Join us for our May meeting: La Mesa Council Members Parent & Shu, criminal justice reform advocate David Myers

We’re excited to see you Wednesday evening, May 5, for a fantastic meeting talking about police and criminal justice reform, local planning issues, and more, with guest speakers La Mesa Council Members Colin Parent and Jack Shu, as well as Dave Myers, a criminal justice reform advocate and former commander of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department.

We’ll kick things off with Parent and Shu, talking about local issues, starting with police reform. The La Mesa Mayor and City Council tapped 11 members for a Community Police Oversight Board, working with an independent police auditor to investigate serious incidents and misconduct complaints involving La Mesa police officers, which included rioting in downtown La Mesa, with heavy property damage that included the destruction of two bank buildings.

Also on the agenda: Climate action. La Mesa was one of the first cities in San Diego County to adopt a Climate Action Plan. What concrete measures are being taken to mitigate the climate catastrophe on a local level.

We’ll check in on the La Mesa City Council Homeless Action Plan, adopted in February. How is the city working to reduce homelessness?

What plans are being developed to ease traffic congestion around construction of apartments and condos on University Avenue? What are other traffic and transit plans for San Diego?

And we’ll talk about plans to replace Dr. Akilah Weber, a city council member who was recently elected to represent the state 79th Assembly District.

Then we’ll be joined by David Myers, former commander and 33-year veteran of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, and criminal justice reform advocate. Myers was the highest ranking openly gay employee in the department, and ran for sheriff in 2018 against his boss and 9-year-incumbent, Bill Gore. Myers was fired for his candidacy.

Myers says: “Two years ago, when I was running for San Diego County sheriff, many of my fellow law enforcement officers lambasted me for appearing in a photo with a woman holding a Black Lives Matter sign at a Transgender Day of Remembrance event. I was excoriated for being anti-police, accused of supporting anarchists and judged unworthy of wearing the law enforcement badge. My response then, as now, was that until our police chiefs, sheriff and elected officials acknowledge their role in perpetuating systemic racism in law enforcement and policing, there can be no real, sustainable change toward a truly equitable criminal justice system.”

Myers is working to expose Sheriff Gore as incompetent. Abuses include hundreds of jail deaths, millions paid in unlawful death lawsuits, deputies with multiple sexual misconducts charges, and failure to release the names of people who died in jail to families for up to 6 months.

The meeting’s at 7 pm Wednesday May 5 on Zoom, with social time starting at 6:30 pm.

Here’s the Zoom URL.

Or watch on our YouTube channel.