Message: [Don't forget to replace the [x]'s with your information, and consider adding a couple of sentences in your own words to ensure this message gets past email filters.]
Dear Mayor Novelli and Patterson City Council Members,
My name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m a resident of [NEIGHBORHOOD/CITY]. I am writing to demand that the Patterson City Council adopt a budget that prioritizes community wellbeing, and redirects funding away from the police.
I am asking the Patterson City Council to commit to racial justice and to not be complicit in further promoting a system of policing that reinforces systemic oppression.To do so, I demand funding for the police department be redirected elsewhere. In 2019, this fiscal year, police services were allocated over $5 million in funding. This means they received nearly 30% of the city’s total funds, leaving the rest to be distributed among the more essential services that power the heartbeat of our city. This subsidy promotes and encourages a system based in racial and class inequality.
Research has repeatedly shown that it is not the police (or prisons) that promote community safety; it is affordable housing, educational opportunities, community violence intervention programs, and access to holistic health treatment. Misdemeanors and lawbreaking are often caused by unsupportive environments, and policing and incarceration only further contribute to financial and mental instability. I urge you to support funding for departments that prioritize your constituents rather than aggressively funding a system far beyond repair.
Can I count on you to consider an alternative budget that, rather than emphasizing law enforcement, defunds it and reallocates funding to social services with a proven impact on the welfare of your constituents, such as housing and education?
Thank you,
[YOUR NAME][YOUR ADDRESS]
[YOUR EMAIL][YOUR PHONE NUMBER]