Mark Leno made good on his promise to send another bill to the Governor to make marriage in California gender neutral. AB 43 passed the Assembly today. The Governator already has promised to veto the bill, saying that “the people of California have voted on that issue.” That's a shameful way to validate the trampling of the rights of the minority by the majority. For more information on bills currently passing, check out CPR.
Daily Archives: September 7, 2007
The Bright Side of Death?
(Disclosure: I work for It’s OUR Healthcare.)
The state legislature is down to its final days of the session and Blue Cross alerted their list of insurance agent supporters that current reforms on the table are “unhealthy.” (And the status quo isn’t?)
The fact of the matter is that Blue Cross, and like-minded groups, are adamantly opposed to real healthcare reform in California: creating astroturf front groups (with a laundry list of insurance agent supporters) and running print and radio advertisements stressing “responsible” reform as part of a scare-tactic campaign.
But what’s really irresponsible is standing in the way of meaningful healthcare reform.
Below is a video parody of the Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, specifically, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
With that, I give you Blue Cross’ “Always Look on the Bright Side of Death.”
Republican Culture of Corruption: 2007 So Far
[First, a cheap plug for my blog Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.]
Does it seem like there’s a new Republican scandal in the news every single week? Well, that may be because there is.
That seems like an awful lot of corruption, scandal, hypocrisy, impropriety, and jail-worthy crime, huh? A lot of corruption. One might say an entire Culture of Corruption.
CA-04 : Keeping my Promise
(Welcome the next Representative from California’s 4th Congressional District. – promoted by David Dayen)
In the fall of 2005, Jan and I had become so frustrated at the direction of our country, the war in Iraq and the corruption in Washington, we decided it was time to take action. I decided to run for Congress against Rep. John Doolittle – one of the most recognizable symbols of corruption and partisan politics in Washington.
When we started that campaign, we went to house parties with five and ten people in attendance to persuade them to join our effort. We built momentum one volunteer, one house party and one neighborhood at a time, and we narrowly missed in 2006.
Today, as I officially announce my 2008 candidacy for Congress in CA-04, we are expecting over three hundred and fifty people (that’s just the number who RSVP’d in advance) to participate in our campaign kickoff barnstorming tour. Our strength today is a large result of your efforts over the past two years-empowering everyday people from the grassroots to the netroots and everywhere in between. You have helped us organize, drive our message to the local and national press and helped us raise the resources needed to fuel our people powered campaign. For that, I am eternally grateful.
Thirty-Five years ago when I joined the Air Force, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. My allegiance to this oath has, and will always be, without hesitation or purpose of evasion. Country comes first.
When I got in the race last cycle, I pledged to see the mission through to its completion. I keep my promises. And with my family at my side today, I will officially start the next phase of this mission and see it through to the end.
Simply put, I can’t do it without you. So, I am respectfully asking for your help and support again to complete the mission we started together.
I know that we all may not agree on every issue. But I know the difference between patriotism and partisanship. The difference is results. The difference is accountability. The difference is having the courage to make the tough choices – and to solve the problems confronting America, we have a lot of tough choices to make in the years to come.
My announcement speech is linked HERE. I hope you will take a few minutes out of your day to read it and hopefully, pass it along to a few friends and enlist them to join our cause at www.charliebrownforcongress.org .
Together, we will get this country back on track. We will reclaim our government for “we the people.” And we’ll be seeing you soon on the campaign trail.
Keep fighting,
Charlie
Rancor within the GOP
I almost feel bad for the Governor. I mean, he can't get his programs passed in the legislature, as Republicans think they are too liberal, and Dems think they are too conservative. Almost. But, I certainly would not want to be him when he goes into Indian Wells this weekend to make a speech to the California Republican Party's convention. As the LA Times points out in the title of its article about the convention, “Republican Schwarzenegger, GOP don't get along”
The governor has shown little interest in throwing the organization a lifeline. And some party leaders leave the impression that if one were to come their way, they might just throw it back. “He doesn't agree with the vast majority of Republicans on most issues,” said Mike Spence, president of the California Republican Assembly, which works to elect conservatives.
“I imagine the gathering will not be a particularly happy one,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. (LA Times 9/7/07)
We've discussed this in the past, but there is a very real possibility of the split growing at this convention. The GOP has been kowtowing to the social conservatives, and now they are just beginning to realize that social conservatives alone are not enough to win, especially in California. So, they are bereft of purpose while they struggle to find a purpose within the state, the underlying question is can the GOP “big tent” survive Schwarzenegger in California.
This has long term implications in the state. If Arnold decides to run for Senate in 2010, will the GOP be united behind him? Will social conservatives stay at home knowing his pro-choice and other social progressive views? A major split could put his Senate ambitions at risk.
State Plays Traffic Cop on Local Campaign Finance Ordinances
One thing leaped out at me when reading Frank Russo’s roundup of the bills that passed through the state legislature yesterday. That is that AB1430, a plan that will completely gut local campaign-finance reform laws, passed through the State Sente after a unanimous vote in the Assembly earlier this year. All 15 Republican Senators joined 12 Democratic Senators to support the bill, giving it the bare minimum of 27 votes it needed to pass. Bill Cavala tried to mount a defense of the bill in July by saying it’s an attempt to break municipal monopolies and foster competition locally. Right, because it’s always the case that challengers can outraise incumbents, ay? Sadly, both state parties backed this measure because they both want to MAINTAIN their fiefdoms in their respective regions without allowing localities to manage their elections their own way. Anytime you hear a politician argue for less restrictions on campaign money, ask yourself if they’re doing this to aid their opponents. The answer is usually no. From the Chronicle editorial:
Let’s be clear: This bill deals with one very specific type of “communication” — an expenditure on behalf of a candidate, in collaboration with the campaign itself. These are direct political contributions. If local governments want to limit them — as the Legislature has done for state races — they should have a right to do so.
