Dear Friends,
 
Our nation faces one of its most grave crises. We are watching the chief executive amass unprecedented power, defying the rule of law. Nothing in our history has prepared us for this challenge to our Constitution, to our statutes, to our interactions among the branches of government.  We are fighting for the soul of democracy.  No one can stay idle in the face of this challenge.
 
I was born in the early wave of the post war “baby boom”. I grew up with “Holocaust Consciousness” followed quickly by awareness of post-war threats to our own democracy in the wave of anti-communist fervor from many in Congress and society. Then came a growing awareness of the evils of Jim Crow segregation.  To say I was a scared little kid would be an understatement.  I remember my parents watching the Army-McCarthy hearings, not understanding much other than the danger to innocent people, Hearing my parents and their friends talk about those threats to democracy and equality, to justice and fairness was pretty overwhelming.  
 
I have dreaded the day I’d have to find my courage to stand up against something as evil and scary as fascism had been in Europe. Would I have what it takes to resist? To be as brave as Miep Gies who hid the Frank family? To defy authority in the name of democracy and of my faith in Jesus’ teachings on justice for all people?  
 
In 2003, just before the start of US bombing of Iraq, I participated in an 8-state convening against hate crimes that even then were on the rise. The last night we saw a film about German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his anti-fascist resistance during the Third Reich.  In the discussion that followed, the group leader said, “Be prepared from here on, to lay down your life for what you believe.” When asked what that meant, he said, “Devote your life to standing for justice. And, if needed, to lay down your life for that purpose.”  
 
It was incredibly sobering and frightening to hear this. Would we need to do this? In America?
 
We at the Council of Churches have tried to live by that principle: lay down your life for what you believe.  Some of you know that we have been under siege from vandalism and threats for doing exactly that. Some of our denominational affiliates have been contacted by extremists demanding they drop out of the Council, always by those who detest our stands for equality and for justice. No one has dropped out, and the retaliation, while minor, has resulted in vandalism, stalking, threats. 
 
And yet we have stayed the course. Did we have any real alternative?
 
Now we call on all of you to do whatever you can for love of our fellow human beings, for the preservation of democracy, for the protection of the rule of law.
 
Remember the “Faithful Five Minutes” of calls to your elected officials every day. Bolster the strong, chastise the weak. Speak up and out for justice and our Constitution. 
 
Rally when you are able. Join diverse coalitions of immigrant rights groups, labor, racial justice groups, civil rights groups, and diverse faiths then go to your representatives’ and senators’ offices, both federal and state level.  Fight for the rule of law. Stand against oppression.  Keep abreast of current events. Speak out where needed. Your voice is powerful. 
 
We are struggling to keep the soul of our nation intact. This is the greatest threat we have faced since the Civil War.  Today as I write, it is the 154thanniversary of the Confederate surrender, the Army of Virginia, to the forces of the Union Army at Appomattox. It saved the nation.  Can we do this again, this time we hope without the bloodshed?  
 
Only our actions through law can prevent another civil war, another rise of dictatorial power, another threat to democracy and our constitution.
 
I may be retired, but I will never stop working against injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.

Please do whatever you can, however you can, for as long as you can.  Our nation’s survival is on the line.
 
Thank you. Blessings on all you do.
 
Elizabeth Sholes
Director Emerita Public Policy

Dear Friends,

The deadline to register for the November 6 general election in California is October 22.  To check your registration status, please go here.    

If you or friends need to register or re-register, please visit the Secretary of State sites.  
For general voter registration information, please see here. 
To register or re-register, find the online forms here. 

Can you host a voter registration table at your congregation or community organization?  You may download and print the registration application and help people fill it out, sign it, and return it by mail.  It must be postmarked October 22 by midnight or earlier.

If you are interested in the IMPACT ballot guide, our recommendations on the propositions, please find them here. 

If you wish to continue in a language other than English, please select your language below.

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The upcoming election is important on all matters.  Please make sure you are registered and then vote on or before November 6. 
​
Your vote is how democracy thrives!

Thank you!

Homelessness across the nation is on the decline, but in California it is on the rise.  2.2 million low income households are competing for 664,000 affordable rentals statewide. Homelessness is on the rise.  The problem is not solving itself as cities and counties eliminate requirements for very low-income affordable housing.  Even with the state’s minimum wage increases, positive impacts are offset by skyrocketing housing costs. 
 
This proposition raises $4 billion in general obligation bonds (repayable from the General Fund) for housing programs. It builds on three legislative bills and Proposition 41 we passed in 2014.  Proposition 1 expands the eligible populations and affirms the state’s commitment to ending homelessness for individuals and families including for First Nations people who have been omitted in the past.

