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 and 16, 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 Ta...
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