Please circulate...and JOIN US!

THURSDAY, JUNE 27 @ 11AM

STATE CAPITOL(See carpool info below)

ORGANIZERS TO LAUNCH "BUY BACK THE GOVERNMENT"

TELETHON

LEGISLATORS FUND 5 MILLION DELANO PRISON DESPITE

DECLINING PRISON POPULATION, BUDGET CRISIS & PUBLIC

OPINION



SACRAMENTO, CA - Setting a goal of .3 million - the

same amount California's prison guards' contributed to

state legislative races -- grassroots organizers will

hold a "Buy Back the Government" Telethon in front of

the State Capitol on Thursday, June 27 at 11 am.

Organizers will set up a phone bank to accept calls

from contributors on the north side of the

State Capitol and will accept on site donations as

well. As a premium, each donor to the campaign will

receive a laminated picture of the Governor or a

legislator so everyone, not just the California

Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA), can

have the Governor in his or her pocket. And school

children, weathering severe cuts to next year's

education budget, will set up a lemonade stand to

raise their "Buy Back the Government" donations.

Earlier this month, despite a billion deficit, a

declining prison population and a statewide poll

finding that Californians strongly favor a freeze on

state prison building, the joint budget conference

committee funded the controversial 5 million Delano

prison plan.

"Our goal of .3 million may seem unrealistic to

some, but we've learned what it costs to win in

Sacramento," said Dorsey Nunn, M.C. for the Telethon.

"It's telling that in the midst of the worst budget

crisis in a decade, the prison guards get a 34%

raise, a 5 million new prison and the Corrections'

budget is going up, not down," commented Rose Braz,

Director of Critical Resistance, noting that the

Governor's May Revision to the Budget provides for a

5.9 million increase to the state's billion

prison budget.

"You really do get a lot of bang for your buck in

Sacramento when you're the number one contributor to

state legislative races," continued Braz, commenting

that the guards contributed an additional 1,000 to

the Governor only weeks after he granted the guards a

pay hike of as much as billion dollars.

The Delano prison will siphon 4 million from the

general fund per year to operate and repay the debt

for the next 25 years. Every major newspaper across

the state, including the Los Angles Times, San

Francisco Chronicle and Orange County Register

editorialized against construction of the prison.

A statewide poll of likely voters recently found that

Californians strongly favor a freeze on state prison

construction and cuts to state prisons, over any other

state program, to address the budget crisis.

The poll of 600 likely voters also found that 76% of

those surveyed supported requiring voter approval of

new prison construction. The legislature did not seek

voter approval before authorizing the contentious

Delano prison. In 1990 and again in 1996 voters turned

down proposed prison bonds 2-1. The poll was

conducted by Fairbanks, Maslin. Of those surveyed, 71%

described themselves as conservative or moderate.

Groundbreaking for the prison was set for February

2001, but has been delayed by the mounting opposition.

Opposition to the Delano prison plan has come from a

coalition of over 80 organizations including: the

Central Labor Council of Alameda County; the San

Francisco Board of Education; Service Employees Union

International (SEIU) Local 250; the Delano Center on

Race, Poverty and the Environment; American Federation

of Teachers (AFT)- University Council; Hotel

Employees & Restaurant Employees, Locals 2 and 2850;

California State Employees Association, Civil Service

Division Council (SEIU Local 1000); NAACP chapters;

and the statewide University of California Students

Association.

JOIN US!

CARPOOLS WILL LEAVE FROM MACARTHUR BART AT 8:30 AM.

for more infomration Call: 510-444-0484

Critical Resistance

1212 Broadway, Suite 1400

Oakland, CA 94612

(510)444-0484

fax: (510)444-2177

http://www.criticalresistance.org

rose@criticalresistance.org