Taking a Stand for the Uptown District and the North Sacramento community, the North Sacramento Chamber of Commerce continues over 50 years of civic involvment and advocacy for the continuing improvement of our quality of life. Below are recent positions papers that may be of interest to you.
10/05/06 -Endorsed Candidates for Office for November General Election
10/05/06 -Endorsed Governor's Infrastructures Bonds on November Ballot - Propositions 1A-E
10/05/06 - Support formation of "Community of Character" Effort in North Sacramento
08/29/06 -Support for Renewal of the Enterprise Zone for Economic Development
06/12/06 - Letter to City Council opposing change in BID administration
06/01/06 -Endorsed Yolo County Joining SMUD
06/01/06 - Endorsed Regional Economic Loan Fund Proposal
04/06/06 - Endorsed Grant Joint Unified School District Bond Measure
03/02/06 - Endorsed North Sacramento School District Bond Measure
02/13/06 -Letter to UCAC regarding need for Public Safety Element in American River Parkway Plan
02/20/06 -Letter to City and County regarding Deterioration of American River Parkway
6/15/05 -Endoresed Greenprint for Sacramento Region.
6/10/05 -Opposed elimination of Bus Route #12, and Sharp fare increases by Regional Tranist
6/9/05 -Opposed expansion and 24 hr operation of Tomra facility in neighborhood
1/3/05 -Letter to Senator Boxer supporting Stanford Settlement Teen Center project.
11/8/04 -Letter to State Parks Director Ruth Coleman supporting proposed California Indian Cultural Center on the American River Parkway.
11/30/04 -Letter to City Council supporting Housing Trust Fund Fee Reduction
7/21/04 -Letter to City asking for brownfields funding for El Monte Triangle Area.
4/13/04 - Letter to SACOG supporting community design grant for Swanston Intermodal Station.
1/25/04 - Letter to City opposed to closure of Evergreen Street in Business
District.
1/22/04 - Letter to City & County on deplorable conditions in the American
River Parkway.
6/10/03 - Letter to City advocating station by station community planning for Light Rail Stations.
5/13/03 - Letter to Sacramento County about American River Parkway Plan update process & Environmental Justice
4/10/03 - Letter to Sacramento County of concerns about American River Parkway Plan update proposed process
04/02/03 - Letter to Regional Transit and Woodlake Neighborhood Association regarding sound wall on Little Arden Way.
02/24/03 - Letter to City of Sacramento of business concerns over proposed Commercial
Corridor Guidelines and "Strategy."
01/07/03 - Letter to City of Sacramento opposing "Living Wage" ordinance.
12/03/02 - Letter to SMUD supporting formation of fund to assist older business corridors pay for undergrounding of unsightly utility poles.
09/09/02 - Letter to City of Sacramento regarding unmet parking needs of Uptown District.
09/05/02 - Letter to City of Sacramento opposing lot line split for Canterbury Hotel.
08/06/02 - Letter to County of Sacramento asking that cuts to underserved American River Parkway be avoided in budget.
04/04/02 - Letter to City/State/Federal Representatives opposing locating a Prison Release Facility on Acoma Street by Cornell Co.
04/04/02 - Letter to City and County of Sacramento about the disgraceful conditions in the American River Parkway.
04/04/02 - Letter to SACOG in support of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan as a balanced solution for our region's future.
01/31/02 - Letter to Regional Transit (RT) of concern about their NE Corridor Study Recommendations and Swanston Station.
01/22/02 - Letter to Sacramento Regional Sanitation District opposing "Tiered Fee" proposal for sewer impact fees as clearly flawed incentive.
All position letters are in Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® format (PDF) - you can download the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® software for free for viewing and printing at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html This is compatible with all major hardware and operating system platforms.
How To "EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY"
Educate yourself:
Thanks to the Internet, there are a tremendous range of opportunities for the effective citizen to learn more about how government works and the ins and outs of the policy process. Anyone who misses their high school civics teacher can learn more about government through the Dirksen Center's CongressLink site at www.congresslink.org. This site is designed by and for secondary school teachers.
Read about it:
If you're going to effectively advocate about something, you probably should know a little bit about it, right? So, find out what both the supporters and, more important, the opponents of your issue are saying. You can find links to virtually every newspaper on the planet at: www.onlinenewspapers.com. One great resource for trade press and magazines is www.magazine.org. You can identify supporters and opponents of your views through a google search as well by entered titles and related words.
Watch and Observe:
While the news media may not always give the most accurate portrayal of what's going on in the world, it's the best thing most of us have. Check out public interest shows on public television and cable as well as your options for watching government at work through the Internet. C-span, for example, webcasts the House and Senate floor on an ongoing basis, as well as important congressional hearings. Keep an eye on our local government on Metro Cable Channel 14.
Think about it:
The world is a thought-provoking place (and sometimes it's just provoking). What will that new policy do to where you live, work, or vacation? Is it fair? Why would someone support or oppose it?
Most Importantly - Take action:
Put all that educating, reading, watching and thinking into action by writing a letter to an elected official on something you care about Ð whether it's the pothole in front of your house or a national issue like the earned tax credit. See the "effective letters" PDF attached below from the California Chamber of Commerce for how to write your elected official.
Click for our area's elected officials
Remember this is citizen advocacy. Being an active and effective citizen should be a pleasure, not a chore. You are making a better community by participating in our democracy - after all, you never know who will contribute the best idea to a problemÉ it could be you!
