Supervisor Jacob joins Cox in opposing Horn’s grant to Life Perspectives
UPDATE 3:58pm: Supervisor Pam Slater-Price’s office tells CityBeat she will also vote against the grant, which means it’s effectively dead.
San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob has confirmed that she will join Supervisor Greg Cox in voting against a $20,000 grant to Life Perspectives, a La Mesa-based pro-life organization.
Last week the county cancelled the grant for Life Perspectives’ annual Life Walk after determining the event raises funds for religious educational materials. On Friday, Supervisor Bill Horn, the grant’s sponsor, added an agenda item to tomorrow’s meeting that would change the purpose of the grant. Instead of supporting the fundraiser, the money would be used to create supplemental materials for Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One’s Abortion Experience, a book by the group’s president, and the centerpiece of an anti-abortion outreach campaign.
(For more, read today’s earlier post on Cox’s announcement.)
In an emailed statement to CityBeat, Jacob cited a statement by County Counsel that it is still looking into whether any action may be taken regarding previous grants Life Perspectives had received from the county.
“Because Counsel has stated that it continues to evaluate the past grants, the matter is unresolved,” Jacob said. “I cannot support additional moneys to this organization while the matter of the past grants remains unsettled.”
Jacob and Cox also announced a proposal to tighten regulations for county Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grants.
In the meantime, the ACLU of San Diego has sent a letter (pdf) to the county arguing that it believes the grant to Life Perspectives is still illegal, even though it has been rewritten as not to support religious activities.
