Out-of-towner justification for why Pacifica should spend its time on Presidential impeachment rather than filling potholes

We are undergoing a serious threat to our democratic institutions, under the dubious presidency of Donald Trump. We are very happy to hear that Pacifica is considering a resolution, on Monday Oct 23, to urge an impeachment investigation of the President. It is past time.

We are across the Bay in Alameda, and passed a resolution urging impeachment in March, 2017. You might be interested to know that along with Alameda, 15 other cities, towns, and counties have passed resolutions, and more are to come, including San Francisco. See the complete list below. As time goes on, we have increasingly urgent questions about the President’s business entanglements (foreign and domestic) and his mental stability. As you know, the Constitution vests the House Judiciary with the responsibility to investigate these kind of concerns, which go far beyond the criminal inquiry being conducted by Mueller.

Three questions come up quite commonly when cities contemplate these kind of resolutions: (1) Should cities be concerned with issues of the Presidency and the Constitution? Shouldn’t they stick with pothole repairs, the homeless, etc? (2) If Trump were to be impeached, would we be left with someone equally bad, Mike Pence and (3) What is the point of urging resolution while the Republicans control Congress? Let me briefly respond to all three, in case this is helpful:

1. City Council members take an oath to uphold the Constitution. Furthermore, cities are the closest governmental unit available and accessible to citizens. For both reasons, the city is the perfect and appropriate arena to pass on concerns of citizens which pertain to the highest office in the land.

2. We are a nation of laws. We do not fail to investigate and try people who are violating the law because it might have inconvenient consequences. Pence may be entangled in Trump’s problems and “go down with the ship”, but if not, we will deal with Pence when the time comes.

3. Take a page from the Republican playbook: didn’t they vote to repeal the ACA numerous times, over a period of years, even though each time it failed? They did so to make a point, even if they did not win. In doing so, they got publicity and stood up for what they thought was “right.” Ok. We can do that too! Furthermore, at any time, the Republicans could reach the breaking point, and champion country over party. Let’s hope this happens soon. There are certainly signs this happy day is coming, and not a moment too soon.

Best wishes for a successful vote for impeachment on Monday, October 23.

Katie and Kenneth Cameron, in behalf of Alameda4Impeachment