Redwood City starts listening

A total of six virtual town halls will be hosted by the city and moderated by the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, a communication and dispute resolution nonprofit based in San Mateo. Up to 80 participants will be allowed to register for one of the six sessions to allow for a greater amount of dialogue. 

During Tuesday’s virtual session, PCRC staff divided the nearly 70 participants into 10 smaller groups of six to eight individuals whose conversations were guided by a PCRC facilitator. Participants were prompted to speak from personal experience about life in Redwood City and the changes they would like to see. City officials who participated in the sessions sat quietly and observed, said Howard. 

“We did what we were told to do. Sometimes it was hard because someone would say something that just wasn’t true. There’s a lot of people in the community who don’t have the updated information and [understanding that] will help us moving forward,” said Howard. 

Following the breakout sessions, facilitators reported out what group members shared. Many concerns raised during the town hall echoed similar community comments expressed over the past few months in response to nationally growing civil unrest over racial inequities and the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Residents called for the reallocation of police funding, suggesting those dollars go toward affordable housing initiatives, mental health programs and education. Some also called for the development of an independent oversight committee responsible for investigating community complaints about Redwood City police officers. 

Participants also called for greater transparency from the city and police department, and suggested that officials provide quarterly reports detailing data on use of force, overtime pay and hours and what number of officers reside within the city they patrol. 

Beyond demanding substantial changes from within the force, community members also expressed interest in better diversifying the city whether that be reflected in city leadership or neighborhood demographics. Some also called for community events to be held like book clubs and movie nights to provide learning opportunities for those interested. 

Additionally, some community participants called for the city to “rectify” the removal of the “Black Lives Matter” mural once painted across Broadway. Just before the town hall, Councilwoman Giselle Hale took to her Facebook account to make “some good, necessary trouble” in honor of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. She announced she would be submitting a referral asking the council to formally erect a “Black Lives Matter” mural within the city. 

Howard expressed interest in Hale’s recommendation and said she’s open to the conversation which will be held during the Aug. 10 City Council meeting. She added she would like for the Communications Sub-Committee, chaired by councilmembers Ian Bain, Borgens and Hale, to look into policies around public art displays. 

Howard also said further policy and budget changes will be made moving into late September and early October when the budget for the fiscal year 2020 to 2021 will be presented to the council. A full report on what community concerns were shared along with suggestions for policy changes will be presented to the council by PCRC before the budget to help influence policy making. 

“The people in our community really do love our city for many different reasons. There was no one there who didn’t love our community but they wanted to see us do things better, to talk about difficult things like do we have bias and what we can do to change that bias,” said Howard. 

An additional English session, with Spanish translation will be Aug. 17 from 6-9 p.m. followed by a youth session being held Aug. 13 from 3-5 p.m. Two Spanish sessions, with English translations, will also be held, one from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 8 and another Aug. 27 from 6-8 p.m. 

Visit www.redwoodcity.org/departments/police-department/about-us/at-a-glance for more information.