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Dayl Thomas for Wilmington City Council District 7

Libertarian ready to serve you!

City of Wilmington Candidate Police Reform Survey from the ACLU.

Here are my answers to the follow survey I received from the ACLU:

City of Wilmington Candidate Police Reform Survey

Please complete the candidate questionnaire below by Wednesday, August 19, 2020. These questions aim to ascertain your positions on topics we believe are important to police accountability and reform, and your answers will be published publicly. Please answer "Yes" or "No" and provide any explanation you feel is necessary.

Email address *

Will you vote to make all police disciplinary records public, and push for changes in state law necessary to make that possible? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary) *

Yes. As public servants, police should remember whom they serve and to whom they are accountable. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Will you vote for an ordinance prohibiting Wilmington police from engaging in civil asset forfeiture? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

Yes. Civil asset forfeiture is theft, pure and simple.

Will you vote for Wilmington police to collect and publish data, including by race, on all pedestrian and traffic stops they conduct, including the reason for the stop? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

Yes, though I think we should stop looking at "race" and realize that we are all one human race. If we separate people into categories, we will treat people in those various categories differently. We should treat all human beings with dignity and respect, period. Also, we should aim to stop quotas for traffic stops and reduce them altogether.

Will you vote in favor of periodic psychological evaluations of Wilmington police officers? Will you vote for funds to mental health support for officers? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

No. This is extra cost to the tax-payer. I would encourage police officers to get evaluations and mental health support, but only through the free market.

Will you vote for issuing all Wilmington Police officers body cameras? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

Yes. Again, police are public workers and we need to keep them and all of government in check. If Wilmington Police wear body cameras, they will be less likely to interfere with people unless the people are really disturbing the peace. All government employees, myself included if I win election to the District 7 council seat, should be reviewed by the people to make sure that we are doing our jobs, not wasting tax-payers' money, and keeping government small and accountable.

Since police officers are public servants, do you believe footage from arrest and police misconduct should be made public record? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

Yes, though I am concerned about the invasion of privacy of citizens this may cause. However, I want all government workers kept in check and to keep government small and accountable to the people.

If elected would you create and/or vote yes on an ordinance to end “no knock warrants”? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

Yes, absolutely.

Will you vote in favor of ending Operation Safe Streets, which utilizes aggressive policing tactics to harass Wilmington families and community members? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

No. Having probation officers work with police is a good use of resources. That said, I would instead like to end the war on drugs, which will do much more to stop the aggressive policing tactics that harass Wilmington families and community members.

Will you vote in favor of a community review board that has the power to investigate incidents and complaints, audit policy compliance, has hiring and firing authority, and make records and hearings public to the greatest extent possible? (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

No. I think communities should do this without extra government. Let's instead make government smaller and more local so that communities can be involved without creating an authoritarian state that can be manipulated to punish people unjustly.

Will you require and fund Wilmington Police to operate a pre-arrest diversion program for people with substance abuse issues (a model similar to New Castle County’s Hero Help). (Please answer “Yes” or “No” and provide any explanation you feel is necessary)

No. This already exist at the county level and we don't need more tax-payer money going to doubling the same service. However, I am more than willing to work with communities to set up private charities or support existing private charities in operating a program to help those with substance abuse issues. Stop treating drugs and drug addiction as a crime issue and let charities and the free market begin to fix it as the medical issue it truly is.

Communities of color in Wilmington have borne the brunt of aggressive policing and war on crime policies for decades. Those communities also bear the scars of decades of discrimination in housing, education, and access to economic opportunity. What will you do as a Council member, Mayor, or treasurer to repair that harm?

Do all that I can to reduce government:
- It's no coincidence that the growth of government has lead to the war on drugs and a welfare state that looks to enslave people instead of leaving them alone and letting them be creative and entrepreneurial.
- I look to reduce restrictions, licensing, etc. to allow people the freedom to create jobs and hire people looking for jobs.
- I will write resolutions demanding the county and state governments decriminalize and legalize drugs, thus giving drug cartels and their dealers nothing to stand on. It also means that people will be more open to get the help they need.
- If people can create/get jobs and have no need to fight for a drug gang, this will reduce the use of gun violence in the city and will also reduce theft.
- I will see to it that private charities get the focus they deserve to help those in need instead of the government.
- I will encourage home schooling and private schooling to help solve our educational needs here in the city. I will also help people set up these alternate schooling choices and find ways to connect teachers to students without government interference. For those that choose to remain in public schools, they will benefit tremendously as class sizes will reduce and all students will get more one-on-one attention, which is the best thing that can happen for a child's education.
- For anything I have not explicitly expressed, you will find that I agree with the platform of the Libertarian Party and how I will handle things can be summed up there: https://www.lp.org/platform/
- Thank you very much for your consideration. If you have any questions, you can reach me at dayl4wcc7@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you and to earn your vote.
Very Respectfully,
Dayl Thomas

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