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Editorials
the verdicts
Verde's endorsements: city council, school board, presidential candidates
WITH THE FALL 2020 elections just around the corner and the future of our country at stake, it is more crucial than ever to participate in democracy through voting in both local and national elections. After thorough research and deliberation, Verde Magazine is excited to announce our endorsement of Raven Malone and Cari Templeton for Palo Alto City Council, and Jennifer DiBrienza and Katie Causey for the Palo Alto Board of Education. We also endorse Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential election with the hope that these candidates will work towards a brighter future. v
Raven Malone
Engineer and social justice activist Raven Malone is the young, progressive candidate we need in Palo Alto to push for change, especially with her vision for reforming the local police force, increasing public transportation and adapting streets to be safer for Palo Alto residents.
As a renter with roommates, Malone is tenacious in her push for affordable housing and stands firmly against exclusionary planning and zoning in Palo Alto. This is necessary for the creation of affordable housing and will benefit our community by making the city accessible to young professionals and lower-income families new to the area. Photo: Kate Skogen
Cari Templeton
Current Planning and Transportation Commission Chair Cari Templeton's experience in planning and zoning will aid in the development of infrastructure and affordable housing policies. She prioritizes the need to reduce urban sprawl and to build more housing near transit, and her detailed proposal for fare-free student and senior public transit along with expanding shuttle service areas, incentivizing household gas-to-electric appliance upgrades and reducing permit fees for electric vehicles aligns with our hope that Palo Alto will become a leader in clean energy. Photo: Vivian Cromwell
Jennifer DiBrienza
Over her past four years on the Board, incumbent Jennifer DiBrienza has worked to create the PAUSD Title IX office, increase consent education and close the opportunity gap, which mirrors our priorities for the district as students.
DiBrienza’s unique position as both a former teacher and current district parent allows her to empathize with school staff members and parents to form a more complex perspective on school board issues. We hope that our readers reelect DiBrienza, whose open communication strategy with students brings a crucial lens of transparency to the Board’s operations. Photo: Dana Underwood
Katie Causey
Katie Causey's urgent push for improved mental health resources, stemming from her observations as a former PAUSD student, means she will prioritize student wellbeing both during and after the pandemic. She is also a fierce proponent for increasing student accessibility to Title IX resources and tackling sexual assault and harrassment culture in the district head on. Causey’s strong focus on the PAUSD Promise and District Equity Scorecard, as well as examining systemic inequality within communities and schools, will help every student succeed. Photo: Katie Causey
Joe Biden & Kamala Harris
Verde unanimously endorses former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris for the 2020 presidential election. From economic recovery past the COVID-19 pandemic to healthcare, climate action and racial equity plans that will affect our generation for years to come, Biden prioritizes the issues that matter most to our staff and has the political experience to make beneficial decisions for all Americans. In an election that will drastically impact our future, now is the time to unite and vote for a presidential candidate who will lead the nation forward.
The Verdicts editorial section expresses the collective opinion of the Verde Magazine staff.
POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST violence can often become the result of the people of color is not a new issue interaction. to America, nor to Palo Alto. The “I sometimes wonder, ‘Why do we Palo Alto Police Department is send an armed officer on a traffic patrol to currently being investigated by the FBI for pull somebody over for speeding?’” Mayor violence against unarmed Julio Arevalo, in Adrian Fine said. “‘Is that not just setting us addition to a “decades-long pattern” of vio- up for a potentially bad incident?’” lence, according to a June article from Palo By sending an unarmed response team Alto Online. These incidents include the to nonviolent and low-risk scenarios, the violent arrests of unarmed residents Albert possibility of violent interactions incited by Hopkins and Tyler Harney in 2003 and the police could be decreased. 2011, respectively, among other incidents of racial bias. Additional training
While the PAPD has worked to imple- According to the California Police ment policies to address this issue, and we Academy website, the minimum training appreciate the efforts of officers to keep our requirement to become an active police ofcommunity safe, it is clear that Palo Alto is ficer in the state is only six months. While not doing enough in this fight. the PAPD also requires a series of inter"8 Can’t Wait" states that they do not require additional
According to the City of Palo Alto web- training. site, the PAPD is currently implementing a We believe the PAPD should imseries of eight steps called “8 Can’t Wait,” plement additional racial bias and profilcreated by Campaign Zero, to restrict the ing training with an emphasis on equity, use of force by police. These steps included and require more than the minimum six measures to ban chokeholds, shooting at months to become an officer. vehicles and other violent tactics. “A lot of the training they do is really
While “8 Can’t Wait” is a good start, for the worst case scenario,” Fine said. “The further reform is necessary; the PAPD and training needs to be aligned more with the City of Palo Alto must replace armed what a typical police day looks like in Palo officers with a skilled unarmed response Alto or Santa Clara County.” team in nonviolent scenarios, increase and views and background checks, their website change the training regimen, and reallocate Defunding the police police funding to mental health, education, According to the City of Palo Alto housing, healthcare and domestic violence website, in 2020, the PAPD received $43.8 services. million from the city, more than any other department in the city. Unarmed response To better protect at-risk communities,
In a recent report by the City of Palo the PAPD needs to redirect some of these Alto, fewer than 5% of crimes in Palo Alto funds to services like mental health and in 2019 were violent. These numbers do housing resources. This would not mean not include drug or traffic violations, which completely getting rid of police in Palo account for many more nonviolent police Alto, but merely supporting alternative interactions. response and protection strategies to mini-
According to findings from the Stan- mize the use of armed officers. ford Open Policing Project, police require “It would be reallocating funding less suspicion to search Black and Hispanic and re-imagining public safety to be drivers than white drivers. When cops are more efficient,” Human Relations sent to these traffic stops armed, police Commission member Steven Lee said. “We need to invest in minority and low-income communities in providing human services which help these communities and address some of these systemic issues earlier in the pipeline.”
Help create change in November
We believe that in addition to “8 Can’t Wait,” the PAPD must adopt measures to replace armed officers in nonviolent scenarios, require additional training, and reallocate funding to mental health and domestic violence services. One of the best ways to ensure these changes are made in our community is to vote in November.
While the presidential election garners the most attention, real change in our city begins at the local level. Candidates like Raven Malone and Cari Templeton are fighting for progressive police reform in Palo Alto, and supporting them is what will create real change in our community.
“We need to seize the polls at this time,” HRC Chair Kaloma Smith said. “Unless we organize and vote, we don’t get to address the policies at the speed and the pace that we need to.” v
Art by Faustine Wang
