Oakland Community Action Network (Oakland C.A.N.) needs you to call your Council Member and to endorse the ACORN!

ACORN: Alternative Currency for Oakland Residents and Neighbors. The seed for the Oak tree is called an acorn.

Here are the responsibilities and benefits for participants:

Workers, Residents, & Students:

*purchase ID/currency card for $10 – $15

*receive ACORN currency on the card worth $50 – $60 to start

*receive banking account associated with the card

*get discounts for the use of the card with merchants and the City

*manage the account by cell phone or over the internet

*load card at Point of Sale devices

*get 50% reduction in the cost of sending remittances to other countries

*freely convert US$ to ACORN

*receive part of pay in ACORN

*get official public ID recognized by the Police Department, banks, and other agencies

Merchants:

*accept the ACORN

*negotiate to partially pay employees in ACORN

*give discounts for customers that use the ACORN

*get discounts for all fees and costs to the City when business pays with ACORN

*become eligible for 0% merchants loans in both ACORNs and US$

*receive advertising and promotion from the marketing of the City to attract ACORN customers

City of Oakland:

*sanction official ID/currency card

*contract with Credit Union or other financial institution to mange the card and associated accounts

*make agreements with vendors and other agencies like the Peralta College District and the Oakland Public School District

*give discounts for all City fees and charges if paid in ACORN

*negotiate with unions and partially pay City employees in ACORN

*spend income (part of the 1.75% industry standard for use of electronic cards) from the use of the card on major publicity/marketing of the participating businesses and promote getting the card to residents, students, and neighbors

Financial Institution:

*become financial institution of record, take jurisdiction over ACORN accounts

*contract with electronic (debit) card service

*charge a flat fee, NOT interest, for loans of US$ that were converted to ACORN to participating merchants

*charge a “parking fee” on ACORN spending accounts to encourage ACORN currency circulation rather than hoarding

*receive additional accounts from participant individuals and merchants because of the convenience

*make 0% loans to participants in US $ or ACORN

Call your Council Member; tell them you want the ACORN local currency! Council Members:

Jane Brunner, 510-238-7001, jbrunner@Oaklandnet.com

Patricia Kernighan, 510-238-7002, pkernighan@Oaklandnet.com

*Jean Quan,  510-238-7004,   jquan@oaklandnet.com

Nancy Nadel, 510-238-7003, nnadel@Oaklandnet.com

Desley Brooks, 510-238-7006, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com

*Rebecca Kaplan, 510-238-7008, kaplanforoakland@gmail.com

Larry Reid, 510-238-700, lreid@oaklandnet.com

*Ignacio de la Fuente, 510-238-7005, idelafuente@oaklandnet.com

* thank these supporters

Also email wriles@pacbell.net or ojocan@gmail.com and join Oakland CAN

Cities for All: Integrating our Communities

August 21^st 2010, 9:00 AM

In the web: http://www.livestream.com/aliadi

Location: Clinica de la Raza, 3451 East 12^th st. Oakland CA 94601

The Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (ALIADI) Would like to cordially invite you to a national conference focusing on the social integration of marginalized communities by implementing a successful Municipal Identification Card Program.  Since we have not seen any commitment from the Obama administration to support a federal immigration reform this year for over 12 million immigrant workers, and even if it happens, these millions of workers will have to wait at the end of the line for many years.  We have been working on alternatives to integrate them and their families in our communities. We need to work on alternatives. As well, we encourage social workers and civil rights defenders who repeatedly face the bureaucratic wall of prejudice and discrimination against homeless, people of low income or in the trans identity process and other marginalized sectors, to join us.

The purpose of this conference is to highlight and explain the implementation of municipal identification cards as a tool for the social, economic and political integration of our communities.  As you have probably already learned there are currently two cities–New Haven CT and San Francisco, CA– in the United States that have adopted municipal identification card programs that offer ID/resident cards to all city residents.

These programs, initially pushed by the undocumented community have turned into inclusive, community-wide positive projects that help provide proper governmental identification cards to those that otherwise do not posses one.  For an array of reasons many in our cities often lack a valid government issued identification which prevents them from accessing bank accounts and libraries and exposes them to identification verifying issues with local police and businesses.  Many of these residents are already marginalized members of our community like those with low income, the homeless, youth, elderly, youth, LGBT,  domestic violence and immigrants; the lack of an ID only exacerbates and entrenches the economic and social marginalization that already exists.

