Activists continue campaign efforts against civil sidewalks ordinance measure

http://www.dailycal.org/2012/08/29/controversy-arises-from-sit-lie-measure/

The Berkeley Stand Up for the Right to Sit Down Coalition, composed of Bay Area and neighborhood activists, will hold different events and debates regarding Measure S — a measure that would prohibit sitting on sidewalks in commercial districts between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. — in the months before the November election.

“(The homeless) are people who basically have no money, and they need help,” said Christopher Cook, communications director of the coalition. “They don’t need to be pushed around … this is a measure that really accomplishes nothing for merchants, for homeless people, for anyone else.”

Arguments both for and against the issue will be published in a voter pamphlet for Berkeley residents, said city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross. If approved by voters in November, the measure will go into effect July 1, 2013.

“It’s not going to result in people getting off the streets,” Arreguin said. “Untold amounts of money will go to the city, police resources and jail resources … they will criminalize the homeless, and it’s unnecessary. Where are people going to go?”

Last year, the ASUC Senate voted 18-1 to oppose this measure when it was brought up during its term, said ASUC Senator and fourth-year UC Berkeley student Nolan Pack.