C HUMAN R M JULY 24, 2012 Permit and Resource Management ...

COUNTY OF SONOMA

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

MINUTES ndash JULY 24 2012 Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) Hearing Room

2550 Ventura Ave Room Santa Rosa CA 95403

COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Gina Channell-Allen Patricia Boyd Evelyn Cheatham (Vice-Chair)

Gail Jonas Judy Rice (Chair) Chris Rohde Faith Ross Kathleen Shaffer Art Warmoth (Officer-at-Large) Ann Zimmer

COMMISSIONERS ABSENT Elizabeth McCarthy Donna Zapata

STAFF PRESENT Laurie Marincik

GUEST SPEAKER None

I CALL TO ORDER ndash INTRODUCTIONS Rice called the meeting to order at 530 PM and read

the Commission Mission Statement Commissioners introduced themselves by name and the district they represent

II CONSENT ITEMS Approval of July 24 2012 Agenda Chair Rice requested a motion to add a fifteen minute break after completion of the NCCP and Veolia presentations due to the length of the meeting Motion to approve the extension

Motion Commissioner Warmoth AYES 9 NOES 0 Second Commissioner Jonas ABSENT 2 ABSTAINED 0

Motion passed

Approve the Agenda as amended Motion Commissioner Zimmer AYES 9 NOES 0 Second Commissioner Channell-Allen ABSENT 2 ABSTAINED 0

Approval of June 26 2012 Draft Minutes

Motion Commissioner Warmoth AYES 9 NOES 0 Second Commissioner Channell-Allen ABSENT 2 ABSTAINED 0

Motion passed

III PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS None

IV ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Rice introduced the two new First District members of the Commission who will be

appointed at the July 31st meeting of the Board of Supervisors The Commissionersrsquo names are Gabriel Baum and Dmitra Smith

Warmoth made a housekeeping announcement as many may know Laurie Marincik has a limited amount of time committed to each Commission and she has been inundated with multiple requests on a daily basis Accordingly the Officers are asking that all requests be channeled

Supporting Materials Note Supporting materials related to an item on the Agenda and referred to in the Minutes are available for public inspection between 1000 AM and 100 PM Monday through Friday at 575 Administration Drive 116B Santa Rosa CA 95403 Phone (707) 565-2693 Fax (707) 565-3770 E-mail chrsonoma-countyorg wwwsonomacountyhumanrightsCommissionorg

through Chair Judy Rice Chair Rice also commented that requests and demands from the public will be handled in a similar fashion She noted that we have had an unfortunate month where Laurie has been bombarded with a large number of requests some of which were abrasive and demanding This is not acceptable and will not be tolerated

Chair Rice read statements from both Commissioners McCarthy and Zapata who were not able to be present at the meeting McCarthyrsquos statement to the Commission is attached to the minutes

Commissioner Zapatarsquos statement read as follows ldquoAs a Commissioner for the Sonoma County Human Rights I do not believe that the VeoliaPalestine issue is within our purview This is an international issue and should be taken up with the appropriate groups within those jurisdictions We have many other issues within Sonoma County that need our purview to focus onrdquo

Chair Rice read a statement to the public and to the Commission That statement is attached to the minutes

V OPENINGS AND APPOINTMENTS Faith Ross (Second District) was sworn in as a new Commissioner There is currently one vacancy in the Fourth District

VI SUPERVISOR COMMUNICATION UPDATES Nothing to report

VII NEW BUSINESS North Coast Coalition for Palestine - Speaker ndash Representatives of the NCCP Nicolas

Warmath Therese Mugannam-Walrath Irene Southworth Dilit Baum and Anna Baltzer addressed the Commission relative to the Sonoma County contract with Veolia Transportation

Speaker Nicolas Walrath requested on behalf of the NCCP the CHR make a recommendation for the Board of Supervisors to open up an investigation of Veolia Transportation and their business practices in Israel

Speaker Therese Mughannam-Walrath noted that we as citizens should advocate for local policies paid by our tax dollars and should therefore encourage Sonoma County to hold multi-national corporations accountable under international law NCCP made a plea that Sonoma County Board of Supervisors conduct an investigation of Veolia and their many subsidiaries to make a just decision when choosing to resign the contract with Veolia in 2014 She felt consideration should be given to local companies who wish to bid on this contract to keep Sonoma County tax dollars going back into local businesses

Speaker Anna Baltzar stated although we are not responsible for solving the problems in the Middle East we are responsible for not doing business with corporations who knowingly violate human rights in other countries

