Friends, this is an open discussion page supporting our Resolutions Project. Please offer a comment, report in on your work or ask questions below. The team at Hopium and Dr. Deborah Potter will get back to you, as will other members of this community of proud, plucky patriots.
Thank you, Simon, for providing this page for open discussion about resolutions of condemnation of the executive branch! It is an efficient way for Hopium subscribers to contact one another to share information about our progress and to help one another.
The Bernalillo County Commission's resolution was introduced, debated and passed / approved (by final vote of 4:1 as revised) at a public hearing on June 24, 2025. A two-step process is required, although the approved resolution is final. It will be finally adopted (read aloud; signed by the Commissioners, County Attorney and County Clerk) at the next meeting on August 4 at 5 pm. I plan to give oral comment to thank them.
In contrast, the Santa Fe County Commission used a one-step hearing process, so the introduction, debate, vote of approval and final adoption were all done at one hearing. The Commissions do not meet during the month of July, delaying the hearing in Doña Ana County until August.
Hi Deborah! I reached out to you a few weeks ago with contact info I found somewhere (!?), but didn't hear a response...is there any chance you might be willing to talk with me about how you went about making this happen in NM? That would be very helpful.. I'm a longtime political activist who has done all kinds of political activism, but I've never composed a piece of legislation...my email is nancysbruski@gmail.com
Statement of harms by the maga administration identified in the Santa Fe County resolution that was adopted at hearing:
Officials or agencies of the executive branch have taken action that is outside of their constitutional or statutory authority or is otherwise unlawful, including, but not limited to:
imposing tariffs and duties; unilaterally dismantling federal programs, spending, and personnel without congressional approval; categorically freezing congressionally appropriated and obligated funds, including Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) funds, Department of Health and Human Services grants, and highway planning and construction funds; unilaterally creating and filling an office; usurping Congress’s power to legislate under the Elections Clause and interfering with State’s inherent sovereignty and constitutional power to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections; and declaring that birthright citizenship does not extend to any child born in the United States to a mother who is unlawfully present or lawfully present on a temporary basis and a father who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
Statement of harms identified in the Bernalillo County resolution that was approved at hearing:
The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners believes the unconstitutional consolidation of power in the Executive Branch by Executive Orders and willful misdeeds are such as but not limited to: the revocation of birthright citizenship; freezing of federal spending approved by Congress; shuttering of federal agencies; demonstrating a pattern of usurping the duties of the legislative branch; violating due process rights of persons in the United States; infringing upon civil service protections for federal employees; threatening deportation and/or prosecution based on political views; ignoring or disobeying judicial mandates; politicizing law enforcement and the military; and generally expressing contempt for the separation of powers, freedom of speech, and equal justice under the law.
Here is Boston's, which will pass in a couple of weeks. It's been blocked with a procedural move so far by a Councilor who's been blocking all sorts of things lately, so much so that the Boston Globe wrote a whole article on his current obstructionist mode.
Part of the point is passing Resolutions, but I think even more important are all the activities that working on a Resolution offers - the discussions about foundational principles of democracy and current harms that we can have prior or after any vote with community members and with elected officials.
Our Resolution has not passed yet in Boston, but even so we featured it in our Good Trouble Lives On event with a call-and-response reading of it with three City Councilors. The article (linked below) describes the event (and mistakenly refers to me as Rev - that's pretty funny). The reading was really moving.
We also had an oversized version of the Resolution on the center portion of a tri-fold board(see the photo below) that we intended to have standing up, but given the wind, was duct-taped to a table instead. People dedicated and signed it via sticky-notes, as in "for my grandchildren, signature," "for NPR, signature," etc. The Board is now on display at our City Councilor's office.
This is a great idea, really helpful to have all of this information in one accessible place, and to have a place to get help or kick ideas around. Here's a google folder with what has been submitted to the Sacramento Board of Supervisors, including the CA Attorney General citations (equivalent to the New Mexico citations Deborah used), a version of the resolution based heavily on the New Mexico one, and the email I used to submit it to the Chair last week, which has so far gone unanswered. Have to finish up postcards today but will follow up tomorrow or Monday with a call and email to the Chair's office.
I'm excited for this chat room. I am working in two seperate jurisdictions; Monterey County (MoCo) and Santa Clara County (SCC) which are roughly an hour's drive from one another.. The Santa Clara County resolution is linked here and we reached final draft earlier this week. I live in district 4 and another Hopium member, Bobbie, lives in district 5. We are each approaching our seperate Supervisors to generate interest. If we don't hear back, we can always go to the bi-monthly publc general meetings to present it there. If this link does not work, please let me know. I am new to google docs.
Thanks to John Payne, I used his citations re the AG and added two of my own at the end related to the 2011 SCC resolution of non-cooperation with ICE
MoCo is a bit of a different animal. While in SCC the economic driver is silicon valley and tech, in MoCo the economic drivers are agriculture, tourism and "hospitality." So the emphasis on immigration is much more pronounced. I worked on this declaration with another Hopium member Nancy Zweng. She is friends with our former House Rep emeritus, Sam Farr who served in the congress for 24 years (1993-2017, since replaced by Jimmy Panetta, son of Leon) Sam recieved the delcaration enthusiastically and has asked Nancy to draft a cover letter to all 5 Supervisors for his review, and my input too. Nancy sent the cover and is awaiting Sam's reply. Here is the MoCo resolution in Word
Another great doc! Michael, in case it's of any use, here's the letter I sent to our City Council after Flynn objected the first time and was quoted in a newspaper as saying there's no urgency, the Council should only focus on things that impact Boston, and he had to check with the Navy.
