A local political club is condemning Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis' pending good-will trip to Tanzania.
The United Democrats of Southern Solano County approved the resolution at its meeting Thursday, in a 4-2 vote, citing human rights abuses perpetuated by the country as cause for concern.
Davis is set to join a delegation of Vallejo Sister City Association members and area business leaders in an eight-day trip to Tanzania and surrounding areas, beginning Feb. 22. Bagamoyo is one of six "sister cities" and is not the first country to be visited by a Vallejo government delegation.
The Vallejo City Council approved Davis' $3,800 request to fund the trip at its Feb. 11 meeting.
In a press release issued Friday by United Democrats 2nd Vice President David Crumrine, the resolution calls for the severance of Vallejo's 20-plus-year sister city relationship with Tanzanian city Bagamoyo.
"Tanzania has a record of human rights abuses against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) citizens, women, children, religious group including Christian, the disabled, various ethnicities and others," the group states in its release.
The press release went on to provide a list of concerns about the country's laws and practices, particularly as they relate to its LGBT population.
On Friday, Davis questioned the motives of the United Democrats, which experienced a turnover in its voting membership last month.
"Nobody said not a word," Davis said, when Tanzanian President H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete visited Vallejo in mid-September.
"Not one person demonstrated, not one person said anything, condemned his business or his country," Davis added.
Davis went on to assert that the resolution seems to be a personal attack, referring to his past run-ins with Vallejo's LGBT community.
Davis said he does not endorse the condemnation or oppression of any group in any country. Many cities, states and countries hold values contrary to his beliefs, Davis said, but visiting those locales does not mean he endorses their practices.
"The point is, should we isolate ourselves from the world... The way in which you break down barriers between people... is you engage," Davis said. "I'm not going to do anything but city business (in Tanzania)."
Contact staff writer Jessica A. York at (707) 553-6834 or jyork@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @JYVallejo.
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