Dear Elected Officials of Artesia,
My name is [NAME] and I am a resident of Artesia, CA.
Many of your terms expire this year, December 2020, or will be up for re-election soon thereafter. The time for election is near, and the time for action is now. During the rest of your term, I urge you to take a stand and commit to divesting from our dependency on law enforcement.
We are in the midst of widespread upheaval over the systemic violence of policing embodied by the LAPD’s well documented history of murdering Black people. As a part of greater LA county, now is a critical time to assert our city's commitment to justice.
According to the FY2018-2019 budget (the most recent budget publicly available online), nearly half of Artesia's budget is allocated to Law Enforcement (41%). In comparison, Parks & Rec receives 9%, Maintenance and Public Works receives 7%, Building and Safety receives 3%, and Community Promotions receives only 2%.
As your constituent, I urge you to:
-
Decrease funding for Law Enforcement so that our community investments significantly outweigh our law enforcement investment.
-
Issue a statement in support of defending Black lives.
-
Issue a statement committed to divesting in law enforcement and investing those funds to programs proven to more effectively promote a safe and equitable community.
The public opinion is with me.
Thank you.
Your constituent,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL]
[YOUR PHONE NUMBER]