Dude, you can get from SC County to Monterey County in an hour? You driving the batmobile? Sometimes I can't get from Santa Cruz to Aptos in an hour haha.
Seriously thanks for sharing not just the resolution, which is great, but the mechanics of how you are getting it advanced. Very helpful.
Technically, if we are talking county line to county line, there is a few miles of San Benito County between them on Hwy 101, so you can do it in about 15-20 minutes without even speeding. Thanks John, Ha!
Update on Sacramento County -- I called Chairman Serna's office today and spoke with his Chief of Staff Alma Munoz. I explained that I had submitted a proposed resolution last week and was following up, that I was part of a group that was submitting these resolutions nationwide, including other counties in CA. She said that they had received the proposed resolution, and asked what other counties in CA were considering similar resolutions. I mentioned Santa Clara and Monterey Counties as places where the resolutions would be submitted soon.
My impression of her reaction was that she was somewhat curious but not very enthusiastic. She said something about their philosophy of "keeping government local" and that the Chairman was "just one vote." She suggested that I at least try to coordinate with my own Supervisor Rich Desmond (former California Highway Patrol Officer, retired at rank of "Chief", has declined to state his party but opponent in 2020 race argued that Desmond was a Trump supporter, ran unopposed in 2024). I said that I understood Supervisors races were nonpartisan, but that I thought that Chairman Serna was someone who would support a resolution like this. She said that she would note that I followed up with a call and indicated the Chairman would look at it and see if it was something he wanted to pursue. I said I would follow up with Desmond.
The call ended cordially. Critiquing myself, I probably could have been more assertive, but I wanted to leave a good first impression and I think I did that much at least, and she seemed to be agreeing to at least bring this to the attention of the Chairman so I took that as a Friday win. I think I do need to submit this directly to Rich Desmond -- I can at least say in the future, that yes, I have brought it up with my own supervisor. I also think the door is open for more communication directly with the Chair's office, and I will for one thing follow up when I know resolutions have been submitted in other CA counties. Sorry for the length of this, wanted to get a record of what happened while it is fresh in my mind. Have a good weekend all. Advice absolutely welcome. Thanks Simon for the push, sometimes I need it.
Interesting, and it's always a process, so leaving the door open and naming next steps are key. We can always second guess ourselves. Do you have any local allies who'd join you in your next steps?
Even when local races are non-partisan, you can look up someone's past political donations on fec.gov (national races) and there must be a CA website for state and local races. That's all public info. A person's donations can be very revealing.
Not yet on allies, but maybe that’s the next step. I’m a new member of the local Dem club, American River Democrats, and that’s probably a good place to start. That would probably be especially important if I try to introduce it myself at a Board meeting
Hi John Payne. This week I did contact Supervisors in both Monterey County and Santa Clara County and attached the respective resolutions. On Sunday I was at a Democratic Women of Monterey County (DWMC) fundraiser and two of the supervisor were there. Kate Daniels and Glenn Church. I briefly chatted with both of them about it, and let them know it was coming. I know them both because I lived on the Peninsula for more than 30 years. Kate said "I'm on it" with enthusiasm and Glenn wrote back the next day (this morning) with some critique and reservations, but also supportive of the constitutional aspects of the declaration.. He said the County doesn't "Direct" the sheriff to do anything, included related to ICE relations, so it my follow up I suggested "urge" I also reached out to a 3rd Supervisor with a similar email cover letter, Wendy Root-Askew, I used some excerpts of Rachel Pollner's letter in my cover letter to Glenn and Wendy.
Santa Clara County is different because I don't know the people. Today, after business hours, I sent the Santa Clara declaration to my District 4 Supervisor, Susan Ellenberg, who also is the chair. Turns out her husband is a cousin to a long ago school friend, so I dropped that little tidbit, that I had a couple encounters with her husband over 50 years ago. Just an ice=breaker, anything to try to get her attention.
Fingers crossed and I will follow up on Friday if I haven't heard back from Susan.
Hi Michael. Have you heard yet from any of the supervisors if they will or will not sponsor the resolution and present it at a meeting? We're about to query one of our Santa Cruz County supervisors with our resolution, and I want to mention that similar efforts are in progress in Monterrey and Santa Clara Counties--If I could say they were "on the agenda" it would be stronger. So far, we have no direct contact to the supervisors so are querying "cold"
Santa Clara was a cold call for me to 2 of 5 Supervisors and I have heard nothing back. Still not getting traction yet.
In Monterey, District 5 Supervisor Kate Daniels appears to be taking it on. Nancy Zweng has been having conversations with her staff and also with district 4 staff. I am on friendly terms with Kate, but she still isn't as forthcoming as I would hope on this. Basically she is saying she is working on it without letting us know what that means.
In Santa Clara, I'm hoping to make a presentation to the local Indivisible to get some peers as allies, so we can have a group together and go present to the Supervisors. Indivisible meets on the Second Wednesday of the month. and Supervisors meet on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, which means 4th Tuesday in September is earliest that will happen. We may also try getting county residents to sign a petition of support, like Rachel Poliner did in MA.
I have alot of personal tasks on my plate right now, and don't have as much time as I'd like in this moment. But patience and persistence is usually involved when it comes to getting stuff done.
Thanks for checking in. Good luck, keep me posted, and feel free to reach back. Deborah Potter and Rachel Poliner are excellent resources.
