Once again Judie Mancuso is is taking her program of mandatory spay and neuter to cities and counties across the state where politicians are willing to hear her supporters without any input from the local constituents. Only the AR supporters attended a poorly noticed meeting on April 22nd where Supervisors Carbajal and Gray asked to move forward a spay and neuter ordinance.

The hearing is at 9:00 am on Tuesday, May 6th. We suggest being at the building by 8:00 am. We will have hand outs as well as buttons for those opposed to mandatory spay and neuter and in favor of voluntary action.

It is important that we have as many people at the hearing as possible and that we especially get people who live in the county of Santa Barbara to attend this meeting. The Animal Rights people are calling for the same type of attendance they had in Sacramento and as we all know, numbers count. But the biggest impact should come from Santa Barbara voters.

What to Expect.

Typically the Board of Supervisors allows each person who fills out a Speaker Card to speak for three minutes. Because they are expecting many people, they may (a) shorten the time or (b) not hear from everyone. They do not have a policy of listening to residents first and then others.

Getting Ready

We are scheduling a planning meeting in Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 3rd. If you are available to attend that meeting, please write to SB@cdoca.org. If you are driving to Santa Barbara and can take extra passengers, please let us know at that address.

The Climate

Remember that Pedro Nava who is the co-author of the doomed AB1634 is the Assemblyman for this area and will not be termed out until 2010. Also, Dr. Faoro, who while the head of California Veterinary Medical Association, sponsored AB1634 is a veterinarian in Santa Barbara. Once the members were heard from CVMA roundly repudiated its sponsorship. But we can assume a win here would feel like a moral victory for Dr. Faoro.

What Should You Do

Send a letter of protest (no email, only fax and snail mail) to each Councilperson and to the Deputy Chief Clerk of Court. Ask that your letter (to the Clerk of Court) be made part of the official record.

Come to Santa Barbara and bring as many people as possible.

Call your friends in Santa Barbara and ask them to organize their friends to attend this meeting and to write to their Supervisor.