For these and many other reasons we are hosting the third National Cyber-Conference; Cities for All: Integrating our Communities, to share the experience of the SF and Oakland ID Card programs, as well as other cities updates on similar projects like New Haven, and Trenton New Jersey, Chicago, Minneapolis, Marin County, Richmond, but also to brainstorm with you about how similar programs can be established in your cities to help integrate all our residents.  Such programs are legally valid and well within the general powers of our municipal governments.

At first the concept of a municipal ID may seem unnecessary.  However, in addition to providing an official ID to those who would otherwise lack one, groups working on these programs have learned that the implementation of municipal identification cards can creatively and effectively spur local economic activity and make our communities safer. For example, groups in Oakland local business and recreational activity discounts have been attached to the ID project, helping stimulate the economy. In New Haven, public safety has improved as individuals who were once afraid of being harassed for not having some form of identification, are now more willing to cooperate with police. In the case of San Francisco, cardholders have discounts in business and access Healthy San Francisco Program.

The Third National Cyber-Conference; Cities for All: Integrating our communities,  will be taking place on August 21^th 2010, Oakland California.

The conference’s main goals are to:

a)     Consolidate the implementation of municipal ID’s in different cities country wide. (In addition to the adoption of a municipal ID program in SF (there are four other cities where community organizations have been taken the lead to implement such a program)

b)    Present the numerous benefits of implementing a municipal ID program and demonstrate how such a program benefits marginalized sectors of society, including (but not limited to) low-income workers, the homeless, youth, elderly, LGBT, domestic violence victims and immigrants from every nationality

c)     Share current experiences of municipal programs already implemented and those that are under way with other organizations and political authorities from different states.

d)    Break barriers and convince, with valid justifications and facts, that the municipal ID card is the solution to many of the community problems.

e) Involve the participants in a national movement.

Conference Design:

a) Community panels: Experiences shared Community members

b) Back ground information: What is a Municipal ID Card? And FAQs

c) Overcoming barriers and introducing strategic planning.

d) Supporting new coalitions and offering community presentations.

e) Establish a timeline by which to launch a national movement.

Workshops/presentations Include:

• People Privacy-Inclusiveness
• Economic/Social/Political Context for Federal Law Immigration Reform.
• Identity and Safety.
• What is a Municipal ID Card and its Multiple Uses
• Legal Basis/ Municipal Government Legislation/ Yale Report.
• Grassroots Strategies to Integrate Our Communities.
• Local Commerce and Economic Sustainability for Marginalized Communities and new technologies.
• Overcoming Politics of Division Cross-Alliances.
• Implementation, Key Studies: New Haven/San Francisco/Oakland

Among the panelists we have confirmed: Journalist/Writer David Bacon, Phil Hutchins (Black Alliance for Immigration Reform, Nativo V Lopez, President of MAPA, Professor Raul Hinojosa, as well as elected officials from different cities.

A short list of endorsers include: ALIADI Bay Area Chapters, Black Alliance for Just Immigration Reform BAJI,  Oakland City ID Coalition, Centro Latino Cuzcatlan, Community in Action (Chicago), FMLN Northern California, General Brotherhood of Workers, Global Exchange, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, The California League for United Latin American Citizens LULAC, Mexican American Political Association MAPA, Marin Immigrant Rights Coalition MIRA, MUAI, Mujeres en Liderazgo )Minneapolis), National Latino Congreso, Nuestra Casa East Palo Alto.

We would be truly grateful if your organization joined us in this important effort to integrate our communities.  As the national conference date is coming up soon, please let us know as soon as possible if you will able to join us.

If you would like to support the integration of marginalized communities giving a presentation, endorsing or becoming a cosponsor, of this conference, please contact us to talk about the different ways you can collaborate.

Best regards,

Miguel Robles

Latin American Alliance for Immigrant Rights (ALIADI)

Founder/coordinator

415.368.1576

alianzalatinoamericana@gmail.com

ALIADI stands for the Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes, a network of community members throughout California who share information and resources to uphold the rights and social integration of our immigrant community.  www.aliadi.org

3746 39^th Avenue Oakland, CA 94619

510.530.2448

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

All of Oakland’s Mayoral Candidates Agree

Oakland, California                                                                        Contact: Wilson Riles

Wednesday, August 11, 210                                                      President Oakland C.A.N.

