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San Francisco public commenters urge ballot measure to oppose further Iraq war funding
Summary
At a Rules Committee hearing, dozens of San Franciscans urged supervisors to place a policy declaration on the Nov. 4 ballot directing U.S. representatives to oppose further funding for troop deployment in Iraq except funds for safe, orderly withdrawal, citing high economic and human costs.
Supporters of a proposed declaration of policy to oppose further funding for deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq urged the San Francisco Rules Committee to place the item on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Speakers at the committee’s public comment period included Sandra Schwartz of the American Friends Service Committee, who cited the Stiglitz study and said the Iraq war costs "$720,000,000 a day," including hidden costs such as veterans’ long-term care. Dolores Perez Preme, a Richmond District small-business owner and member of the Iraq Moratorium Campaign, told supervisors the ballot measure would let San Franciscans register opposition directly with their federal representatives. Steve Leeds of the Religious Society of Friends and other speakers linked war spending to unmet local needs, urging local elected officials to press members of Congress, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, to oppose additional war appropriations.
Nancy Mancias of Code Pink Women for Peace told the committee that continued war funding directs tax dollars to contractors such as KBR, ExxonMobil, Blackwater and Bechtel and diverts resources from local services. Shirley Golub, a District 8 resident, said the ballot is an important way to give residents a voice.
The chair closed public comment after multiple speakers urged action and the committee agreed to file the item without objection.
The item as read into the record describes a voter declaration asking the city’s federal representatives to vote against any further funding for deployment of U.S. armed forces in Iraq except funds specifically earmarked to provide for a safe and orderly withdrawal. The committee did not take a formal vote on the substance at the hearing; clerks recorded the item as filed for the record.