Occupy Democrats FB post on how to arrest and presecute trump
BREAKING: Philadelphia's superstar Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner lays out a brilliant playbook for arresting and prosecuting Donald Trump's fascist ICE agents and troops as the MAGA crackdowns spiral out of control.
This plan even undermines the presidential pardon...
"If what you have is a group of ICE agents or you even have the military coming into Philadelphia and they're committing crimes, they're committing assaults that are illegal, homicides that are illegal, they're kidnapping people, they're engaging in unlawful restraint which is a crime in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania..." Krasner said.
"They're obstructing the administration of justice..." he continued. "If you have people coming in — military, ICE, whoever it is — acting beyond their legal authority they can be prosecuted, assuming they commit crimes, in state court."
"And they cannot be pardoned by the president which means that they get to tell a Philadelphia jury exactly why it is that they thought that they could invade this city and they get to bear the consequences whether they are handcuffs, a jury trial, or a jail sentence," he concluded.
This is exactly the kind of hardline approach we need from all of our Democratic leaders. Trump and his minions are breaking the law at every turn and it's time that we started holding them accountable. These masked ICE agents think that they're above the law as they work to build a MAGA dystopia. They're in for a rude awakening.
By prosecuting any lawbreakers on a state level, Democrats can circumvent the presidential pardon which has been irreparably corrupted by Trump. He demonstrated a willingness to abuse it for purely political purposes with his mass pardon of the January 6th insurrectionists. Any plan for fighting back against these Republican criminals must factor in that reality.
That’s great Michael thanks for the update. I’m glad you have connections in Monterey County and it sounds like that may be a good bet for passage or at least public debate. The details of the resolution (e.g. message to Sheriff) would not seem to be as important as the fact of it. My next steps are to submit the resolution to my own Supervisor and try find allies in the County
I am in the suburb of Elk Grove in Sacramento County, CA, a conservative Blue area. A group of us started work on a general resolution, but after a nearby ICE raid and some vocal support of our immigrant community by a couple of council members, we are thinking about trying to advance an imigration-specific resolution. We think that may be an easier sell, and as Simon has said, might start to show our local electeds what we expect of them in these times.
I think it is fine to have a resolution of condemnation focused on immigration, especially in CA. So many issues are involved -- arresting people with no criminal history, lack of due process, unconstitutional executive orders such as revocation of birthright citizenship and other illegal actions such as housing discrimination against immigrants and arresting US Citizens for no reason during immigration raids. https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/amidst-increased-ice-activity-california-attorney-general-issues-alert-housing-0
John, do you have residents impacted by the sudden reversal on Temporary Protected Status? Also, immigrants' impact on the local economy and services (healthcare, food, construction...). Possible additions to Deborah's excellent list.
HI Rachel, yes we do have TPS residents, particularly Afghans--they should definitely be included. And I was thinking about the local economy impact as well. Really appreciate the suggestions!
from a Franciscan Priest at my High School (also posted in general chat). Randy's friend Phin is working on a faith-based resolution too.
"On July 19, The United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its General Synod denouncing what it calls 'domestic terrorism' by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the U.S. Constitution."
ARIZONA Hopium members! I've been involved with resolutions in City of Tucson and Pima County, and am looking to assist with resolutions throughout Arizona.
Do you live in CITY OF FLAGSTAFF or other parts of COCONINO COUNTY -or- in SANTA CRUZ COUNTY -or- in CITY OF ORO VALLEY? These are potentially good-to-excellent candidate jurisdictions. Let's talk!
For those in the Tucson area that I've had contact with in the past, I haven't forgotten about you. And others interested in the project, who are living in Tucson/Pima or in areas of Arizona not already mentioned which might be good candidate jurisdictions.... let's also talk.
For some reason YouTube keeps auto-deleting my second comment suggesting that @theonlyendlesscircle subscribe to Hopium and/or reply to my comment to learn more. I can't keep doing this. If @theonlyendlesscircle is really interested there's enough in the video to also suggest subscribing. I don't see that there's a way to contact this person directly though the YouTube handle, and I don't use social media to locate the handle elsewhere.
I looked for an edit function first (3 dots, etc.) but didn't see one. Now it's there...... but now YOUR comment is GONE. I'm through with YouTube commenting.
Time to talk 10th amendment. In a stunning case for our side on Friday ... "In her ruling, Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins said that the Tenth Amendment, which protects people from federal government overreach, shielded the decision of local law enforcement to avoid collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other immigration agencies." Trump sued Chicago and the state of Illinois and lost.
This will give cover to my County Supervisors legal counsel on our resolution to direct the County Sheriff not to cooperate with ICE if they don't have warrants, unmasked faces nor ID, either nametag/and or badge.
I encourage everyone who is working on resolutions to include language to stop ICE unconstitutional gestapo tactics. It violates 4th amendment; illegal search and siezure, 5th amendment" due process and now 10th amendment: The feds can't force the states to cooperate with ICE.
Michael, are you a lawyer? Here is what I wonder: Shouldn't local police/sheriff be able to actually intervene with an ICE operation to the extent of 1)stopping the use of undue force (they are actually beating people and throwing on the ground for no reason) 2)requesting a badge/official ID and 3) requesting A COURT-ISSUED arrest warrant and then intervening if one is not forthcoming?
Susan, no, not a lawyer. But a fan of the constitution, and thanks to Trump and the brilliant lawyers who sue him, I have been learning a whole lot about the protections in our founding document.