11:00 a.m.                                                                                       510-530-2448

In front of Oakland City Hall                                                       wriles@pacbell.net

The Oakland Community Action Network (Oakland C.A.N.) will be holding a press conference in front of the Oakland City Hall that will be attended by Terrence Candell, Greg Harland*, Orlando Johnson, Rebecca Kaplan, Don Mcleay, Don Perata*, Jean Quan, and Joe Tuman**. All of these mayoral candidates have stated some degree of support for the creation of a local currency. Each will speak briefly on their candidacies and their support for the Alternative Currency for Oakland Residents and Neighbors (ACORN). Most of the candidates will be filing their nomination papers with the City Clerk that Wednesday.

That these candidates can come together at the formal beginning of this campaign to recognize this area of agreement is a testament to the new ranked-choice voting system in Oakland. Oakland’s mayoral candidates can state clearly their agreements and disagreements without resorting to personal attacks and without “knee jerk” oppositional positions merely because of the position of another candidate.

Background:

Twenty-nine Oakland organizations endorsed the City ID/Value Storage Card and the City has received three vendor responses to the late March RFQ. A coalition of Oakland organizations have been working on the ID/local currency card for two years (http://oaklandcityidcard.org/). Oakland’s efforts built on the local identification card implementations in New Haven, Conn., and San Francisco, Ca. The debit card platform and the local currency function work synergistically with the City identification card to solve City implementation cost issues and many more complications. Not only will the card enhance the success of local small businesses but it also has the potential to resolve the City’s current budget deficit.

More than 60 communities in the US have had local currencies at one time or another. The E. F. Schumacher Society (http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/) is a national depository of information – including on the legality of local currencies. During times of economic crisis, interest in local currencies increases because of their proven ability to relieve economic distress in a micro-economy. Oakland’s micro-economy is currently being stressed. This is recognized by all the mayoral candidates.

Oakland C.A.N. does not see the ACORN as the solution to all of Oakland’s problems. The issues of poverty, institutional prejudice, and the damage of past injustices must be addressed. Oakland C.A.N. believes that Oakland’s future as a model city for the nation is forth coming. Oakland C.A.N. is happy to host this press conference and to stand with these mayoral candidates.

*These candidates had not confirmed their attendance at the time of the press release but they have stated their support for the ACORN.

**Have not confirmed attendance or support from this candidate at the time of the release.

###

The City of Oakland is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors and service providers who are able to provide or utilize their own systems to produce and distribute customized and secured Oakland Municipal Identification Cards with the capacity to facilitate certain payment functions and possibly interface with some of the existing City of Oakland systems.

To request a PDF copy of the RFQ, please contact the City of Oakland Department of Contracting and Purchasing, Contract Administration Division, at dcpca @ oaklandnet.com with “RFQ for Oakland ID Card” as the subject.
To become part of the RFQ email distribution list to receive future notifications/addendums, please contact Ms. Gwen McCormick, Supervisor, Department of Contracting and Purchasing, at gmccormick @ oaklandnet.com.

Technical Questions Submission Deadline:
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Technical questions must be submitted in writing and addressed to:
Ms. Fendy Guan - Management Assistant, Office of the City Clerk
One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 201, Oakland, CA 94612
Email: fguan @ oaklandnet.com
Fax: 510-238-6699

Proposals Submission Deadline: 
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @ 2:00pm
Deliver to Contract Administration Division Front Desk
Attn: Ms. LaTonda Simmons, City Clerk
c/o Contract Administration
250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3341, Oakland, CA 94612

Non-technical questions about the RFQ should be directed to Ms. Fendy Guan at 510-238-7979, fguan @ oaklandnet.com.

Questions about City Programs should be directed to Ms. Vivian Inman at 510-238-6261, vinman @ oaklandnet.com.

The City of Oakland is soliciting proposals from qualified vendors and service providers who are able to provide or utilize their own systems to produce and distribute customized and secured Oakland Municipal Identification Cards with the capacity to facilitate certain payment functions and possibly interface with some of the existing City of Oakland systems.

For more information or to request a PDF copy of the RFQ, please contact the City of Oakland Department of Contracting and Purchasing at dcpca@oaklandnet.com with “RFQ for Oakland ID Card” as the subject.

Pre-Submittal Meeting:
Monday, February 8, 2010 @ 10:00am
Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 2
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612

Submittals Due: 
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @ 2:00pm
Contract Administration Front Desk
250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3341
Oakland, CA 94612

This item is #15 on the Agenda which can be found at:
http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/meetings/2009/10/5803_A_Concurrent_Meeting_of_the_Oakland_Redevelopment_Agency___City_Council_09-10-20_Meeting_Agenda.pdf.

The Staff report is also available online at: http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/23251.pdf.

