Venezuela RPCV Ron Pomerantz is running for Santa Cruz city council



Ron Pomerantz said his eyes were opened to the world when he served two years in Venezuela with the Peace Corps after graduating from UCSC with degrees in economics and sociology. After his term, Pomerantz was drawn back to Santa Cruz by its beauty and sense of community. He organized for the Westside community and was employed as a janitor at the Branciforte library where he learned about pay and benefits issues for workers. In 1980, he began his 30-year career as a firefighter in the city of San José.

Venezuela RPCV Ron Pomerantz is running for Santa Cruz city council

Santa Cruz City Council Candidates

By City on a Hill Press

City on a Hill Press

Published October 28, 2010 at 11:53 am

Illustrations by Rachel Edelstein.

[Excerpt]

Ron Pomerantz

By James Austin
Campus Reporter

Ron Pomerantz said his eyes were opened to the world when he served two years in Venezuela with the Peace Corps after graduating from UCSC with degrees in economics and sociology.

After his term, Pomerantz was drawn back to Santa Cruz by its beauty and sense of community. He organized for the Westside community and was employed as a janitor at the Branciforte library where he learned about pay and benefits issues for workers. In 1980, he began his 30-year career as a firefighter in the city of San José.

Pomerantz has been a part of UCSC since he and his wife graduated.

Of the city's relationship with the UC, he said, "It comes in waves - this is a good wave. There's always a lot more to do, but we're in a positive place."

He said the biggest issue facing Santa Cruz is "people feeling detached from government and wanting and needing to have a say."

Pomerantz said public safety should be a priority. He said the three main issues for community safety are neighborhood organization, youth outreach and opportunities, and law enforcement.

"[People should] get together in their neighborhoods and find out what their needs and interests are," Pomerantz said. "[They should then] bring those to the council. Rather than police saying, ‘This is what we're going to do,' people will say, ‘This is what we need you to do.'"

Pomerantz supports Prop 19.

"[Marijuana] should be regulated like tobacco and alcohol," he said. "The ability to raise revenues is important. It's been used against people of color overwhelmingly as an excuse for arrest. [It] will take the criminality out of it."

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: October, 2010; Peace Corps Venezuela; Directory of Venezuela RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Venezuela RPCVs; Politics; City Government; California

When this story was posted in January 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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Support Independent Funding for the Third Goal The Peace Corps has always neglected the third goal, allocating less than 1% of their resources to "bringing the world back home." Senator Dodd addressed this issue in the "Peace Corps for the 21st Century" bill passed by the US Senate and Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter proposed a "Peace Corps Foundation" at no cost to the US government. Both are good approaches but the recent "Comprehensive Assessment Report" didn't address the issue of independent funding for the third goal at all.

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Jan 9, 2011: Push for the Peace Corps Rajeev Goyal Pushes for the Peace Corps 20 Dec Denis Dutton founded Arts & Letters Daily 2 Jan Jim Carter promotes organ exchange 29 Dec Bob Hollinger embraced the Toyama-ryu style of karate 27 Dec Anthony Siracusa is Riding a bike around world 27 Dec Marianne Combs writes: Another Upheaval in Ivory Coast 25 Dec Kathy Rousso documents weaving methods in Guatemala 24 Dec Ramsey Nix writes: Christmas in Mongolia 23 Dec Leanne Moore writes: Coming Back to America 23 Dec Cancer Victim Linda Lahme dreams of Africa 23 Dec The RPCV Who Changed American Parenting 22 Dec Dick Holbrooke at the Peace Corps 22 Dec Mahlon Barash publishes "Imágenes del Perú" 20 Dec Susan Luz writes "The Nightingale of Mosul" 18 Dec RPCV arrested in alleged Sandinista 'Land Grab' 17 Dec Peter DiCampo captures village life in Ghana 16 Dec John Coyne writes: Peace Corps Prose 16 Dec Kathleen Stephens presses China to rein in North Korea 15 Dec Greg Parsley writes: PC taught me to bypass bureaucrats 14 Dec Pat Waak writes: Peace Corps Pays Off 8 Dec David Matthews wins NATO medal for work in Afghanistan 7 Dec Ralph Bolton wins award in Anthropology 9 Nov

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Nov 8, 2010: The 50th Begins University of Michigan commemorates 50th 16 Oct Wittenberg University also has claim on 50th 31 Oct Historical Marker Unveiled to Celebrate 50th 15 Oct Directors Discuss Impact of Service 13 Oct Mary Morgan writes: Some thoughts on the 50th 16 Oct Colombia I Holds Reunion at Rutgers 31 Oct Remembering the Early Program in Ghana 23 Oct George Packer writes: Meaning of the Mid-Terms 2 Nov Steve Driehaus Defeated for re-election 2 Nov Michelle Obama's Uncle was PCV in India 1 Nov Chic Dambach writes "Exhaust the Limits" 31 Oct Alrick Brown Directs Documentary on Rwanda 31 Oct Rajeev Goyal writes: Obama Does Nothing for Peace Corps 31 Oct Dr. Paul Frommer Created Language for 'Avatar' 20 Oct Cy Kukenbaker Directs Movie about Soccer in Malawi 15 Oct Peace Corps has no Institutional Memory 14 Oct Kristof and Stacia Nordin demonstrate permaculture in Malawi 9 Oct Volunteer Stephanie Chance dies in Niger 8 Oct Peace Corps volunteer Census hits 40-year high 4 Oct Malaysia PM wants Peace Corps to Return 25 Sep Volunteer Thomas Maresco Murdered in Lesotho 4 Sep Johnathan Miller launchs Airborne Lifeline 26 Aug

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Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams

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Join Us Mr. President! "We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011. And we'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity," said Barack Obama during his campaign. Returned Volunteers rally and and march to the White House to support a bold new Peace Corps for a new age. Latest: Senator Dodd introduces Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 .

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