| It has been a very busy week for your California Democratic Party officers. We’ve just wrapped up a meeting with the Senate Democratic leadership on defeating the cynical and dishonest recall petition against Senator Josh Newman in Senate District 29. We want to be sure everyone recognizes and thanks Chris Masami Myers, whose last day as Executive Director was Thursday. Chris is moving on to an exciting new opportunity with our gratitude for his years of service to the Party. We also want to thank Monique Vieira-Huestis, who is taking time to spend with her young family.
Today, the final statewide candidate who requested to review ballots, Lenore Albert-Sheridan, is expected to complete her review. Following this review, the ballots and associated documents will become the property of the Compliance Review Commission for the purpose of protecting the integrity of the ballots, and to allow the CRC to assess all challenges that have been filed. The California Democratic Party is legally bound to follow the process established in the Party’s bylaws. Specifically, the bylaws designate the Compliance Review Commission as the independent body with the authority to review and adjudicate challenges. The makeup of the Commission is also specified in the bylaws. All the members of the Commission were appointed by former CDP Chair John Burton and have successfully handled numerous challenges since their appointments. As pointed out by the Los Angeles Times and others, Eric Bauman was duly elected as Chair of the California Democratic Party and has pressing responsibilities. We all agree that this needs to end quickly and not drag on with needless, costly court battles. Chair Bauman’s position has been unwavering from the moment he took office: The bylaws of the CDP are the Constitution of the Party; respect and adherence to the process created by those bylaws is the obligation of the Chair. To ensure that the CRC is afforded every opportunity to have a complete, transparent, and scrupulous result, the CRC has requested, and the Party has authorized, the retention of one of California’s most respected Constitutional and election law firms. Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLC will independently oversee, advise, and counsel the Compliance Review Commission as they carry out their mandate. Chair Bauman continues to urge all Democrats to respect the process and to focus on the values and policies that unite the Party; working to pass SB 562, The Healthy California Act (Medicare for all), staving off the unfair recall of Senator Josh Newman, fighting climate change, defeating Republican members of Congress, and helping our activists in red and rural counties organize to turn them blue. |
