California State Park Advocacy Day was a great success! The Coalition to Save Candlestick was 60 people strong on the steps of the state Capitol at the Rally to Save Our State Parks on Monday, April 7th. With Governor Schwarzenegger proposing the closure of 48 state parks, the entire state was out in full force.
The Coalition to Save Candlestick Point State Park was the most visible at the rally, and continued our presence by delivering native plants grown in our very own Candlestick Park to each of the 120 legislators. Claude Everhart, the original founder of the Friends of Candlestick Park, gave an inspiring speech, while 30 Bayview children from the S.R. Martin Preparatory School and other schools exercised their civic right by holding signs to save our beloved Candlestick that is home to thousands of birds and serves Southeast San Francisco, an area that is in high need of more open space.
Following the rally, Assemblyman Leno, Senator Migden's staff, and Jim Gonzalez, former San Francisco Supervisor and currently chair of the effort for the Solar Energy Act of 2008 that will be on the November ballot, addressed our group's concerns about Candlestick and assured us that they are doing everything in their power to prevent the park's closure.
A special thanks to the Young Community Developers, the S.R. Martin School and all the other community members and organizations for joining the Coalition to Save Candlestick Point State Park in Sacramento to advocate against the park's closure.
For more information, please visit http://sfnpc.org/savecandlestick. Click here for an event flier.
