VICTORY!
4 - 2 defeat
The Pomona City Council Voted AGAINST the proposed moratorium that would have stopped the impounding of only illegal alien drivers' vehicles.
   
4 NO VOTES Mayor Eilliot Rothman, Council Members Adriana Robledo, Paula Lantz and Ginna Escobar
http://www.ci.pomona.ca.us/index.php/government/city-council
 
2 YES VOTES Council Members John Nolte and Cristine Carrizosa
Council Member Debra Martin was not present.
VICTORY BACKGROUND
The force behind the defeat of the moratorium in Pomona is the group Citizens for a Better Pomona, which Carol Schlaepfer heads up. When the moratorium was introduced, Carol and her group mobilized opposition within Pomona and then reached out to coalitions such as We The People Rising, NCIR and the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, in a show of community strength.
The above photo is from the March 2014 Pomona City Council Meeting. This photo represents the organized groups and well-funded efforts that Carol and the Citizens for a Better Pomona were up against and, ultimately, were able to defeat. View a photo, at right, of Carol and some of the members of Citizens for a Better Pomona.
POMONA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Those attendees opposed to the Moratorium for illegal alien drivers filled up the front rows.
Since it was the night of the vote, it was a packed house. Illegal aliens and their support groups, such as the Latino/Latino Round Table of San Gabriel Valley held a protest in front of the city chambers and then proceeded to the city council chambers.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
During public comments, Adrienne Murphy talked about her personal story and her "surviving" the car crash caused by an illegal alien. Next, she read a prepared letter about Drew Rosenberg that his father Don Rosenberg had submitted. Don Rosenberg is a nationally recognized expert on the issue of unlicensed drivers. Visit his website: http://unlicensedtokill.org/ Time ran out, so Adrienne did not read the entire letter. She presented a copy of the letter to Mayor Rothman, at the end of the meeting. Robin Hvidston displayed a poster of Drew Rosenberg as Adrienne addressed the city council.
The Moratorium was #17 on the agenda and was not discussed until after 9pm. There were 29 public speakers on the issue and when the speakers finished, the 2 city council members who supported the Moratorium spoke at length.
The meeting did not end until 11:30pm.
Of the 29 speakers, approximately 16 spoke out in opposition, and 13 were in favor of the Moratorium. 8 of the speakers who opposed the Moratorium were the first to speak out because they had attended the previous city council meeting when the Moratorium was continued to May 19th.
Carol was the first public speaker and gave an excellent opening address on the topic. Robert Lauten, Chairman of the Board NCIR, was the second speaker, who offered well-researched opposition to specific sections in the resolution. James Baca, of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, spoke on the theme that the resolution "just plain stinks." Robin Hvidston, Executive Director of We The People Rising, said she represented Pomona members and pointed out that both Adrienne Murphy and Drew Rosenberg were the real victims, not unlicensed, illegal alien drivers. Loree Messino, spoke about the lawless aspects of the Moratorium. Others such as Harv, Betty, and Gia attended the city council meeting but did not speak during public comments.
The meeting was so long - it began at about 7:15pm and did not end until 11:30pm - that Carol passed out string cheese to those in her group - a quiet snack, to bolster up energy...
Raymond Herrera of California Crusaders spoke out against the Moratorium in very strong language. He said the dead Americans' blood was on the hands of the mayor if the resolution should pass, and he called out previous public comment segments he had with pro-illegal alien Council Member Cristina Carrizosa. He said that the words Latino and Hispanic were invented in order to cover for the illegal aliens and that the American people are rising up and when they do, mayors like Mayor Rothman will be the first to be voted out. At about that point, Mayor Rothman called for police officers and Raymond Herrera was escorted out of the meeting. As he was walking up the aisle, he loudly said he was not a Latino, but rather, a proud American of Mexican descent.
The mayor said one of the reasons he had Raymond Herrera removed from the meeting was because public speakers are not to single out an individual person or council member.
Later, when a pro-illegal alien speaker at the podium turned to and looked at Carol and referenced her, Carol said to the mayor, "I want him removed like you had Raymond Herrera removed!"
But the mayor did not remove the public speaker who singled out Carol.
Several of the speakers in favor of the Moratorium required Spanish interpreters. One of the attorneys who assisted with the writing of the resolution, praised the Moratorium. Other leaders from various groups such as the Pomona Economic Development Center, the city operated day labor center, spoke out.
The public comments ended at approximately 11pm.
Council Member John Nolte who supported the Moratorium spoke for about 15 minutes - and often repeated the same theme - that families were suffering and could not put food on the table for families without a vehicle. Council Member Cristina Carrizosa also spent a great deal of time promoting the Moratorium and made statements about victims, etc in an attempt to "shame" her fellow council members into casting a yes vote.
Council Member Paula Lantz referenced public safety as did Council Member Ginna Escobar. Council Member Adriana Robledo talked about following the law and upholding her oath and the U.S. Constitution.
Finally, Police Chief Capraro was asked to speak. He stated that he opposed the Moratorium.
After the police chief spoke, Mayor Rothman called for a vote and the resolution when down to defeat by a 4-2 margin. It was a time to celebrate for those who opposed the Moratorium - spontaneous applause and shouts of joy filled the chambers!
DISPLAYING STOLEN LIVES QUILTS
After the city council meeting ended, the Stolen Lives Quilts were displayed in the foyer of city council chambers.
http://www.theremembranceproject.org/
GREAT JOB - what a success - THANK YOU to Carol and the Citizens for a Better Pomona and to all the coalition members who participated in this victory!
 
NCIR
www.NCIRAction.org.
https://www.numbersusa.com/content/
http://www.fairus.org/
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ROBIN HVIDSTON