CA - Glendora to talk about talking about the sanctuary-state law — which it opposes
By KAYIU WONG
PUBLISHED: July 22, 2018 at 7:02 am | UPDATED: July 22, 2018 at 7:03 am
Before Glendora can host a town hall meeting to talk about the so-called sanctuary state law and why City Council members are backing an effort to resist it, they’re going to have to talk about the the gathering itself.
That means the controversial topic is back on the agenda Tuesday.
On July 10, members of the community confronted the council about a vote it took in secret on May 8 to back the Trump administration’s legal challenge to California’s Senate Bill 54. Signed into law last year, SB 54 bars local and state agencies from using their resources to help federal immigration authorities investigate or arrest people for federal immigration enforcement purposes.
The council voted 4-1 to send a friend-of-the-court brief backing the feds. The news, slow to get out, prompted Glendora residents to shame city leaders for making the decision without public input.
As a result, Councilwoman Karen Davis, the lone dissenter in the May vote, suggested at the July 10 meeting to host a town hall where the city can provide information about the bill and city leaders can hear community comments on the issue.
“I think that given the interest around that subject — if we are going to have town hall meetings about many other topics — that [SB 54] deserves that as well, that it shouldn’t be a conversation that happens just in closed session,” Davis said at the time.
Mayor Pro Tem Judy Nelson seconded the motion and suggested having a federal officer from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency speak about SB 54 at the town hall.
But the matter must return to the council before the town hall gets the green light, Glendora Deputy City Clerk Elvia Harvey said in a phone interview.
According to a staff memo, among the details to be hashed out are:
*Will the City Council as a body sit or participate
*Who will be invited to participate in discussion
*When will this be held
*How will the interaction between the public and “presenters/city council” be undertaken
*Will this be held during the day or at night
The memo says the city will likely need to pay overtime for police presence at the town hall, “given the likelihood that such a town hall will attract up to 200 members of the public and reported disturbances at similar discussions held by other local jurisdictions.”
Tuesday’s City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Glendora City Hall’s council chamber at 116 E. Foothill Blvd.
https://www.sgvtribune.com/2018/07/2...h-it-oppposes/
