The Fresno County Democratic Central Committee has not endorsed any candidate in this race.
Dear Sister and Brother Democrats:
Angry and frustrated as I am about the erosion of democracy we are experiencing with Trump ousting FBI Director Comey in the midst of an FBI investigation of Trump and his cronies and as much as I want to scream at the mainstream media’s failure to call out the Trumpublican lies about the Affordable Care Act and their tax cut for the rich masquerading as health care reform, today, I thought it was important to share with you the video below.
You may have already received this very heartwarming and heartfelt piece from my friend Michael Andraychak about his spouse, CDP Chair Candidate Eric Bauman. I wanted to share it with you, however, because I have known Eric since the early 1990s when we were young LGBT activists together in the Los Angeles Stonewall Democratic Club.
Here is my story about the Eric I know. Vote for him or not, that is your decision to make, but I strongly urge you to get to know the man I know, who has dedicated his life to the Party he, I and our spouses all love and who is, in my estimation, ready and able to lead the CDP.
The story has special significance for me because, as you may know, my spouse, Peter and I met at a Gertrude Stein Democratic Club meeting in Washington, DC 29 years ago and our passion for social and economic justice, the rights of workers and the rights of LGBT community members to be full and equal participants in our society in a way, brought us, Eric and Michael together in our decades-long struggle for a better world through Democratic Party activism.
Eric, his spouse, Michael, my spouse, Peter, and I met as Democratic Club activists in the Stonewall Democratic Club. The challenges of an LGBT club in the ’90s are hard to imagine today, but it was hard to be taken as seriously as our issues demanded. Even then, Eric was all about team work. Even then, Eric inspired his fellow acti…vists and campaign workers. Later, Eric became chair of the LA County Democratic Party. He turned an organization to which Garry Shay had given strong structure, durable organization and a single part-time worker into an electoral dynamo with more resources and heft than dozens of state parties.
After an incredible, grassroots, but unsuccessful effort to be elected chair, Eric was elected vice -chair of our state Party and used that post to build up grassroots leaders and empower county parties. Eric went to the furthest outposts of Democratic activism to help invigorate our Party. Many of today’s CDP leaders support Eric because he was there for them on the issues, in their efforts to raise money and harness resources and because he helped them identity and conquer the obstacles to success.
There is more to do. Ours is likely the strongest and most successful state Democratic Party in the country.. Yet, we have more to do to reinforce the progressive tendencies of our elected officials, to build infrastructure outside urban areas and to build the bench that insures a strong, dynamic Party tomorrow. I know that the teambuilder I met in 1993, although a bit older and more battle tested, is the best choice for chair we can have as we face those challenges.
Democratically yours,
Laurence Zakson
P.S. If you are on my regular email list, I hope to have some data on the DNC reorganization to share via email tomorrow. So, keep a lookout.
