 3-week Referendum Campaign!]

[Gerry Gras]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Please post ASAP!: Please help the Berkeley Greens with their
3-week Referendum Campaign!
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 19:19:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Greg Jan <gregjan4 at yahoo.com>
To: gerrygras at earthlink.net



Hi everyone!,



Please post the message below ASAP to your local Green Party listserves,
websites, and e-mail lists!  We have less than 3 weeks to collect 8,400
signatures on our referendum campaign here in Berkeley, and we
definitely would appreciate any help that Greens in your county might be
able to offer!  (A recent court ruling allows all California registered
voters to help gather signatures on referendum campaigns, regardless of
what the local California jurisdiction happens to be).



The referendum campaign is being coordinated out of our office here in
Berkeley (please see details in the message below)!





Thanks in advance for posting the message below, and for helping to
spread the word!,



Greg Jan

















[[ Subject line:

Please help the Berkeley Greens with their 3-week Referendum Campaign!  ]]













Dear Greens,



We urgently need your help on a very short 3-week referendum campaign
which affects all of us in the Berkeley-Oakland area, and beyond.  The
Berkeley City Council, on a 7-2 vote, recently approved a very
inadequate Downtown Area Plan, which allows a number of very tall, dense
buildings (some up to 225 feet, about 20 stories) to be built in the
core downtown area.  Appropriate mitigations and benefits, such as
affordable housing, Green building standards, open space, and more, have
incredibly been left undefined.  And an intensive, comprehensive public
process, over an almost two year period (with Council blessing and
appointments), was entirely ignored by the City Council in their final
vote and approval.  For more info, please see:
www.greendowntownberkeley.org <http://www.greendowntownberkeley.org/>



We cannot allow for this corporate giveaway to the developers to go
forward.  Therefore, we need to hold a referendum to stop this flawed
plan.  By law, referendum campaigns are only 30 days long -- so we must
now gather over 8,400 signatures in the remaining 3 weeks!  (Per a
recent court ruling, all California registered voters are now allowed to
help gather signatures on local California referendum campaigns).



The referendum has been endorsed by the Green Party of Alameda County
and by local elected officials and community activists, including John
Selawsky, Lisa Stephens, Jesse Arreguin, Kriss Worthington, Pam Webster,
and Jesse Townley.  We are currently coordinating the campaign out
of the Green Party office at 2022 Blake St. (just west of Shattuck), and
8 blocks north of the Ashby BART station.



Please volunteer as soon as possible, to help us gather signatures!  In
particular, we are hoping to have large mobilizations on Saturdays at
9:30 and 11:30 am (Aug. 8, 15 & 22), and on Sundays at 10:30 am (Aug. 9,
16, & 23) -- (although we'll be at the office from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm on
those 3 Saturdays and from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm on those 3 Sundays).
  Please contact Mary Gomez at (707) 718-4297 (cell) as soon as you
possibly can, to volunteer!



Finally, if you can make a donation, please send it (ASAP) to:  Alliance
for a Green and Liveable Downtown ("AFGALD"), 1912 Blake St., Berkeley,
CA 94704 (or you can use PayPal at:
http://greendowntownberkeley.org/?page_id=5 ).



Thank you very much for your time and support.  We look forward to
hearing from you right away!





Sincerely,



Bob Marsh

Green Party County Council member



Patti Marsh

Green Party County Council member



John Selawsky

Green Party member, Berkeley School Board



Lisa Stephens

Green Party member, Berkeley Rent Board



Pam Webster

Green Party member, Berkeley Rent Board