Speaker Irene Southworth clarified the purpose of the proposed NCCP resolution In the interest of time Ms Southworth read only the final paragraphs of the resolution ldquoTherefore may it be hereby resolved that the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights requests that the Board of Supervisors conduct an investigation of the allegations of human rights violations by Veolia as outlined above completing the investigation by the end of fiscal year 2013 Furthermore should this investigation prove the allegations true which we are confident will be the case we respectfully ask the Commission to recommend the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to not renew the County contract with Veolia in 2014rdquo

Commissioner Jonas motioned to extend the time for a 10-minute brief discussion amongst the Commissioners regarding the NCCP presentation

Motion Commissioner Jonas

Second Commissioner Channell-Allen

AYES 5 ABSENT 2

NOES 4 ABSTAINED 0

Motion passed

CHR Commission Minutes Page 2

Commissioner Jonas noted that it came as a great disappointment to hear Chair Ricersquos announcement that we are able to hear their presentation as a Commission but not take action Jonas feels like this is a disservice to a dedicated group who worked hard to present their case

Public Comment (45 mins) ndash Chair Rice announced due to the large number of people wishing to offer comments the Commission would provide a 45-minute public comment period with each speaker being limited to one minute The full 45-minute period was utilized

The Commission took a 15-minute break after conclusion of the public comment following the NCCP presentation

Veolia Transportation - Speakers ndash Representatives Ruth Otte Executive Vice President of

Marketing amp Communications and Alan Moldawer Executive Vice President and General Counsel spoke on behalf of Veolia Transportation based in Lombard Illinois

Ms Otte noted that both on a personal and corporate level she sympathized with the plight of the Palestinian people She noted that Veolia also respects the right of the Israeli State to exist and live in peace and security They do not consider themselves judges of the long historic conflict in Israel

She noted that Veolia does not take sides on what transpires in Israel but that they do care passionately about people and human beings who need to get to where they need to go to work to doctorrsquos appointments to visit friends and family members etc All the expertise they have in running bus and train systems is about moving people safely and effectively They typically can save cities 20-25 of their costs and increase quality of transportation services whether people are Palestinians Israelis Catholics any ethnic or political background Veolia cares about the human beings they are transporting They do not practice discrimination nor do they tolerate discrimination

Alan Moldawer presented a series of slides about Veolia Transportation scope and services The Veolia presentation is available on the Commissionrsquos website

Public Comment (45 mins) Members of the public offered comments for 45 minutes with each individual speaker being limited to one minute

The Commission took a 15-minute break after conclusion of public comment following the Veolia presentation

Discussion and Evaluation by the Commissioners (NCCP and Veolia)

Commissioner Jonas made several comments regarding the presentations and the background of the Israeli issue

Jonas recommended we develop an ad hoc committee within the Commission to take up the questions surrounding the jurisdictional issue

Commissioner Zimmer stated she does not bring the IsraeliPalestinian Middle East dispute into this County It is a dispute that has gone on for decades and is one that a succession of world leaders have not been able to resolve There has been a lot of bloodshed on both sides and as a County Commissioner Zimmer does not want to be involved with this dispute as a member of the Commission

Chair Rice commented that multiple speakers tonight urged us to investigate we neither have that within our charter nor within our budget

Commissioner Warmoth believes we are fulfilling the educational duties within the Commission to provide various facts and aspects of the situation to be aired in public He is pleased we could provide this diverse platform for views to be expressed

- Warmoth believes that there are two human rights issues on the table 1) the illegal settlements and the violation of international law and 2) the existence of the State of Israel He does not believe we are in a position as a Commission to take on such a large issue because of our Bylaws and due to a lack of resources He suggested the NCCP work with


the Board of Supervisors but to keep in mind they may not have the resources to investigate

Commissioner Channell-Allen agreed the discussion had been extremely educational and there is a place for such human rights discussions but to follow up on what Chair Rice stated we do not have the resources to make decisions regarding the West Bank Sonoma County is our jurisdiction

Commissioner Cheatham thanked the public for sharing their views tonight in such an organized manner under the rules of engagement

Chair Rice commented that it had been necessary to set some strict guidelines for comments and she realized this must have been difficult Everyone respected one another and for that she and the Commissioners were grateful

Commissioner Jonas commented with all the creditable evidence given tonight to the Commission it is obvious there is discrimination at work here She feels there is still a need to determine jurisdiction based on the facts presented We need to get over the jurisdictional hurdle by determining what our Ordinances and Bylaws as a Commission really are If in fact it is within our purview we can make the recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to open up the investigation against Veolia Transportation

