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From: <br />Ian Walker <br />To: <br />PublicComment <br />Subject: <br />Public Comment for June 15 Meeting <br />Date: <br />Monday, June 15, 2020 5:04:45 PM <br />Hi, my name is Ian. <br />I am asking the council not to reappoint Jim Dudley to the parks commission. <br />There are several qualified candidates, so I would be particularly concerned if one of <br />these seats was set aside for Mr. Dudley. <br />In a time when people are increasingly uncomfortable with police presence, including <br />here in Redwood City, Mr. Dudley has a long history of advocating for increased <br />policing of our communities, including aggressive so-called "preventative" measures <br />such as "broken windows" policing, which has long been used for racial profiling. <br />Shortly after several members of the community, including students and educators, <br />gave public comments to the City Council expressing concerns about police presence <br />(such as SROs) on school campuses and specifically pointing to an incident in which <br />a teacher was killed by an officer, Mr. Dudley recorded a podcast defending SROs <br />and rebutting calls for change. <br />Mr. Dudley has also collaborated with right-wing author Heather Mac Donald on her <br />book, The War on Cops, which smears the Black Lives Matter movement and praises <br />stop -and -frisk and other police tactics used to harass Black and brown communities. <br />(Mac Donald, whom Mr. Dudley frequently promotes on social media, is a recurring <br />guest on the Tucker Carlson show and has promoted government torture of <br />detainees, increased surveillance such as the PATRIOT Act, and other civil rights <br />abuses in the name of "law and order.") <br />On social media, Mr. Dudley has liked statements attacking affirmative <br />action and ethnic studies, advocating for locking up people with mental health issues, <br />praising the Trump administration's gutting of Obama-era campus rape reforms, and <br />even one titled "Sorry, feminists, men are better at Scrabble." <br />Our parks and public spaces, and the programs that utilize them, must be welcoming <br />places for all the members of our community, and Mr. Dudley is not the kind of voice <br />we want providing guidance on our beloved parks and recreation. <br />Thank you for your time, <br />-Ian <br />