They need to bring a warrant and wear identification (nametag or badge number) and anybody detained has a right to due process which means legal representation and a hearing before a magistrate or judge. That's amendments four and five in the Bill of Rights.
I ask my local police when I see them idle the same questions you raise. Don't they have an obligation to protect and serve we the people from ICE, when they come without a warrant or ID and use excessive force? I try to make them think about it. And same with the Proclamations. Let's get local governments overseeing the police to give them cover, so they know they have an obligation to do the right thing, and local government will have their back when they do..
Final BernCo resolution will be signed on Monday at the required second hearing. I'll be there to testify again -- saying thank you for passing it and giving more reasons why I support its adoption as approved at the first hearing.
Update on Sacramento County -- Just submitted the resolution to my Supervisor Rich Desmond, with a revised email. I'll follow up with a phone call, but will also research avenues for bringing the resolution forward myself at a public meeting. I'll also reach out to my local Democratic club to see if I can get some support there.
Following Rachel P.'s advice, I looked up my Supervisor's campaign contributions. Looks like a $100 donation to Nikki Haley (interesting) and $100 to "WinRed" (ugh), both in Feb. 2024. So we'll see what he does with this.
To my knowledge only a board sponsor of a resolution can bring it forward for consideration. However, you can use your testimony to ask for a sponsoring Supervisor to move it forward.
Hi Miriam, North Adams passed a short one a few months ago, and as Deborah said, Sarah is working on Amherst. I'm in Boston, but lead a group that is both a Progressive Mass chapter (which has a statewide network) and an Indivisible group (which also has a statewide network), so who knows, maybe I can sort out a possible contact for you. Where are you?
Great to get the contact info for Sarah. I've been trying to find out who is working on the effort in Amherst. I'm part of a small Indivisible chapter abutting Amherst--Indivisible West Quabbin. In Massachusetts, there are two routes to go--trying to get City Councils or Select Boards to adopt Declarations--or going the direct democracy route (for Towns) using the Town Meeting method. In Massachusetts, you can call a Town Meeting via a Citizens Petition. My understanding, however, is that the voters in a Town Meeting (as the Town legislative body) cannot compell their Select Board (the executive branch) to take action unless they adopt a Bylaw. Any Resolutions are advisory and nonbinding. Nevertheless, non-binding Resolutions are great organizing and consciousness-raising tools.
Yeah, the Resolutions are exactly that - prompts for learning, speaking, and hopefully speaking out. Imagine if all tens of thousands of Dem elected officials had started speaking up strongly in Jan-Feb (or now!). It's a push on local electeds, that democracy doesn't just happen in DC. If it's functional, democracy happens at all levels and every level needs to help protect it.
Stow MA has a Resolution pending at their Select Board. It was moving along smoothly at first with helpful edits from a couple of Select Board members (showing a sense of ownership). They'll take it up at their Sept meeting I think. That's the only one I know of in process. I've heard from people in Natick and Ashland who are exploring what they can do, but of course, they're closer to me.
Are you familiar with Grassroots Central Mass? I'll ask around a bit about who else might be in your area.
Thank you, Simon, for providing this page for open discussion about resolutions of condemnation of the executive branch! It is an efficient way for Hopium subscribers to contact one another to share information about our progress and to help one another.
The Bernalillo County Commission's resolution was introduced, debated and passed / approved (by final vote of 4:1 as revised) at a public hearing on June 24, 2025. A two-step process is required, although the approved resolution is final. It will be finally adopted (read aloud; signed by the Commissioners, County Attorney and County Clerk) at the next meeting on August 4 at 5 pm. I plan to give oral comment to thank them.
In contrast, the Santa Fe County Commission used a one-step hearing process, so the introduction, debate, vote of approval and final adoption were all done at one hearing. The Commissions do not meet during the month of July, delaying the hearing in Doña Ana County until August.
thank you Deborah for your incredible patriotism and leadership!
Hi Deborah! I reached out to you a few weeks ago with contact info I found somewhere (!?), but didn't hear a response...is there any chance you might be willing to talk with me about how you went about making this happen in NM? That would be very helpful.. I'm a longtime political activist who has done all kinds of political activism, but I've never composed a piece of legislation...my email is nancysbruski@gmail.com
Hi Nancy. I responded to your email in July, and just forwarded it to you again. I also added some additional info for you.
From: Deborah Potter
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2025 2:55 PM
To: Nancy Bruski <nancysbruski@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Hoping to get a Resolution of Condemnation in my community!
Statement of harms by the maga administration identified in the Santa Fe County resolution that was adopted at hearing:
Officials or agencies of the executive branch have taken action that is outside of their constitutional or statutory authority or is otherwise unlawful, including, but not limited to:
imposing tariffs and duties; unilaterally dismantling federal programs, spending, and personnel without congressional approval; categorically freezing congressionally appropriated and obligated funds, including Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) funds, Department of Health and Human Services grants, and highway planning and construction funds; unilaterally creating and filling an office; usurping Congress’s power to legislate under the Elections Clause and interfering with State’s inherent sovereignty and constitutional power to regulate the time, place, and manner of federal elections; and declaring that birthright citizenship does not extend to any child born in the United States to a mother who is unlawfully present or lawfully present on a temporary basis and a father who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
Statement of harms identified in the Bernalillo County resolution that was approved at hearing:
The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners believes the unconstitutional consolidation of power in the Executive Branch by Executive Orders and willful misdeeds are such as but not limited to: the revocation of birthright citizenship; freezing of federal spending approved by Congress; shuttering of federal agencies; demonstrating a pattern of usurping the duties of the legislative branch; violating due process rights of persons in the United States; infringing upon civil service protections for federal employees; threatening deportation and/or prosecution based on political views; ignoring or disobeying judicial mandates; politicizing law enforcement and the military; and generally expressing contempt for the separation of powers, freedom of speech, and equal justice under the law.
