Gratitude…

I meant every word on that stage this past weekend… it was an honor to have spent an incredible six months in community, talking about how we can make our California Democratic Party better.

We set out on our campaign for Chair with four goals: culture change, hold the gains from 2018, oversee a successful presidential primary and take back the White House in 2020. And just because the green checkmark isn’t by the desired name doesn’t mean it’s time to give up the goals.

The reforms to the bylaws, the changes to our ADEM elections, transparency with how funds are being spent… all of the worthy ideas are still there, waiting for action – not by a Chair, but by the delegation. The work continues. The movement continues. Change is not made by one, it’s made by the many.

We talked about a dramatic shift in culture – one where bullying, abuse, harassment and retaliation are no longer acceptable. Chairman Hicks has laid out his plan to address our culture problems and we all must rally around these efforts to ensure they become reality (and of course hold both those who lead and ourselves accountable to the outcomes).

We can never forget that we’re a Party made up of real people, which means mistakes will be made and we won’t always be our best selves. Elections can be especially tough and good people can cross all sorts of lines; however, I spent a significant portion of our time together talking about our Party needing to be a place for contrition and reconciliation.

Our Party must be a place where forgiveness is given to those of us who have the courage to acknowledge our mistakes, make amends and offer restorative justice. With so much hate in this world, let’s not forget that only light can drive out the darkness.

Hate crimes were committed this weekend outside of our Convention and up until just a few minutes ago a delegate was missing. We didn’t widely share that our campaign was targeted by white nationalists requiring us to obtain security for Convention; if anything, all of these horrific events are stark reminders that it’s time for us to come together as one community.

Congratulations again to Chairman Hicks. We’re rooting for you. I’m rooting for you. We need real leadership right now and we’re counting on you to deliver.

Let’s get back to organizing. Now the real work begins.

With Gratitude,