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I’m proud to report that the Blue Wave is still rolling. This time it’s in Assembly District 1, where Democrat Elizabeth Betancourt came in first with 39% in the special election primary in the longtime Republican district in Shasta County. I know many of you have spent months organizing to support Elizabeth, a farmer and environmental advocate. At this past weekend’s Executive Board — much more on that below — we sent 2,000 text messages in support of her campaign. We’ve got her back through the runoff in November and will certainly keep you posted on ways to support her campaign.
Speaking of our Executive Board meeting, thank you to each and every one of you who showed up to volunteer your time to building the Party you want to see and strengthen our efforts to prepare to take back the White House in 2020. And a special thank you to CDP’s staff who worked around the clock all summer to organize the weekend — quite a feat to pull off. Read on for highlights and important links below to recap the incredible work you all took part in this weekend.
A More Inclusive, Progressive, Safer, and Stronger Party
- The Rules Committee adopted and Executive Board passed many of the recommendations provided by the Task Force I convened earlier this year in an effort to build a party free of misconduct and harassment. This weekend, we reformed our Party’s Misconduct and Harassment Reporting process to create clear protocols, established a Conduct Commission to ensure accountability and finalized our Code of Conduct, and held a workshop on preventing sexual harassment and enforcing our new policies. Read the full report from the Rules Committee, click here.
- The E-Board adopted the Delegate Selection Affirmative Action Plan for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, laying out specific steps and memorializing our commitment to ensure the Democratic Party — at all levels — works to include, rather than exclude people from participation. This allows us to welcome into our state party Democrats who have faced barriers to voting, because of documentation status or involvement with the justice system. We are furthering a long legacy of expanding the franchise as widely as possible in the belief that the full benefit of political participation should be open to all. Read the full plan here.
- The urgency of the climate crisis was front and center, with CDP voting overwhelmingly to stand with progressives across the country in calling on the DNC to reconsider their position on hosting a true climate change debate for presidential candidates. We simply no longer have time to talk around this issue: We need to understand clearly where the candidates fall on these issues so fundamental to our survival. Read the resolution, along with the full list of Resolutions adopted by the Executive Board, here.
Important Updates
- 2019 November Endorsing Convention Rules and Tentative Schedule can be found in the Rules Committee report here.
- The Platform Committee is hard at work, and you can view the calendar of events here. To submit testimony electronically, make sure to do so by 5 PM on September 7, here.
- For a full list of the scores of progressive state and national bills the Executive Board voted to support this weekend, view the Legislative Committee Report here.
Whether you are new to the Executive Board or a returning member, I want to express my sincere gratitude to every delegate, activist, and advocate who was able to join us in San Jose this weekend or who showed up to help Elizabeth Betancourt’s first-place finish last night. I truly admire the countless hours you have and will continue to commit in the name of progressive values and working to make our state and our country a place we can all be proud of. Thank you for taking the time to join the fight.
I’d also like to invite you to join me for a “Chair’s First 100 Days Tele-Town Hall” with the entire DSCC at 6 PM on September 10. I’ll be giving an update on the E-Board, the progress of the first 100 days, as well as a preview of the November Convention. Click here to register. The deadline to RSVP for the call is September 4.
Next stop: November’s convention in Long Beach. See you there November 15-17!
In solidarity,
Rusty Hicks
CDP Chair
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