This email is part of the Community Leaders for Schools & Communities First series. This series will highlight leaders from across California who are supporting the initiative to reinvest in the communities we call home. You can see all of our endorsers here >>.



Hello, I am Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto, I am a Registered Nurse, a city councilmember in El Cerrito, a mother of two, and I am proud to support Schools & Communities First so we can invest in our public health and public education.



Schools & Communities First will be a crucial part of our recovery.







The past month has been a whirlwind for nurses across the state as we have been caring for patients fighting COVID-19, providing essential health care services to others, while our public health facilities are severely understaffed and lacking in critical equipment. At times, I've felt overwhelmed -- but I've also been inspired by countless sacrifices and acts of goodwill and charity in our community.



As a nurse, as a city councilmember, and as a mother, I have been sounding the alarm for years about the urgent need to reinvest in our public health infrastructure and protect our hospitals and clinics.



Now, during this pandemic, our communities are seeing exactly why it is important to proactively invest in the essential services that we depend on -- both during a crisis as well as our day-to-day lives.



I am supporting Schools & Communities First because it will invest billions every year to support essential public services that our communities rely on for education, health care, clean air and water, and so much more.



We must do everything we can to recover from this pandemic AND rebuild our public services in a way that leaves no one behind.



Schools & Communities First is a commonsense reform to invest in the essential services our local communities depend on -- Will you join me in doing all we can to pass Schools & Communities First in November?





I am inspired every day by the way Californians have come together to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19. Let's keep up this unified spirit going forward by passing Schools & Communities First so we can invest in a real recovery!

-- Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto
City Councilmember and Former Mayor of El Cerrito, California
Proud Endorser of Schools & Communities First




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The Schools & Communities First initiative reclaims $12 billion every year for California’s schools and local communities by closing commercial property tax loopholes benefiting a fraction of corporations and wealthy investors. The initiative benefits residents and small businesses by exempting homeowners and renters from any changes while implementing new tax relief for small businesses.

Paid for by Schools and Communities First - Sponsored by a Coalition of Social Justice Organizations Representing Families and Students. Committee major funding from:

California Teachers Association

SEIU California State Council

Chan Zuckerberg Advocacy

Funding details at [link removed]


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