Simon, can we get links to the resolutions that are already being worked on in the various states?
Final resolution adopted at Santa Fe County, NM hearing June 24, 2025
https://www.santafecountynm.gov/documents/ordinances/Resolution_2025-066.pdf
update: Bernalillo County, NM signed resolution https://drive.google.com/file/d/133AkCSMXhiipVCo2rMoRL_1aGGhiJeKv/view?usp=sharing
update: Village of Corrales, NM signed resolution
https://www.corrales-nm.org/villagecouncil/page/proclamation-25-05-defending-our-us-constitution-and-separation-powers
I will ask people in the community to share them here and then I will also share them on a separate dedicated page.
Rad, thank you, Simon. You're always hard at work for this community.
Here is Boston's, which will pass in a couple of weeks. It's been blocked with a procedural move so far by a Councilor who's been blocking all sorts of things lately, so much so that the Boston Globe wrote a whole article on his current obstructionist mode.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a1tMPtdfmVUBmdaUn-qR6_8M6yRvylKK/view?usp=sharing
Simon posted links today, August 10.
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/sunday-hopium-can-bring-needed-change
All great work, Deborah and Simon, to get this project off the ground and feeding the momentum. 50+ projects in 20+ states. Wow!
Part of the point is passing Resolutions, but I think even more important are all the activities that working on a Resolution offers - the discussions about foundational principles of democracy and current harms that we can have prior or after any vote with community members and with elected officials.
Our Resolution has not passed yet in Boston, but even so we featured it in our Good Trouble Lives On event with a call-and-response reading of it with three City Councilors. The article (linked below) describes the event (and mistakenly refers to me as Rev - that's pretty funny). The reading was really moving.
We also had an oversized version of the Resolution on the center portion of a tri-fold board(see the photo below) that we intended to have standing up, but given the wind, was duct-taped to a table instead. People dedicated and signed it via sticky-notes, as in "for my grandchildren, signature," "for NPR, signature," etc. The Board is now on display at our City Councilor's office.
https://bulletinnewspapers.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/4/8/114832579/boston_bulletin_pages_1_to_12___24july2025.pdf
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FnPcgqB5ViI4zQyRADgB51VsfBumFsQz/view?usp=sharing
Great idea with the oversized version.
This is a great idea, really helpful to have all of this information in one accessible place, and to have a place to get help or kick ideas around. Here's a google folder with what has been submitted to the Sacramento Board of Supervisors, including the CA Attorney General citations (equivalent to the New Mexico citations Deborah used), a version of the resolution based heavily on the New Mexico one, and the email I used to submit it to the Chair last week, which has so far gone unanswered. Have to finish up postcards today but will follow up tomorrow or Monday with a call and email to the Chair's office.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1raMTLpkme7he8FLBo4-16wJXpI5NoFxN?usp=drive_link
John great work. Follow up with a call tomorrow. You need to work it. Let us know what happens.....
Ok will do
I'm excited for this chat room. I am working in two seperate jurisdictions; Monterey County (MoCo) and Santa Clara County (SCC) which are roughly an hour's drive from one another.. The Santa Clara County resolution is linked here and we reached final draft earlier this week. I live in district 4 and another Hopium member, Bobbie, lives in district 5. We are each approaching our seperate Supervisors to generate interest. If we don't hear back, we can always go to the bi-monthly publc general meetings to present it there. If this link does not work, please let me know. I am new to google docs.
Thanks to John Payne, I used his citations re the AG and added two of my own at the end related to the 2011 SCC resolution of non-cooperation with ICE
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CSZ853sa9kKR2DSjZudBKF1BzNgnfWoe1gbgg-xy0lU/edit?tab=t.0
MoCo is a bit of a different animal. While in SCC the economic driver is silicon valley and tech, in MoCo the economic drivers are agriculture, tourism and "hospitality." So the emphasis on immigration is much more pronounced. I worked on this declaration with another Hopium member Nancy Zweng. She is friends with our former House Rep emeritus, Sam Farr who served in the congress for 24 years (1993-2017, since replaced by Jimmy Panetta, son of Leon) Sam recieved the delcaration enthusiastically and has asked Nancy to draft a cover letter to all 5 Supervisors for his review, and my input too. Nancy sent the cover and is awaiting Sam's reply. Here is the MoCo resolution in Word
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qY2DVM0hgsRRUoA6NpUeIm3b8VCkaI7K1Gln3OeQc4I/edit?usp=sharing
Another great doc! Michael, in case it's of any use, here's the letter I sent to our City Council after Flynn objected the first time and was quoted in a newspaper as saying there's no urgency, the Council should only focus on things that impact Boston, and he had to check with the Navy.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XLq-zdFSRg9yWvWGZUyxiX5WCo80yefZD-liWXpDA88/edit?usp=sharing
Thanks Rachel. It is helpful to have samples so I can "borrow" language as I put my own together. Anybody else want to share cover letters, bring it.
Getting it out to the public for them to sign endorsements also is a great tactic
Wow that letter is powerful, thanks Rachel.
The MoCo resolution is awesome! Great teamwork and networking!