- Commissioner Jonas apologized to the Commission and members of the public because when she was first approached by the NCCP she thought this issue was within the jurisdiction of the CHR She feels this discussion has been helpful and informative to the public

Jonas proposed a motion to the Commission to form an ad hoc committee to determine the question of CHR jurisdiction and get back to the Commission at the August meeting with the findings

Jonas amended her motion to include Rohdersquos addition to the motion broadening the scope of the committee to determine what actions might be taken

Discussions regarding the Motion for the proposed ad hoc

Commissioner Rohde broadened these requests by adding the committee could work on seeing if there is any kind of action for this Commission to take in moving forward

Commissioner Zimmer asked for clarification Rohde explained we should seek counsel to make sure there are not any other actions we can take as a Commission within our purview before we put this item to rest This is something the ad hoc committee could take on and bring a recommendation back to the CHR in August

Commissioner Warmoth commented if this committee brings back such a motion he doesnrsquot think the proposed resolution from the NCCP in its current state is written with acceptable parameters The final two whereas clauses reflect the findings of the NCCP and not the Human Rights Commission The best thing we can do at this point is to pass the information on to the Board of Supervisors for their investigation of the allegations

Commissioner Zimmer commented she is a Founding Member of the Commission and the original Commission very much wanted investigative power but was firmly told by the Board of Supervisors the CHR does not have investigative power nor does the BOS want the CHR to have investigative power

Chair Rice repeated the motion The motion on the table is to form an ad hoc committee to examine the jurisdiction of this Commission to address this issue and to see whatever action might be appropriate The initial vote was 4 ayes 4 noes As outlined in our Bylaws a tie vote is to be decided by the Chair The Chair voted no

Motion Commissioner Jonas AYES 4 NOES 5 Second Commissioner Cheatham ABSENT 0 ABSTAINED 0 This item was not passed by the Commission

Public comment was presented regarding the Commissionerrsquos discussion and subsequent vote


VIII OLD BUSINESS Chair Rice suggested we move straight to Adjournment due to the length of the meeting Several key items were briefly discussed

Resolution on AB 1081 TRUST Act ndash This item has been deferred to August due to the length of this meeting

Budget Chair Rice announced to the Commission the need to make a revision to the drafted 2012-2013 budget due to the cost of security required for this meeting which will run nearly 30 of our annual budget Officers Chair Rice Vice-Chair Cheatham and Officer-at-Large Warmoth were in a difficult situation earlier today needing to make the decision to approve security but lacking the authority to approve this expenditure without the vote of the Commission As a result of this Rice will include this item on the August agenda and put in an emergency provision to take care of this expenditure

Updates from Offline Meetings of Ad Hoc Committees

Sonoma Counterpoints 2 Forum ndash Immigration ndash Chair Rice reported for the committee there was a decision made to have six panelists each representing a functional area within the County

Economic Rights (Warmoth Zimmer) ndash Warmoth handed out a document with the Economic Rights Proposal that will be elaborated on at the August meeting

Junior Commission (Rice Rohde Cheatham) ndash Chair Rice reported letters of invitation to the Diversity Summit on October 20th will be sent out to all the High Schools in Sonoma County We have received personal and polite messages declining from Robin Williams President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton

Rights of Undocumented workers and families (Warmoth Jonas Shaffer Zapata) ndash This item is deferred to the August meeting

The motion is to adjourn the meeting at this point and discuss the remaining items at the August meeting

Motion Commissioner Warmoth AYES 10 NOES 0 Second Commissioner Zimmer ABSENT 0 ABSTAINED 0

IX ACTIVITY REPORTS Partnerships with Organizations amp Agencies

Family Justice Center Liaison (Zapata) ndash Deferred to August meeting

Cinco de Mayo (Warmoth Schaffer Boyd) ndash Deferred to August meeting

Disability (Zimmer) - Deferred to August meeting

Human Trafficking (Zimmer) ndash Deferred to August meeting

North Bay Organizing Project Immigrant Task Force (NBOP ITF) (Jonas)

X AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING

XI ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT

XII NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday August 28 2012 530 PM at the Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) Hearing Room

XIII ADJOURNMENT Rice adjourned the meeting at 1030 PM


STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MCCARTHY RE PRESENTATIONS TO THE SONOMA COUNTY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE

