The board of supervisors recently deleted
the word "citizen" from county codes in an attempt to clarify
who in West Marin and elsewhere in the county is eligible for services
and legal protection.
The word "citizen" was replaced 12 times
in the Marin County Code with the words "resident," "consumer,"
"people" or "persons." John Ortega, 76, of San Rafael,
initiated the change and said non-citizens in West Marin and throughout
the county are part of the economy and eligible for services, but the
old language didn’t say that. "Nobody thinks of it unless
you bring it up."
Farm workers will benefit
"The change has been mentioned as an
ethnic thing," Ortega said, "That is what it is all about."
Ortega sees the small change in the code as a big win for Latino rights.
A lot of businesses in Marin County, especially farms and ranches in
West Marin, hire workers who are not always citizens, he said. "We
depend on the Latino to eat and to do the hard work."
One change deals with low and moderate-income housing.
It used to read "capricious development has caused … a severe
shortage of housing for citizens of low and moderate income." Deputy
County Council Byron Toma helped update the laws and said the change
tells non-citizens they are – and always have been – included
in the law. It is very likely that a non-citizen would read the old
ordinance and assume the law was not about them, he said.
Another change allows county emergency workers
to "command the aid" of residents rather than citizens in
an emergency or war.
That sounds like a big deal, but Toma expects the
new wording will only clarify what has always been the law.
The remaining changes are to names of county offices;
inserting the phrase "welfare of residents" where it previously
said "welfare of citizens"; giving residents information on
smoking; acknowledging motorcycle noise bothers residents; and changing
"citizen complaint" to "consumer complaint" in a
section regarding medical services.
The activist
About a year ago, Ortega, a lifelong advocate
of civil rights, told the board of supervisors that wording in an agreement
between Marin Telecommunications Agency and Comcast was incorrect. The
contract used citizen to refer to someone who watched cable television.
He said not every consumer was a citizen as the contract implied.
In response, the board looked at every use of citizen
in the code and decided to update the laws to let non-citizen residents
and people visiting the county know they are eligible for services and
protection.
"It lets all people know that they are protected
under the law," Supervisor Susan Adams, who spearheaded the change,
said. "Whether you are a visitor, not a citizen or an international
student."
Ortega has witnessed the state change its attitude
and acceptance of immigrants over his lifetime and said the change in
language is very significant. In the late 1960s "no one knew who
the Latino was!" he said.
Adams publicly thanked Ortega two months ago at
San Rafael City Hall. She was impressed by his commitment to justice
and proud of the county’s response. "It’s democracy at
work," she said.