On October 13, 2009, the Finance and Management Committee received the report and directed Staff to move forward with an expanded RFP (request for proposals) to solicit proposals from:

- banking institutions for the issuance of Oakland’s ID/debit card

-  debit/ID cards systems providers

-  vendors who only provide ID cards systems

Staff was also directed to post the RFP on the City’s website and return by the end of the year with all the bid results and associated costs and fiscal analysis for each service provider’s proposal. The draft RFP will be shared with committee members.

The Coalition has serious concerns about the proposal that is being recommended by the City Staff, including:

1) It may put undocumented people at risk if no other features – such as debit functionality and merchant discounts – are incorporated.

2) If the option is not cost covering, it will cost Oakland taxpayers thousands of dollars and we know that cost covering options are available!

3) The card may cost up to $35 each. This would make the card inaccessible to our low income and no income residents.

The Coalition needs your support! Please join us this Tuesday, October 20 at 7 PM.

After almost two hours of public comment and discussion on the dais, the Oakland City Council approved the Oakland Municipal ID Card program last Tuesday, June 6, voting six in favor and one against with 1 abstention.

Under the leadership of Council Member Jean Quan and Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente, the Council heard the testimony of dozens of community members on how the ID card program could improve the lives of homeless, immigrant and transgender people, and despite concerns about the program’s possible upfront and ongoing costs, a majority of the Council voted to take this small but significant step in building unity and increasing public safety for all Oakland residents.

Please join us in thanking Vice Mayor De La Fuente, idelafuente@ oaklandnet. com, Council President Jane Brunner, jbrunner@oaklandnet .com, and Council Members Nancy Nadel, nnadel@oaklandnet. com, Rebecca Kaplan, atlarge@oaklandnet. com, Patricia Kernighan, pkernighan@oaklandn et.com, and Jean Quan, jquan@oaklandnet. com! The Oakland City ID Card Coalition (“OCCIC”) will continue working with City and Council staff, whom the Council directed to develop an implementation and cost-recovery plan over the next 8-12 weeks.

We encourage you to contact your representative to thank them — or in the case of Council Members Larry Reid (District 7), lreid@oaklandnet. com, who abstained, or Desley Brooks (District 6), dbrooks@oaklandnet. com, who voted against the program — to express your disappointment in their judgment that the City’s fiscal crisis required them not to support the Municipal ID Card program.

Oakland’s wealth is her people, and to flourish, the people need official recognition of our valuable presence.

With love, in solidarity,

Oakland City ID Card Coalition c/s

Endorsed by numerous community organizations, elected officials and Oakland residents, http://oaklandcityidcard.org/endorsements/, the Oakland Municipal ID Card program is a way for the City of Oakland to increase public safety and help build unity amongst its diverse residents, especially those whom are structurally marginalized and therefore often lacking government-issued proof of identity, e.g., people who are poor, homeless, immigrants, transgender or transsexual, adult survivors of domestic violence or run-away youth.

The municipal ID card program may also include features to increase banking amongst Oakland residents and could facilitate the development of buy-local campaigns or a local currency.

For background information, see the City Staff report from last week’s Finance & Management Committee meeting, http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/22071.pdf, or the OCICC proposal, http://oaklandcityidcard.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/oakland-city-id-card-proposal-april-final.pdf.

For recent media reports, see:

• http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/coalition_seeks_oakland_id_card/Content?oid=830851
• http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_12454593?source=email
• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/05/27/BAN217RDG8.DTL

If you plan to attend, please let us know, at oaklandcityidcard@gmail.com, so we can coordinate comments.

With love, in solidarity,

Oakland City ID Card Coalition
c/s

Friends, the Oakland ID/currency Card is on the agenda of the City Council Finance Committee for May 26 at 12:00 p.m. at the City Hall. It will probably follow on the full City Council agenda for June 2 at 6:00 p.m. at the Oakland City Hall.

It is time to mobilize to let the Council know that each and every one of us wants the Council to pass this proposal of the Oakland City Identification Card Coalition (OCICC).

We are holding a organizing meeting on Friday, May 15, at 6:00 p.m at the Eastside Arts Alliance. There will be food. The Eastside Arts Alliance is at 2277 International Blvd (near 23rd Ave) in Oakland. Below is the proposed agenda. Please come or send a representative. First we will review the history and the details of the proposal and answer any questions; then we will put the issue in context for local, regional, and national organizing efforts; we will ask for commitments for action and attending the Committee and full Council meetings to be present and testify.
 
If you have any questions, please email us at oaklandcityidcard@gmail.com.
 
