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Enviar a un amigoCities for Peace is a coalition of local elected officials and concerned community members working to get City Councils and other civic bodies to pass resolutions against a US led war on Iraq. Although the group focuses on the anti-war effort, this tactic has also been used to show local opposition to a variety of federal actions, such as investment in apartheid and the curtailment of civil liberties under the Patriot Act.The Cities for Peace Campaign formed when the Institute for Policy Studies saw several local governments passing resolutions and decided to develop a set of online “how-to” guidelines for creating and passing similar resolutions. The majority of individuals who access these online resources are members of locally-focused, grassroots groups. However, government officials have also used the guidelines. Information about Cities for Peace has spread largely through word-of-mouth, but has received an amazing response. By the end of February 2003, 113 cities and counties had passed resolutions and over 90 new campaigns were underway.
The website provides organizers with a “step-by-step guide to getting a resolution passed in your city.” This guide suggests types of local organizations that can most likely be gathered to support a resolution and advises organizers on how to survey the opinions of their City Council members and gain Council members as allies for their cause. It provides a sample petition that can be used to gather public signatures, as well as advise on how to set up a public education event and reach out to the media. A large function of the website is to facilitate conversation between communities and organizations within states. However, individuals can also use the site to find models of resolutions that have been passes in cities of comparable size and demographics. The resolutions are not standard, but almost all of them stipulate that a copy will be sent to Congressional leaders and President Bush.
As the umbrella group, Cities for Peace tries to use the resolutions together, so they become “more than the sum of the parts.” They have launched a media campaign leading to articles in the Washington Post and the New York Times. They also provide organizers with sample Op-ed pieces and press releases to help publicize their effort. On February 13, Council Members from 30 of the cities that have passed resolutions gathered in Washington DC to advocate continued UN weapons inspection as an alternative to war. Delegates held a news briefing, symbolically delivered their resolutions to the White House, and met with members of Congress in favor of the war. The next day they participated in a large anti-war rally in New York.
In many cases, resolutions have been easy to pass. Once they reach the point where they will be voted on, they are often passed by a wide margin. The main difficulty encountered by local groups is convincing the Council that this is a local issue. If organizers encounter problems getting resolutions introduced or passed in their city, individual Council Members and city government officials have been asked to circulate letters and make public statements against the war, and resolutions have been passed by other civic bodies such as universities and labor unions.
This paper was completed on February 26, 2003.
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