Watsonville council declines to place ceasefire resolution on agenda

The Watsonville City Council on Jan. 16 declined to place a resolution on the Feb. 13 meeting agenda to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The motion by Mayor Vanessa Quiroz-Carter failed 6-1, capping off a meeting that began when she called for a special meeting regarding the resolution. It is not clear whether such a meeting will occur. The mayor has the authority to request, but she would need a majority of the council members to vote with her.

Councilman Jimmy Dutra, in explaining his no-vote, said that the public has the ability to weigh in on any issue, and has done so several times on the conflict in Gaza. 

Placing the issue on the agenda, Dutra worried, could further divide the community.

“As leaders, it’s our job to make sure that everyone is being heard and respected, and that we’re thinking about the safety of the community,” he said.

Quiroz-Carter’s request came ahead of the public comment period of the city council meeting.  Dozens of people lined up to speak during public comment and urge the council to approve the resolution.

“I am supportive of a ceasefire resolution,” Quiroz-Carter said. “I think it’s a humanitarian crisis. Regardless of your stance on it, it’s worth having an open dialogue; that’s how we move forward.”

Tuesday marked the third time protestors attended a Watsonville City Council meeting calling on city leaders to pass a ceasefire resolution. The protestors efforts are part of a wider push to convince local jurisdictions to pass similar resolutions.

Isaac Chavarria, who said he is of Palestinian descent, said the conflict in Gaza is “everyone’s business.”

“How does one go about the day OK with the knowledge that the blood, sweat and tears of our labor and our work results in the blood, sweat and tears of 30,000 innocent people killed?” Chavarria said. 

Gaza’s Health Ministry on Monday said that the death toll in the strip is at 24,100 since the war began on Oct. 7. 

While the majority of speakers Tuesday supported a resolution, one speaker—Rosalind Shorenstein—urged the council not to pass one. 

“A ceasefire without the surrender by the Hamas terrorists guarantees there will be no peace,”

Shorenstein said. 

Veronica Hamilton, who identified herself as a delegate of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, said the labor union has endorsed a ceasefire resolution.

Hamilton, who has been part of other political actions, ended the public comment period with a promise of more activism to come.

Hamilton also said she was part of the 2020 Wildcat Strike at UC Santa Cruz, during which 54 graduate students protesting for wage increases were fired, and then later rehired.

“We can get a lot more disruptive,” she said. “So get this done right now. Pass this ceasefire resolution, or you’re going to regret it.”  

The council, acknowledging that the issue would be discussed at a future special meeting, voted unanimously to limit the public comment period to one hour.

That drew jeers from the crowd of protestors, and an admonition from Quiroz-Carter that she would shut down the meeting if it continued.

It was also a departure from the Jan. 9 meeting of the Santa Cruz City Council, during which Mayor Fred Keeley allowed 10 hours of unrestricted comment—the majority of which called for a ceasefire resolution—which pushed the meeting past 3am.

It is not clear whether the Watsonville City Council will limit the public comment portion of the special meeting, the date of which has not yet been set.