Last week's election brought victories that once seemed impossible and setbacks that remind us how much work remains. Across the country, people organized, challenged powerful interests, and fought for a greater say in the decisions that shape their lives and communities.
Many won. Others, including here in Berkeley, fell short. Measure Z in Berkeley was a parcel tax that would have helped to capitalize and start Public Bank East Bay. As of November 6, early evening, Measure Z was lagging by a bit less than 5,000 votes, with a 44% yes vote. We expect that to improve before the final tally, but there are not enough uncounted votes for passage.
But Measure Z was one step in a much longer journey, and our determination to establish Public Bank East Bay remains.
We want to take a moment to thank you for all of your support and express our deepest gratitude to the volunteers who poured hundreds of hours into the campaign.
Over the last year, as we've had the chance to speak to tens of thousands of Berkeley residents, from Sunrise members at Berkeley High, to small business owners in West Berkeley, to seniors in the hills,
You knocked on doors, started conversations with neighbors, answered difficult questions, and helped thousands of people imagine something they may never have considered before, a public bank owned by and accountable to our communities.
You did more than campaign for a ballot measure. You helped to strengthen a movement. That alone is a major victory and a huge step towards eventually establishing Public Bank East Bay.
Your efforts combined with media coverage of Measure Z means that hundreds of thousands of people heard about public banking for the first time, from local efforts, the New York Times, and Fortune Magazine, among other places, and may have lit the flame for similar efforts in other parts of the country.
Not every campaign succeeds the first time. But each time people come together, challenge what they've been told is possible, and organize to change it, we build something that lasts beyond any single election.
And we are far from alone.
In San Francisco, the movement to create a public bank also went before voters with Proposition B. The measure passed, receiving 51% of the vote with more to come.
Across the country, people are coming together in different movements to exercise our right to shape the future of our communities, decide how our money is invested, and determine who benefits from our shared wealth.
Together, these movements are building political power and reclaiming decisions that have too long been left in the hands of a powerful few.
In Michigan, voters passed Proposal 2 restricting campaign contributions by regulated utilities and large government contractors and expanding political advertising disclosure requirements.
In Monterey Park, California, and dozens of other places around the US, voters took control of decisions about data centers, approving a citywide prohibition in June that can only be lifted by another vote of the people.
In Connecticut, residents have formed a Citizens’ Assembly to reimagine the state’s tax system.
Public banking advocates have organized in at least 20 states and Washington, DC. In California alone, ten city and regional movements are working to create public banks.
Movements are not built in a single campaign or won in a single election. They grow because people keep showing up for one another and for the future they believe is possible.
Join Us
We remain dedicated to continuing our efforts to make what seems impossible, possible. A way to exercise our right to determine where public funds are invested and who benefits. For us, that is the establishment of Public Bank East Bay.
We have more organizing to do, more people to bring into this movement, and more possibilities to explore.
The public bank is not yet built. But the movement is growing.
We hope you will join us by signing up here or emailing us at connect@publicbankeastbay.org.
Whether you're into finance, racial and economic justice, community organizing, affordable housing, clean energy, small business development, public policy advocacy, or all of the above, we have room in our volunteer-led effort for you.
We'll match your interests with others in our growing community.
Thank you,
Friends of Public Bank East Bay