REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Information and Update on the Ad Hoc Committee on the Apology Letter Relating to the City's California Voting Rights Act Litigation (Deferred from November 9,2021)
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency
BACKGROUND
At the July 13, 2021 City Council meeting, Council acted on a written petition submitted by Councilmember Becker requesting a public apology to the residents of Santa Clara for the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) lawsuit. A draft letter was submitted along with the written petition and is provided in Attachment 1. At this meeting a motion was made by Councilmember Jain, seconded by Councilmember Becker, that the Council (1) issue an apology for having consumed the City's treasury for fighting a CVRA lawsuit, (2) establish a publicly noticed meeting of an Ad-Hoc Committee comprised of Councilmember Becker and Councilmember Park, and (3) return to Council for ratification of the letter at a later time.
The Ad-Hoc Committee on the CVRA Apology Letter Relating to the City's California Voting Rights Act Litigation (Ad-Hoc Committee) held its first meeting on October 13, 2021.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of the Ad-Hoc Committee is to edit the draft apology letter submitted by Councilmember Becker and return to the full City Council with a revised letter for review and approval.
At the October 13th Ad-Hoc Committee meeting, Councilmembers Becker and Park expressed interest in expanding the scope of the Ad-Hoc Committee by increasing community outreach to encourage the community to provide input on the letter. Specifically, the Ad-Hoc Committee members requested the following via a motion:
1. Schedule another Ad-Hoc Committee meeting with full City staff support including livestreaming of the meeting as the City Council meetings are streamed and advertised.
2. Set the Ad-Hoc Committee meetings for 7:00 p.m.
3. Promote the Ad-Hoc Committee and the survey on social media.
4. Have the Task Force...
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