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Residents and service providers accuse councilmember of demeaning language as council debates homelessness policy
Summary
Multiple public commenters, service providers and councilmembers pushed back on recent remarks by Councilmember Bashar Tosh about people experiencing homelessness, urging supportive housing, outreach and respectful rhetoric; Councilmember Tosh defended his record and intent but did not retract his prior language.
Several dozen residents and service providers used Tuesday's public-comment period to criticize recent remarks by Councilmember Bashar Tosh characterizing people experiencing homelessness in negative terms, and to urge policy alternatives rooted in housing and services.
Marian J. Wright opened the non-agenda speakers by proposing a low-cost activation of Sumner Station with food trucks and a community garden to increase safety and community use. That segue gave way to a longer series of speakers focused on homelessness, several of whom directly addressed Councilmember Bashar Tosh's comments from a prior meeting.
Noe Garcia, vice president of the Kern County Young Democrats, and…
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