For Immediate Release

March 4, 2020

Contact: Natali Fani-González, [email protected], 202.787.1813

People of Color Organized For Families and Won Big with Passage of Measure C in Alameda County, CA

The following statements are in response to last night’s passage of Measure C in Alameda County, CA. The Measure supports a small sales tax that will generate $150 million a year for a county-wide fund that will support comprehensive child care programs that will include living wages for care workers and subsidizing the cost of care for families in need, and provide additional resources to keep the Children’s Hospital Oakland trauma center, the only one in northern California, open. Because we won a simple majority, this victory could be challenged in the courts, where we’ll have to fight (and win again).

Clarissa Doutherd, Executive Director of Parent Voices Action:

“This is what happens when parents, community, and labor come together and run a grassroots campaign led by the very parents, providers, children, and workers most impacted by the issues facing the county and the state.”

“We are excited that a majority of voters are supporting Measure C. This is a huge win for Alameda County families, and it’s one that will have an impact for many generations to come. Parent leaders in Parent Voices Action have been organizing to win resources for families in California for decades. Their dedication and hard work—from the moment we hit the streets to collect the over 85,000 signatures to qualify this citizen’s initiative, the 55,000 voter universe we targeted with the campaign on the doors, phones and through texts, to the 16,000 voters we identified in the weeks building up to this evening when we spoke to the last voter about supporting Measure C—has brought a historic victory and what we believe to be a model for early care and learning in this county and possibly beyond.”

“We have witnessed here, on Super Tuesday, that child care is an issue that matters to our communities. Voters throughout our county have come out in support, and we look forward to making sure that community, labor and parent voices continue to lead and be heard as we work to implement this hard-fought win.”

Wendoly Marte, Director of Economic Justice for Community Change Action:

“The early childhood education movement is shaping the economic agenda for America’s families as we witnessed today with a majority of voters choosing Measure C in Alameda County, California. Spearheaded by parents, providers and educators, particularly Black and Brown women, we are witnessing a vibrant grassroots movement for child care that has empowered parents and their families to take action and demand bold change with their vote. Let’s be clear, this all happened because we organized from the bottom up.”

“We’re seeing cities, counties and even states across the country do what they can to expand access and affordability to child care and early learning in the absence of federal action. Today we celebrate in Alameda an effort that put our children, their families and the women who provide their care, mainly women of color, first.”

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