by Luther Thie
“I voted Hell No on the CR,” said Congresswoman Lateefah Simon at her Oakland High School town hall on Friday evening. “I was extremely sad and disappointed and outraged at Senate Democrats who didn’t do the right thing. The small piece of leverage we had one week ago…I don’t know what they were thinking.” She said the CR is basically a pack of lies that are illegal, and hands the power of Congress over to the President.
With these words, the crowd that largely filled the auditorium cheered — it was obvious we have a strong leader in Congress that will represent blue District 12. She spoke with passion about how much she cares for the diverse and working people in her district as she fired off quotes about fighting back against the “evil” in Washington. She continued with her vision to move forward with progressive policies — protecting Medicaid and Medicare, pushing for “health care when we need it, not just when it’s an emergency,” doubling teachers’ salaries and limiting class sizes to 30.
But she also made clear that it’s not going to be easy, especially when an attendee asked about protecting immigrants. In consultation with rights groups, they have told her we are in a dangerous time. She said we need to stand with our immigrant neighbors against the deputized agents intent on deportation. And we need to support judges who are fighting to block illegal actions by the administration.
An audience questioner noted the firings of the JAGs and how they were the check on pushing back on Trump firing on the George Floyd protesters and how Oakland may be vulnerable to an unleashed President. Rep. Simon didn’t have much of a response, although she had said earlier that “I have so much faith in the NGO space. The organizers, the movement lawyers, I believe they are going to save this nation, along with the people on the ground, along with our dreamers, along with our folks who believe in a Constitution that is not necessarily being implemented right now. I wish I could say something different.”
Simon’s new Oakland office has opened and she promised to use it as an organizing space, to visit often and be a strong voice for District 12. Indivisible was mentioned twice as putting pressure on her and she appreciates this. The vibe in the room was supportive, appreciative, but nervous. Simon used this town hall to show us that she is accountable and listening to this community. She encouraged us to stay engaged with her office so she can be the voice we need for this moment.
To hear an audio recording of the town hall, click here (you may have to wait a minute for the audio file to load before it will play).
