Final Measure K Event

I had family stuff to take care of so I couldn’t be in Fortuna at 5:30 a.m. where the procession started. I caught up with them at Loleta a few hours later. I missed all the excitement about the procession being asked off the freeway by a CHP officer expressing concern for their safety. I’m told it was a cordial discussion and the marchers agreed to take the route parallel to the freeway. It was cool. We got to see pro-K signs on the route. Most of the core organizers were on the walk, and none of us knew who had brought them there. All of our signs have been placed – no leftovers!

We walked over the hill and crossed over to the east side of the highway on the road leading to CR. I think the CHP had done a good job of scaring the leadership as to the danger of being on the freeway, particularly at the turn at King Salmon, so we made arrangements to drive everyone from the CR parking lot to the Patriot station at the south end of Broadway.

And this is where it really got encouraging! Countless drivers honked and/or waived, some really enthusiastically. I don’t think more than two minutes ever passed without someone honking or cheering. Yes, we saw a few grumpy faces. One guy flipped us off. A woman shook her head and wagged her finger at us. There were a few eye rolls.

And there were people passing through town who had no idea what Measure K is. We were stopped at Broadway and 14th where some of us waited on the north side for the others to cross while the light was red for those on Broadway. This guy driving an RV read our signs and then checked his phone we think to look up the Measure. And then he smiled and gave us the thumbs up, which drew cheers from us.

We continued to 4th Street where we met a group of supporters at the Co-op as planned and then continued to the court house for excellent tamales, one of the county’s three mariachi bands, and had a bit of a party to close out the campaign.

Will Measure K pass? I feel pretty good about it. We’ve encountered some pretty harsh opposition from certain county officials, some screaming when we were gathering signatures, and some online commentary. But nobody really put together an organized opposition and we’ve encountered supporters everywhere we’ve gone to leaflet or table.

You know, Measure K is a small gesture in the face of dehumanizing scapegoat politics, the increased militarization of the border over freakout paranoia about families trying to find a better life, and the rise of white nationalist violence across the country. But it’s something we can do.

Yes on Measure K!