Before President Donald Trump on the first day of his second term signed an executive order rescinding DEI policies in the federal government, Los Gatos community members were working to protect diversity, equity and inclusion.
Los Gatos’s recently formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commission endorsed a resolution on Jan. 9 recommending the town council to reaffirm its commitment to a resolution it passed in 2017 rejecting bigotry in discrimination after Trump’s first inauguration, as well as its commitment to a state law that prevents local and state law enforcement from aiding federal immigration enforcement.
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The Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition, a local nonprofit, similarly responded to the new administration with a community town hall meeting two days after Trump’s inauguration to discuss “key issues facing the town.” Attendees discussed topics like immigration, homelessness and reproductive healthcare and ways to support the Los Gatos community as it contends with a new presidential administration.
Both groups have largely said they feel hopeful about the work they plan to do in the face of a new administration that has promised to roll back protections for immigrants, the environment and more–and is already delivering on those promises
The DEI commission’s resolution comes after the town council failed to agendize the discussion of a similar resolution put forward by Vice Mayor Rob Moore in November immediately after the election. Some residents and council members at the time said its focus on the federal government went beyond the reach of the town council, and was repetitive of the 2017 resolution.
DEI Commission Chair Gordon Yamate said he’d be “hard-pressed” to find people in Los Gatos who would be opposed to the 2017 resolution – all the more reason for the council to heed the commission’s recommendation to reaffirm that commitment.
“I think these are the values that this community shares, and it is really important to speak out at this time to give some sense of assurance that we’re there to help people, we’re there to make this community better,” Yamate said. “And we want to reassure those people at risk that we will do things to protect them.”
Since the commission approved the resolution, Yamate said it’s now up to town staff to review it and decide whether or not to recommend it for approval to the town council, which would put it on the council’s agenda and open it up for comment from the public.
“There are limited resources that the town of Los Gatos has to be able to devote attention to all the issues that come up before the town,” he added. “The question is whether or not this is a priority for staff and the town council.”
Yamate said since Trump’s recent executive order to put government employees who work in diversity, equity and inclusion-related positions on paid leave only applies at the federal level, he’s not worried about the town’s DEI commission. But he said the move has raised the possibility of changing the commission’s name so it doesn’t put “a target on our back” – something it has considered in the past but decided against.
“This is important work we’re doing and…we’re not going to call it something else, even though the brand has been sort of tarnished,” Yamate said.
Between 50 and 60 community members turned out to the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition’s town hall meeting to consider similar matters, organizers said.
Kylie Clark, the coalition’s director of advocacy, said the group began planning a town hall as early as election night, when it seemed like Trump would win.
“It became clear that people need to be together and talk about the things that are worrying them in a productive and safe way,” she said.
Clark said the mood of the town hall meeting was positive; after feeling a sense of mourning in the weeks leading up to the inauguration, she added, community members were excited to come together and think about next steps. The coalition hopes to host more of these events in the future, and to host a march to show “power in numbers.”