Weekly Update – 7.20.18
It’s been another productive week for Your CDP Team. See below for a recap of this week’s activities.
Executive Board Highlights
The California Democratic Party Summer Executive Board Meeting was held in Oakland last weekend. This was one of the best-attended e-board meetings in years, and we are so grateful from all the positive feedback and helpful suggestions we’ve received from the members of the e-board and the folks who attended as observers. It was a safe, fun and productive weekend for everyone, and we were proud to once again have a sexual assault and harassment hotline available to everyone for that added level of protection.
The business agenda of the e-board was jam-packed. Members of the Executive Board made the final set of endorsements for November, took positions on dozens of federal and state bills, and adopted a number of critical resolutions. Congratulations to Senator Kevin de Leon for winning the CDP Endorsement for United States Senate. We also want to extend our congratulations to the Yes on 10 Campaign for affordable housing, which successfully won the Party’s official Yes endorsement. For a full list of positions taken by the CDP, please click here.
We approved support for crucial legislation, including SB 822 by Senator Scott Weiner, which makes Net Neutrality the law in California. We also voted to support AB 1775 by Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Monique Limon to protect the coast from further oil drilling, and AB 3080 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher to outlaw the non-disclosure agreements that have allowed too many serial harassers and abusers avoid accountability for their heinous behavior. For a full list of positions adopted by the CDP, please click here.
We adopted a number of resolutions, including resolutions expressing our outrage at the kidnapping of the kids at the Border, for establishing public banks, standing up against sexual harassment and congratulating the Golden State Warriors on their NBA Championship*. For a full list of resolutions, please click here.
*We’re using it as a template for Lebron’s Lakers next year
CDP Announces Ban on Private Prison Donations
Last week, CDP Chair Eric C. Bauman announced a new policy adopted by the statewide officers to ban contributions from the Private Prison industry. Additionally, Chair Bauman announced that the unsolicited donations made to the CDP by private prison companies would be donated to nonprofits working to protect immigrants in detention and help formerly incarcerated Californians rehabilitate as they adjust to reentry. You can read the full press statement here, but we want to highlight a key point Chair Bauman made:
“…Our Party will be fundamentally better off without maintaining a financial relationship with those whose interests run counter to the values and integrity of the California Democratic Party. That is why we are disgorging the contributions we have received this year, and its why we are proud to support candidates who will champion reforms to the broken and abusive private prison system.”
Upcoming Tony Thurmond Meet ‘n Greets
Unlike his opponent, who is drawing support from rightwing billionaires aligned with Betsy DeVos, our CDP-endorsed candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, Assemblymember Tony Thurmond, is running a strong, grassroots-oriented campaign to ensure California’s kids have the world-class education they deserve. Check out one of these great events and find out how you can help us win this crucial fight in November:
OAKLAND, Tuesday, July 24, 8:00-10:30 am — Click here to RSVP for a breakfast hosted by IAFF Local 55 firefighters.
LOS ANGELES, Tuesday, July 24, 6:00-8:00 pm — Click here to RSVP for a community fundraiser hosted by the East Area Progressive Democrats and LA education leaders.
SAN FRANCISCO, Thursday, August 9, 6:00-8:00 pm — Click here to RSVP for Tony Thurmond birthday celebration in San Francisco.
RIVERSIDE, Thursday, August 16, 6:00-8:00 pm — Click here to RSVP for an event with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and Inland Empire leaders and educators.
Chair Bauman: Democrats Work Hard to Stay United
We wanted to make sure you saw Chair Bauman’s op/ed in USA Today, responding to editorial criticism of our endorsement for Senator Kevin de Leon for United States Senate.
You know, Spiro Agnew – Nixon’s tax-dodging Vice President – once called the media “a bunch of nattering nabobs of negativity.” And sometimes the way the press writes about our Party… well, it kinda makes us agree with Agnew.
But regardless of what kind of tizzy the pundits are working themselves up to, Chair Bauman is always delighted and honored to trumpet our Grassroots Democrats, and the causes and candidates they champion.
The California Democratic Party endorsed Sen. Kevin de Leon because of his substantial achievements on climate change, gun control and immigration, including our sanctuary state law. Lets be clear: Our dedicated and hardworking activists cast an affirmative vote for a candidate. The only rejection is of President Donald Trump’s corrupt and compromised regime.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a formidable leader, enjoying national respect and prestige over four terms in the U.S. Senate. The media are trying hard to push the tired Democrats-divided storyline because of our endorsement. This sensationalized oversimplification sells newspapers, but it doesn’t paint a real picture.
Here’s the reality. We have worked hard to stay united, including my call for candidates to not even seek the endorsement. California Democrats are united in leading the resistance to Trump. We are united in our commitment to defeating Trump’s stooges in Congress, winning our third consecutive sweep of statewide races and a supermajority in our legislature. We are united to fight for progress on immigration, climate change, affordable housing and other key issues.
We will work our hearts out for our candidates, starting with those running against Trump enablers in Congress. We will work hard to energize millennials, rural voters and people of color to support our entire ticket.
The media are stuck in their pre-Trump mindset of left versus right and red versus blue. But voters see Trump’s collusion with Russia. They see his flagrant corruption. They are revolted by the dangerous forces he has unleashed, particularly the justification of kidnapping children and locking them in cages. When they see what’s happening to our country, their first concern isn’t right versus left. It’s right versus wrong. And those voters will be well served by Kevin de Leon as their champion in the Senate. Just as they have been well served by Dianne Feinstein.
‘We choose to go to the Moon…’
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108 Days Until the Election!
