FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2003

Contact: Julie Callahan, (408) 374-2668, (408) 981-4134 (cell)
South Bay Mobilization to Stop the War, (498) 998-8504

SAN JOSE CITY COUNCIL TO VOTE ON ANTI-WAR RESOLUTION

WITH WAR POSSIBLE ONE DAY AFTER VOTE, CITY’S STATEMENT TAKES ON NEW SIGNIFICANCE

On Tuesday, March 18th, the San Jose City Council will vote on a resolution opposing a U.S. war on Iraq. With predictions that the U.S. will attack Iraq as soon as Wednesday, the national atmosphere is tense, and many fear that discussion and debate about the war will be silenced once it begins. Yet, San Jose residents still plan to pack Council chambers in support of the bill, seeing the City’s support for a peaceful resolution as more important than ever.

“Bush has simply stopped listening to the American people,” said Louise Auerhahn, one of the resolution’s supporters. “Our local governments are one of the few places left where ordinary citizens still have a voice. We must use that voice to send a strong message: that preemptive war is immoral, that killing innocent people is wrong, and that our government’s attention should be on supporting education and healthcare, on helping people who’ve been laid off, on reviving the economy – not on playing political games with hundreds of thousands of lives.”

If the Council approves the resolution, San Jose will join over 150 cities and counties across the U.S. which have passed resolutions against the war, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Austin, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Boston and Washington DC. Santa Clara County passed a similar resolution last month, after two meetings in which the anti-war resolution received overwhelming public support.

The San Jose resolution has already passed two hurdles – approval by the Human Rights Commission and passage by the Rules Committee. In Rules, committee Chair Pat Dando initially moved to “note and file” without taking any action on referral to the full council for a vote. But with supporters filling the meeting room and spilling out into the hallway and with the support of Council members Chavez and Campos a motion was made and seconded to place the resolution on Tuesday’s agenda. Over 1,000 residents have signed their names and addresses to a petition supporting the resolution, as well as making calls and sending delegations to speak directly with their Council members.

In addition to opposing war, the resolution also expresses support for American soldiers. “I admire and honor the commitment of our people in the military,” said Steve Peck. “What Bush is doing to them – abusing that trust and commitment, putting their lives at risk for nothing but political gain – it’s horrifying. We need to bring our troops home now.”

The City Council meeting is Tuesday, March 18th at 1:30 pm. It will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 801 N. 1st Street.

South Bay Mobilization to Stop the War: http://www.sanjosepeace.org/sbmsw.htm
‘Cities for Peace” listing of local antiwar resolutions across the U.S.: http://www/citiesforpeace.org

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