The google doc opened easily. Great resolution!
Dude, you can get from SC County to Monterey County in an hour? You driving the batmobile? Sometimes I can't get from Santa Cruz to Aptos in an hour haha.
Seriously thanks for sharing not just the resolution, which is great, but the mechanics of how you are getting it advanced. Very helpful.
Technically, if we are talking county line to county line, there is a few miles of San Benito County between them on Hwy 101, so you can do it in about 15-20 minutes without even speeding. Thanks John, Ha!
I've sent you a Google request for viewing access, please. I'm working on a doc here in Dallas, TX and would like to use you MoCo for reference.
Annette, if you go to the hopium.com website and click on resolutions project at the top and then click on resolutions. Ot should be there among many.
But I will look for your tequest in my email and grant you access if I can. Im not super profficient at this.
Good luck and thanks for stepping up!
mb
ps looks like I successfully allowed you access. Its onmy secondary email... i.e gmail
Update on Sacramento County -- I called Chairman Serna's office today and spoke with his Chief of Staff Alma Munoz. I explained that I had submitted a proposed resolution last week and was following up, that I was part of a group that was submitting these resolutions nationwide, including other counties in CA. She said that they had received the proposed resolution, and asked what other counties in CA were considering similar resolutions. I mentioned Santa Clara and Monterey Counties as places where the resolutions would be submitted soon.
My impression of her reaction was that she was somewhat curious but not very enthusiastic. She said something about their philosophy of "keeping government local" and that the Chairman was "just one vote." She suggested that I at least try to coordinate with my own Supervisor Rich Desmond (former California Highway Patrol Officer, retired at rank of "Chief", has declined to state his party but opponent in 2020 race argued that Desmond was a Trump supporter, ran unopposed in 2024). I said that I understood Supervisors races were nonpartisan, but that I thought that Chairman Serna was someone who would support a resolution like this. She said that she would note that I followed up with a call and indicated the Chairman would look at it and see if it was something he wanted to pursue. I said I would follow up with Desmond.
The call ended cordially. Critiquing myself, I probably could have been more assertive, but I wanted to leave a good first impression and I think I did that much at least, and she seemed to be agreeing to at least bring this to the attention of the Chairman so I took that as a Friday win. I think I do need to submit this directly to Rich Desmond -- I can at least say in the future, that yes, I have brought it up with my own supervisor. I also think the door is open for more communication directly with the Chair's office, and I will for one thing follow up when I know resolutions have been submitted in other CA counties. Sorry for the length of this, wanted to get a record of what happened while it is fresh in my mind. Have a good weekend all. Advice absolutely welcome. Thanks Simon for the push, sometimes I need it.
Interesting, and it's always a process, so leaving the door open and naming next steps are key. We can always second guess ourselves. Do you have any local allies who'd join you in your next steps?
Even when local races are non-partisan, you can look up someone's past political donations on fec.gov (national races) and there must be a CA website for state and local races. That's all public info. A person's donations can be very revealing.
Not yet on allies, but maybe that’s the next step. I’m a new member of the local Dem club, American River Democrats, and that’s probably a good place to start. That would probably be especially important if I try to introduce it myself at a Board meeting
Hi John...I'm in Sac County working on Elk Grove...would love to connect with you.
johnandtrinalee@gmail.com
Hi John Payne. This week I did contact Supervisors in both Monterey County and Santa Clara County and attached the respective resolutions. On Sunday I was at a Democratic Women of Monterey County (DWMC) fundraiser and two of the supervisor were there. Kate Daniels and Glenn Church. I briefly chatted with both of them about it, and let them know it was coming. I know them both because I lived on the Peninsula for more than 30 years. Kate said "I'm on it" with enthusiasm and Glenn wrote back the next day (this morning) with some critique and reservations, but also supportive of the constitutional aspects of the declaration.. He said the County doesn't "Direct" the sheriff to do anything, included related to ICE relations, so it my follow up I suggested "urge" I also reached out to a 3rd Supervisor with a similar email cover letter, Wendy Root-Askew, I used some excerpts of Rachel Pollner's letter in my cover letter to Glenn and Wendy.
Santa Clara County is different because I don't know the people. Today, after business hours, I sent the Santa Clara declaration to my District 4 Supervisor, Susan Ellenberg, who also is the chair. Turns out her husband is a cousin to a long ago school friend, so I dropped that little tidbit, that I had a couple encounters with her husband over 50 years ago. Just an ice=breaker, anything to try to get her attention.
Fingers crossed and I will follow up on Friday if I haven't heard back from Susan.
Hi Michael. Have you heard yet from any of the supervisors if they will or will not sponsor the resolution and present it at a meeting? We're about to query one of our Santa Cruz County supervisors with our resolution, and I want to mention that similar efforts are in progress in Monterrey and Santa Clara Counties--If I could say they were "on the agenda" it would be stronger. So far, we have no direct contact to the supervisors so are querying "cold"
Santa Clara was a cold call for me to 2 of 5 Supervisors and I have heard nothing back. Still not getting traction yet.
In Monterey, District 5 Supervisor Kate Daniels appears to be taking it on. Nancy Zweng has been having conversations with her staff and also with district 4 staff. I am on friendly terms with Kate, but she still isn't as forthcoming as I would hope on this. Basically she is saying she is working on it without letting us know what that means.
In Santa Clara, I'm hoping to make a presentation to the local Indivisible to get some peers as allies, so we can have a group together and go present to the Supervisors. Indivisible meets on the Second Wednesday of the month. and Supervisors meet on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, which means 4th Tuesday in September is earliest that will happen. We may also try getting county residents to sign a petition of support, like Rachel Poliner did in MA.