Known as the “No Place Like Home” proposition, this does not spend new money.  We passed this via Proposition 63 in 2016.  What Proposition 2 does is rectify a weakness in that vote that has put a court hold on enacting Prop. 63.  Prop. 63 used “the millionaire’s tax” for mental health treatments and supports that we had passed in 2004.  It did not, per the courts, adequately permit a diversion of funding from treatment to housing.  Proposition 2 will give the necessary legal “clean up” of our intent in passing Proposition 63 to allow creation of housing for those with mental illnesses along with supportive services for their mental health issues.
​

Since 1960 California has proposed 21 water bonds, 20 of which have passed. One of them voters passed in 2014 is largely though not totally expended. What funds remain are already encumbered.  The most recent was Proposition 68 that was approved by voters in the June 208 primary. Clearly those funds have not been used, but while Prop. 68 had some water elements, there is very little overlap in the purposes of each of the two bonds.  
 
Unlike most bonds, the funds raised will go directly to the departments and agencies responsible for the covered projects.  That means none of the money will go to the Legislature that might then be diverted to other uses. The money will be distributed to local government, non profits, First Nations tribes, etc. on the basis of grants, some of which will require matching local funds.  There has been almost no federal assistance to California’s water issues in many years. The bond specifically bars use of this bond’s revenues for the proposed Twin Tunnels water diversion project.  
 
Prop. 3 covers safe drinking water, improved management of groundwater, wastewater recycling coupled with groundwater desalting and conservation, storm water management, increased water supplies for improved fish and wildlife habitat, watershed improvement and fire damage recovery, flood management, improved river parkways and urban streams, Bay Area water management integration.  Restoration of the Friant-Kern Canal, damaged from ground subsidence due to groundwater depletion, and repair of the Oroville Dam are included.  While farmers should pay for restoration, it must first be done. Then the issues of liability can be litigated.
 
Overall, accessible water supplies will increase due to improved storage and conservation plans.  It is estimated that the state will create 1.5 million acre feet of new water supply, enough for 3 million families.  Every area of California is assisted with the same regard for prioritizing economically disadvantaged areas that was done in the June Prop. 68 water and parks allocation. 
 
This is a comprehensive, thoughtful set of priorities emphasizing conservation, recycling, and wise use of scarce water resources that should improve the state’s water stability for years to come.

This measure will authorize $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds to build, renovate, expand, and equip up-to-date non-profit and public hospitals that serve the health care needs of infants and children.  The distribution is 72% to seven non-profit hospitals, 18% to five University of California general acute hospitals, and 10% to public and private hospitals that provide services to children eligible for California Children’s Services.  
 
Bond funding for bricks-and-mortar or durable equipment is a good investment.  As technology expands in pediatrics, the children of California should have access to the highest standards of care. These bond funds will permit statewide access in most regions to that standard of care. ​

​Proposition 5 seeks to give tax reductions to people with disabilities and those over 55.  In principle this is a good measure useful in a high priced housing market. California’s existing property tax law from the 1978 Proposition 13 has kept those taxes quite low, especially for those with older homes in which they have resided for many years.  But those buying today find the new taxes very high, pegged to the market value of far more expensive homes.
 
The problem comes when people need to move when they are older or disability strikes.  These events tend to come with a reduction in income.  The soaring home sale prices in the state make it harder for people to find smaller, handicapped –access-friendly or lower maintenance accommodations that aren’t considerably more expensive with higher property taxes than they have been paying. That makes them “house rich” but “income poor”. While people may sell their existing home for profit to buy a new one, the monthly outlay on new, higher taxes may be prohibitive.  Eleven counties now give a tax reduction to people with disabilities or those over 55. This measure would direct all counties to honor that reduction so that people would be free to move.  
 
Counties are concerned that this would reduce a critical tax base and do harm to their public school funding as well.  There are reasons why that is accurate and reasons why that may not be true since old houses would be sold at market value, But the concern as expressed by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is for a $1 billion loss to counties annually.
 
The problems with this measure lie in the deep confusion of poorly worded guidelines.  Our IMPACT Board came to very different conclusions about what different section meant, and making clear there would be many unintended consequences likely.  There are clauses that make it seem this break is renewable and others stating it is a one- time claim.  It appears to be hereditable which is a serious flaw. 
 
With these poorly-delineated guidelines and uncertain standards, IMPACT supports the principle but cannot recommend this proposition, no matter how good the intent.