AGENDA
6:00 p.m. SHARP
I.                    Welcome                                                                                                     5 min.
II.                  Power Point on ID (Maria Dominguez)                                           15 min.
III.                Currency DVD                                                                                           15 min.
IV.                Questions & Answers                                                                              15 min.
V.                  History of Oakland Proposal                                                               20 min.
                        a.       Supporters
                        b.      Politics
                        c.       Expectations
VI.                Regional, State, National implications                                            15 min.
VII.              Making Commitments to call, email, surveys, literature distribution, attend the Council Committee, and attend the full Council Meeting                                                                                 10 min.
7:45 p.m. SHARP

¡PASA LA VOZ! Diles a todos…

Amigas/os, la propuesta para crear una tarjeta ID de Oakland está en la agenda del Comité Financiero del Concilio Municipal de Oakland para el 26 de mayo a las 12:00 p.m. en City Hall. Es probable que pase a la agenda mayor del Concilio Municipal para el 2 de junio a las 6:00 p.m. en City Hall.

Es tiempo de movilizarnos para que el Concilio sepa que cada uno de nosotros queremos que pasen la propuesta de la Coalición de la Ciudad de Oakland para una Tarjeta de Identificación / Oakland City ID Card Coalition (OCICC).

Tendremos una reunión este viernes, 15 de mayo a las 6:00 p.m. en Eastside Arts Alliance. Habra comida. Eastside Arts Alliance está ubicada en 2277 International Blvd (y la 23rd Ave) en Oakland. Por favor vengan o manden un representante. Primero repasaremos la historia y detalles de nuestra propuesta y contestaremos preguntas. Luego pondremos este asunto en el contexto de esfuerzo local, regional, y nacional. Pediremos su compromiso de acción y presencia en las reuniones del Comité Financiero y Concilio Municipal para dar testimonios.
Si tienen preguntas, por favor escribanos a oaklandcityidcard@gmail.com.

AGENDA
6:00 p.m. EN PUNTO
I.                    Bienvenida                                                                                                5 min.
II.                  Presentación PowerPoint sobre ID (Maria Dominguez)        15 min.
III.                DVD sobre moneda local                                                                    15 min.
IV.                Preguntas y respuestas                                                                        15 min.
V.                  Historia de la Propuesta ID de Oakland                                        20 min.
                         a.       Apoyo
                         b.      Política 
                         c.       Expectativas
VI.                Implicación Regional, Estatal, Nacional                                      15 min.
VII.              Compromisos a llamar, email, encuestas, distribuir folletos, asistir reunión de Comité Financiero, asistir reunión General del Concilio Municipal                                                             10 min.
7:45 p.m. EN PUNTO

See you on Friday, May 15th!    ¡Nos vemos el viernes, 15 de mayo!

Oakland Vice Mayor Ignacio De La Fuente and City Council Member Jean Quan are working with OCICC to review a draft ordinance and staff report on the Oakland City ID Card at a 5/12/09 City Council Committee meeting.

OCICC calls on all supporters of the Oakland City ID Card to attend the 5/12 committee meeting and voice support for this important way to help unify Oakland.

The lack of acceptable identification can limit access to services and resources needed by marginalized members of our community such as immigrant, youth, elderly, homeless, domestic violence survivor and transgender individuals.

Recognizing them as members of our community is not only humane. Providing an official government-issued identification card to all Oakland residents has many potential benefits, including the following points taken from the OCICC ID Card Proposal:

• Full participation of all residents in civic affairs.
• Access of all residents to local resources such as libraries and museums.
• Ability of all residents to participate in local commerce such as opening a bank account, establishing credit, accessing loans, etc.
• Improvement in public safety by easing barriers to crime reporting and witness cooperation.
• Security for children, youth, and the elderly, who may not have other identification such as a valid driver’s license.
• Discounts from City institutions such as the zoo, museums, etc., from local small businesses, and eventually from public transit.
• The ability to be used as a debit card to carry a potential new local Oakland currency, the “ACORN“.

Further information on the benefits of the municipal identification card is available in English and Spanish.

Over 30 organizations and individuals have endorsed the Oakland City ID Card. Join us, there is strength in numbers!  The Peralta Community College District also passed a resolution in support of the proposed ID card.

Support unity, decency, compassion and respect in city government, and help Oakland become a model of 21st century American city life! Click on this link to get a form letter which you can fill out and email to us at OaklandCityIDCard@gmail.com.

Click here for the history of the Oakland City ID Card Coalition.

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