NORTH COAST COALITION FOR PALESTINE (NCCP) AND VEOLIA TRANSPORTATION RELATING TO

THE CONTRACT TO OPERATE SONOMA COUNTY TRANSIT

COMMISSION MEETING DATE TUESDAY JULY 24 2012

I am sorry I will not be with you for the July 24th Commission meeting With appreciation and respect to all those in attendance at the meeting I would like to review the comments I made at the Commission meeting last month on June 26th when the question of placing this subject on our July meeting agenda was discussed

I expressed several things

bull In response to the concerns raised I said that I also am concerned about allegations of human rights violations wherever they may occur If I recall the quote the Rev Martin Luther King Jr said ldquoInjustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhererdquo However that does not answer the question whether (or how) this particular situation fits within the scope of our authority as a local commission chartered by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

bull I have serious misgivings when asked to consider allegations of human rights violations occurring on another continent thousands of miles away ndash particularly when asked to pass judgment or exact a penalty on the basis of what we may hear That is why I specifically said I was comfortable with us holding an informational or educational forum (such as the Counterpoints Forum on the economy recently hosted by the Commission) and on that basis I joined in voting to add this item to the July agenda

bull I do not dispute the ability of ldquoordinary citizensrdquo to present their own accounts of what they have seen or studied while abroad or for individuals to do their own research using the powerful engine of the modern Internet Indeed for the limited purpose of raising awareness and drawing attention to allegations of abuse they are sufficient

bull However when it comes to asking the Commission to make findings of violations and then recommend the imposition of sanctions because of those findings it is beyond our scope This Commission is not a trier of fact and our hearings are not held with any of the protections of a court of law ndash including sworn testimony under oath subject to cross-examination with subpoena power to compel relevant witnesses and so forth

bull Upon further reflection the fact that the conduct under scrutiny is taking place so far from Sonoma County California USA it would appear to exceed the scope of our powers and duties as a Commission In this regard please review Subsection (b)(1) of Section 2-324 of the Sonoma County Code as amended by Ordinance No 5724

1

In a nutshell my difference with those asking the Commission to take action is not about whether they have raised a human rights issue but whether we are competent to act as a trier of fact and sanctioning body for something happening so far beyond our own borders

If we are to be of service I believe we are already doing so ndash by providing a forum for the concerns to be aired Beyond that I do not believe we are competent to pass judgment or impose any form of sanction That is not to say that the allegations do not deserve their day in court ndash only that our county commission has neither the means nor the authority to serve as such a tribunal Moreover I am concerned that to try to do more than provide an educational forum would damage our credibility and harm our effectiveness as a commission

In sum I have no quarrel with providing a forum for the presentations tonight ndash and I hope we will also provide a respectful and thoughtful audience However if anyone feels compelled to take further action beyond providing an informational forum then I strongly urge the Commission to table further action and seek advice from the office of County Counsel on the concerns I have raised

Thank you for your time and attention

Respectfully submitted

s

Elizabeth K McCarthy Member Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights

2

fter consultation with and on advice from numerous County officials and the officers of this Commission Irsquod like to offer some comments

First as regards our process tonight the items on this issue are agendized as presentational and informational only I want everyone to clearly understand that because of the mandates of the Brown Act the Commission is not able to take any actions tonight including actions requested in the materials that have been submitted with these agenda items

According to the Brown Act every agenda for a regular meeting must allow members of the public to speak on any item of interest so long as the item is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body and herein lies the crux of the problem Allow me to share with you several excerpts from the Ordinance which established the Commission and from our Commission bylaws

sect Our mission is to promote better human relations among all people in Sonoma County through education advocacy and by initiating action that fosters the recognition of and appreciation for the diversity of our community

sect We are charged with fostering open communication about human rights issues within Sonoma County

Section 2-324 Under Powers and Duties comes the following sect To study and research by means of meetings conferences public hearings or other appropriate means any

conditions which represent prejudice or discrimination on the bases of race ethnicity national origin creed or religion age gender sexual orientation disability or medical condition in Sonoma County

It seems clear that the primary issue being brought before us tonight supporting a boycott is not within the scope purpose and jurisdiction of the Commission The boycott action requested by the NCCP is clearly a matter of foreign policy related to the Arab-Israeli conflict Given the limited investigative resources available to the Human Rights Commission it is beyond the Commissions competence and possibly its jurisdiction and may well be prohibited by federal and state law Moreover it is difficult to see the connection of this issue directly to the residents of Sonoma County and any attempt at debating that such a connection exists is not directly or even indirectly tied to the guidelines under which this Sonoma County Commission operates

