Tuesday night, the City Council of Flagstaff, Arizona agreed unanimously to have the city legal staff begin planning to seek an injunction against the new immigration bill. Mayor Sara Presler and Councilwoman Coral Evans led the council in what might be the most aggressive action by an AZ city government yet.
Next Tuesday the city attorney will present them some options for a final vote. We badly need your help to see this through.
[more after the break]
The mayor is up for re-election on May 18th, in a pretty tight race against a Tea Party conservative. This was an act of serious political courage. If she loses, conservative media are going to portray it as a sign of what happens if you try to fight this bill - and they may be right.
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh described Mayor Sara and the rest of the Council as "turncoats" yesterday, and city hall has been flooded with e-mails and phone calls from dittoheads - many of them threatening. I suppose that's a part of life for many city governments, but in a town of 60,000 people it's a big !$%!@#% deal.
The council members, the city staff, and the media need to know there are progressives out there who support what the city is trying to do. Mayor Sara could badly use some donations to respond to the smear campaigns she's faced up until now and the far larger one that's undoubtedly going to hit. The good news is, this is a small town - a hundred e-mails or a thousand dollars will make a major difference in shoring up the bravery of the Council to keep doing what's right.
To comment, call (928) 779-7600 or e-mail council@flagstaffaz.gov. To contribute to the campaign, volunteer for it, or learn more about Sara, visit http://www.saraformayor.com
Thanks, Kossacks!