I have alot of personal tasks on my plate right now, and don't have as much time as I'd like in this moment. But patience and persistence is usually involved when it comes to getting stuff done.
Thanks for checking in. Good luck, keep me posted, and feel free to reach back. Deborah Potter and Rachel Poliner are excellent resources.
Michael
Thanks
Occupy Democrats FB post on how to arrest and presecute trump
BREAKING: Philadelphia's superstar Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner lays out a brilliant playbook for arresting and prosecuting Donald Trump's fascist ICE agents and troops as the MAGA crackdowns spiral out of control.
This plan even undermines the presidential pardon...
"If what you have is a group of ICE agents or you even have the military coming into Philadelphia and they're committing crimes, they're committing assaults that are illegal, homicides that are illegal, they're kidnapping people, they're engaging in unlawful restraint which is a crime in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania..." Krasner said.
"They're obstructing the administration of justice..." he continued. "If you have people coming in — military, ICE, whoever it is — acting beyond their legal authority they can be prosecuted, assuming they commit crimes, in state court."
"And they cannot be pardoned by the president which means that they get to tell a Philadelphia jury exactly why it is that they thought that they could invade this city and they get to bear the consequences whether they are handcuffs, a jury trial, or a jail sentence," he concluded.
This is exactly the kind of hardline approach we need from all of our Democratic leaders. Trump and his minions are breaking the law at every turn and it's time that we started holding them accountable. These masked ICE agents think that they're above the law as they work to build a MAGA dystopia. They're in for a rude awakening.
By prosecuting any lawbreakers on a state level, Democrats can circumvent the presidential pardon which has been irreparably corrupted by Trump. He demonstrated a willingness to abuse it for purely political purposes with his mass pardon of the January 6th insurrectionists. Any plan for fighting back against these Republican criminals must factor in that reality.
That’s great Michael thanks for the update. I’m glad you have connections in Monterey County and it sounds like that may be a good bet for passage or at least public debate. The details of the resolution (e.g. message to Sheriff) would not seem to be as important as the fact of it. My next steps are to submit the resolution to my own Supervisor and try find allies in the County
Hello all.
I am in the suburb of Elk Grove in Sacramento County, CA, a conservative Blue area. A group of us started work on a general resolution, but after a nearby ICE raid and some vocal support of our immigrant community by a couple of council members, we are thinking about trying to advance an imigration-specific resolution. We think that may be an easier sell, and as Simon has said, might start to show our local electeds what we expect of them in these times.
What do you all think of that strategy?
I think it is fine to have a resolution of condemnation focused on immigration, especially in CA. So many issues are involved -- arresting people with no criminal history, lack of due process, unconstitutional executive orders such as revocation of birthright citizenship and other illegal actions such as housing discrimination against immigrants and arresting US Citizens for no reason during immigration raids. https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/amidst-increased-ice-activity-california-attorney-general-issues-alert-housing-0
There are lots of press releases, etc. from Gov. Newsom that are also relevent at the city level https://www.gov.ca.gov/serp/?q=immigration
See Michael G. Baer's resolution # 3 re. ICE and
your AG references re. immigration https://oag.ca.gov/search-results/?query=lawsuit+immigration
and your local news as well https://www.egcitizen.com/2025/07/15/539688/council-approves-immigrant-services-funding
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove could be a key ally. https://www.kcra.com/article/gavin-newsom-sacramento-leaders-reaction-border-patrol-raid-home-depot/65440882
"Bera said the raids appeared to be 'racially driven and conducted without probable cause.' "
Wow Deborah, thank you for all the supporting information...so much useful info here. Thank you...I'll keep the community abreast of how we proceed.
John, do you have residents impacted by the sudden reversal on Temporary Protected Status? Also, immigrants' impact on the local economy and services (healthcare, food, construction...). Possible additions to Deborah's excellent list.
HI Rachel, yes we do have TPS residents, particularly Afghans--they should definitely be included. And I was thinking about the local economy impact as well. Really appreciate the suggestions!
from a Franciscan Priest at my High School (also posted in general chat). Randy's friend Phin is working on a faith-based resolution too.
"On July 19, The United Church of Christ passed a resolution at its General Synod denouncing what it calls 'domestic terrorism' by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing the U.S. Constitution."
https://www.ncronline.org/news/united-church-christ-synod-denounces-ice-raids-domestic-terrorism
ARIZONA Hopium members! I've been involved with resolutions in City of Tucson and Pima County, and am looking to assist with resolutions throughout Arizona.
Do you live in CITY OF FLAGSTAFF or other parts of COCONINO COUNTY -or- in SANTA CRUZ COUNTY -or- in CITY OF ORO VALLEY? These are potentially good-to-excellent candidate jurisdictions. Let's talk!
For those in the Tucson area that I've had contact with in the past, I haven't forgotten about you. And others interested in the project, who are living in Tucson/Pima or in areas of Arizona not already mentioned which might be good candidate jurisdictions.... let's also talk.
Keep Arizona moving forward!
Randy Gold, randygold AT protonmail DOT com
There was a question about resolutions in AZ (asking about Phoenix) in response to the youtube post of Rep. Raskin interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_2irFHu4G0&t=2s&ab_channel=SimonRosenberg by @theonlyendlesscircle
Thx. I replied to @theonlyendlesscircle at YouTube.