I do want to acknowledge the good intentions of everyone here tonight but also to state that this type of divisive debate on an item not squarely within our jurisdiction or within the parameters of our mission statement serves to ultimately undermine the effectiveness and credibility of the Commission

This is a voluntary Commission which meets only once a month and has limited time and resources The County Staff who advise and support us also have limited resources and time What we are providing a forum for tonight is an extremely divisive international issue that does not directly impact citizens in Sonoma County As a Human Rights forum we are providing an opportunity tonight to hear the opinions of speakers on both sides of this issue but to spend additional time on this matter is not consistent with the Commissionrsquos purpose scope and mission Additionally the matter of the agreement with Veolia is not up for discussion until contract renewal in 2014 Concerns on this matter might more appropriately be brought to the attention of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

The Brown Act also stipulates that the Commission may adopt reasonable regulations including time limits on public comments Such regulations will be enforced fairly and without regard to speakersrsquo viewpoints We also have discretion to modify our regulations regarding time limits on public comment Accordingly the following parameters will be applied to tonightrsquos agenda We are cognizant of the large number of people who may wish to offer their comments here tonight and have therefore made the decision that public comment following each of our two main presentations (NCCP and Veolia) will be limited to no longer than 45 minutes each Each member of the public wishing to speak will be limited to a maximum of one (1) minute

Judy C Rice Chair Commission on Human Rights

through Chair Judy Rice Chair Rice also commented that requests and demands from the public will be handled in a similar fashion She noted that we have had an unfortunate month where Laurie has been bombarded with a large number of requests some of which were abrasive and demanding This is not acceptable and will not be tolerated

Chair Rice read statements from both Commissioners McCarthy and Zapata who were not able to be present at the meeting McCarthyrsquos statement to the Commission is attached to the minutes

Commissioner Zapatarsquos statement read as follows ldquoAs a Commissioner for the Sonoma County Human Rights I do not believe that the VeoliaPalestine issue is within our purview This is an international issue and should be taken up with the appropriate groups within those jurisdictions We have many other issues within Sonoma County that need our purview to focus onrdquo

Chair Rice read a statement to the public and to the Commission That statement is attached to the minutes

V OPENINGS AND APPOINTMENTS Faith Ross (Second District) was sworn in as a new Commissioner There is currently one vacancy in the Fourth District

VI SUPERVISOR COMMUNICATION UPDATES Nothing to report

VII NEW BUSINESS North Coast Coalition for Palestine - Speaker ndash Representatives of the NCCP Nicolas

Warmath Therese Mugannam-Walrath Irene Southworth Dilit Baum and Anna Baltzer addressed the Commission relative to the Sonoma County contract with Veolia Transportation

Speaker Nicolas Walrath requested on behalf of the NCCP the CHR make a recommendation for the Board of Supervisors to open up an investigation of Veolia Transportation and their business practices in Israel

Speaker Therese Mughannam-Walrath noted that we as citizens should advocate for local policies paid by our tax dollars and should therefore encourage Sonoma County to hold multi-national corporations accountable under international law NCCP made a plea that Sonoma County Board of Supervisors conduct an investigation of Veolia and their many subsidiaries to make a just decision when choosing to resign the contract with Veolia in 2014 She felt consideration should be given to local companies who wish to bid on this contract to keep Sonoma County tax dollars going back into local businesses

Speaker Anna Baltzar stated although we are not responsible for solving the problems in the Middle East we are responsible for not doing business with corporations who knowingly violate human rights in other countries

Speaker Irene Southworth clarified the purpose of the proposed NCCP resolution In the interest of time Ms Southworth read only the final paragraphs of the resolution ldquoTherefore may it be hereby resolved that the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights requests that the Board of Supervisors conduct an investigation of the allegations of human rights violations by Veolia as outlined above completing the investigation by the end of fiscal year 2013 Furthermore should this investigation prove the allegations true which we are confident will be the case we respectfully ask the Commission to recommend the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to not renew the County contract with Veolia in 2014rdquo

Commissioner Jonas motioned to extend the time for a 10-minute brief discussion amongst the Commissioners regarding the NCCP presentation

Motion Commissioner Jonas

Second Commissioner Channell-Allen

AYES 5 ABSENT 2

NOES 4 ABSTAINED 0

Motion passed

CHR Commission Minutes




































































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C HUMAN R M JULY 24, 2012 Permit and Resource Management ...

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