For some reason YouTube keeps auto-deleting my second comment suggesting that @theonlyendlesscircle subscribe to Hopium and/or reply to my comment to learn more. I can't keep doing this. If @theonlyendlesscircle is really interested there's enough in the video to also suggest subscribing. I don't see that there's a way to contact this person directly though the YouTube handle, and I don't use social media to locate the handle elsewhere.
The other option was to modify your existing comment. I just added your comment to my modfied reply.
I looked for an edit function first (3 dots, etc.) but didn't see one. Now it's there...... but now YOUR comment is GONE. I'm through with YouTube commenting.
me too
Time to talk 10th amendment. In a stunning case for our side on Friday ... "In her ruling, Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins said that the Tenth Amendment, which protects people from federal government overreach, shielded the decision of local law enforcement to avoid collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other immigration agencies." Trump sued Chicago and the state of Illinois and lost.
Read the whole story here https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-judge-tosses-trump-administration-014214823.html
This will give cover to my County Supervisors legal counsel on our resolution to direct the County Sheriff not to cooperate with ICE if they don't have warrants, unmasked faces nor ID, either nametag/and or badge.
I encourage everyone who is working on resolutions to include language to stop ICE unconstitutional gestapo tactics. It violates 4th amendment; illegal search and siezure, 5th amendment" due process and now 10th amendment: The feds can't force the states to cooperate with ICE.
Spread the word...
Michael, are you a lawyer? Here is what I wonder: Shouldn't local police/sheriff be able to actually intervene with an ICE operation to the extent of 1)stopping the use of undue force (they are actually beating people and throwing on the ground for no reason) 2)requesting a badge/official ID and 3) requesting A COURT-ISSUED arrest warrant and then intervening if one is not forthcoming?
Susan, no, not a lawyer. But a fan of the constitution, and thanks to Trump and the brilliant lawyers who sue him, I have been learning a whole lot about the protections in our founding document.
They need to bring a warrant and wear identification (nametag or badge number) and anybody detained has a right to due process which means legal representation and a hearing before a magistrate or judge. That's amendments four and five in the Bill of Rights.
I ask my local police when I see them idle the same questions you raise. Don't they have an obligation to protect and serve we the people from ICE, when they come without a warrant or ID and use excessive force? I try to make them think about it. And same with the Proclamations. Let's get local governments overseeing the police to give them cover, so they know they have an obligation to do the right thing, and local government will have their back when they do..
Thanks for asking.
Final BernCo resolution will be signed on Monday at the required second hearing. I'll be there to testify again -- saying thank you for passing it and giving more reasons why I support its adoption as approved at the first hearing.
Update on Sacramento County -- Just submitted the resolution to my Supervisor Rich Desmond, with a revised email. I'll follow up with a phone call, but will also research avenues for bringing the resolution forward myself at a public meeting. I'll also reach out to my local Democratic club to see if I can get some support there.
Following Rachel P.'s advice, I looked up my Supervisor's campaign contributions. Looks like a $100 donation to Nikki Haley (interesting) and $100 to "WinRed" (ugh), both in Feb. 2024. So we'll see what he does with this.
His campaign made high payments to the Republican Party
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ca/payee/rich-desmond-campaign/payments?cycle=2017-to-now and has an interesting list of contributors to the campaign.
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ca/payee/rich-desmond-campaign?cycle=2017-to-now
To my knowledge only a board sponsor of a resolution can bring it forward for consideration. However, you can use your testimony to ask for a sponsoring Supervisor to move it forward.
This is a great project. I want to get it started in Western Massachusetts. Anyone else from Massachusetts who wants to collaborate should contact me.
I wish you great success! What City or County will you approach?
Sarah Marshall @sarahmarshall117300 is working with Amherst Town Council.
Hi Miriam, North Adams passed a short one a few months ago, and as Deborah said, Sarah is working on Amherst. I'm in Boston, but lead a group that is both a Progressive Mass chapter (which has a statewide network) and an Indivisible group (which also has a statewide network), so who knows, maybe I can sort out a possible contact for you. Where are you?
Great to get the contact info for Sarah. I've been trying to find out who is working on the effort in Amherst. I'm part of a small Indivisible chapter abutting Amherst--Indivisible West Quabbin. In Massachusetts, there are two routes to go--trying to get City Councils or Select Boards to adopt Declarations--or going the direct democracy route (for Towns) using the Town Meeting method. In Massachusetts, you can call a Town Meeting via a Citizens Petition. My understanding, however, is that the voters in a Town Meeting (as the Town legislative body) cannot compell their Select Board (the executive branch) to take action unless they adopt a Bylaw. Any Resolutions are advisory and nonbinding. Nevertheless, non-binding Resolutions are great organizing and consciousness-raising tools.
Yeah, the Resolutions are exactly that - prompts for learning, speaking, and hopefully speaking out. Imagine if all tens of thousands of Dem elected officials had started speaking up strongly in Jan-Feb (or now!). It's a push on local electeds, that democracy doesn't just happen in DC. If it's functional, democracy happens at all levels and every level needs to help protect it.
Stow MA has a Resolution pending at their Select Board. It was moving along smoothly at first with helpful edits from a couple of Select Board members (showing a sense of ownership). They'll take it up at their Sept meeting I think. That's the only one I know of in process. I've heard from people in Natick and Ashland who are exploring what they can do, but of course, they're closer to me.
Are you familiar with Grassroots Central Mass? I'll ask around a bit about who else might be in your area.