Now, if the governor signs the bill, they won’t. And that will probably help Democrats more than Republicans, particularly with regard to labor. Doesn’t make it right, however.
Perata and Migden Join To Stop Leno Bills
(Sorry to bump this again, but I wanted to point out that the story has now broken into the MSM. Both the SacBee and the Chronicle have discussed the games. Whatever it is, the gamesmanship displayed in the last few days does not serve the people. I have high hopes that AB706, and other common sense provisions will pass soon. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)
My boss, Randy Shaw, wrote this for today’s Beyond Chron. Ever since Leno announced he would challenge Migden, I’ve heard a lot of local progressives in San Francisco say that we should take advantage of this situation by having the two legislators compete with each other to get the most good legislation passed – a “win-win” situation for us. But this is not what people had in mind …
San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno is used to facing opposition from corporate and other special interests opposed to his progressive bills. But now Leno faces a new adversary: State Senator Leader Don Perata, who is preventing action on nearly all of Leno’s bills in a cynical attempt to “help” fellow Senator Carole Migden rebuff Leno’s June 2008 primary challenge. Thanks to the Perata-Migden agenda, Leno-sponsored bills to provide additional educational assistance to foster youth (AB 1578), to help students pass the California High School Exit Exam (AB 1482), to reduce fire threats from toxic chemicals in furniture (AB 706), to reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (AB 1511), and to foster solar energy (AB 1451) are all being suspended in the State Senate. Migden and Perata are even preventing passage of a bill (AB 1590) to raise millions for San Francisco city services, despite its support from Migden’s constituents in the City and County of San Francisco, the SF Labor Council, and the SF Chamber of Commerce.
As Don Perata made clear to the San Francisco Chronicle on March 17th, he cares more about preventing Assemblymembers from challenging incumbent State Senators than he does about serving people’s needs. Now Perata and Migden have combined to fulfill the Senate Leader’s pledge to stop Mark Leno’s attempts to help the people of California, even to the point of directly damaging Carole Migden’s own constituents.
For the first time in his legislative career, Assembly member Mark Leno has seen his bills hit a roadblock in the Democratic-controlled State Senate. Most of these bills have a long list of supporters and little or no organizational opposition—yet Perata has assigned them to the Senate Appropriations or Revenue and Taxation Suspense files to ensure that Leno does not get credit for passing any legislation prior to the June 2008 Senate primary.
Incredibly, the Migden-Perata machinations even extend to denying San Francisco the right to vote on enacting a vehicular license fee. Even the SF Chamber of Commerce supports this legislation (AB 1590), which could bring an estimated $90 million dollars to San Francisco’s cash-strapped public transit system, help rebuild our public housing, improve city parks, and otherwise improve and enhance city services.
Perata argued that this vital bill should first be studied by a committee, which would then hold a January 2008 hearing on the issue. But San Francisco voters already expressed support for reinstating the license fee in November 2004, and a similar Leno bill passed the Legislature only to be vetoed by Schwarzenegger.
What further “study” of AB 1590 is needed?
It apparently meant nothing to Migden that San Francisco voters support the vehicular license fee in a state initiative, and that the City and County, the Labor Council, and Chamber of Commerce all support the measure.
It’s not just San Franciscans who should be alarmed at the Perata-Migden stalling of important legislation. The Los Angeles Times wrote an editorial on September 5 regarding Leno’s AB 706, which modifies a law that requires upholstery to include flame-retardant chemicals. According to the Times:
The problem is that the chemicals are toxic; the bill would change standards to bar use of those substances. This cost-neutral bill should be easy to pass, but it’s stuck in the Senate Appropriations Committee. It’s technically too late to move it to the floor, but the proposal is important enough for a rule waiver or one of the other maneuvers that lawmakers use all the time. (Emphasis added)
Why is this critical safety bill “stuck”? So that Perata and Migden can prevent Mark Leno from telling primary voters that he sponsored legislation to prevent furniture from causing house fires.
Unfortunately, AB 706 is not the only Leno bill whose attempt to increase health and safety has hit the Perata-Migden roadblock.
Leno’s AB 1358, the Complete Streets Act, would require planners of roadways to accommodate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, individuals with disabilities, and public transportation. Despite this bill’s co-sponsorship by the AARP and support from a huge statewide coalition of bicycle groups, Perata and Migden have kept the bill bottled up n the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The same goes for Leno’s AB 1472, which would authorize the California Department of Public Health to award grants to local health agencies and community organizations to ensure that land-use planning decisions benefit, and do not worsen, community health.
This measure, which could play a key role in fostering environmental justice, is backed by a diverse statewide coalition that includes both the California Medical Association and the California Nurses Association.
One would think that any bill that has both those groups on the same side would pass through the Legislature in a heartbeat, particularly since the American Cancer Society is also on board. But even though two communities represented by State Senator Carole Migden—the City and County of San Francisco and County of Marin—and Perata’s own Alameda County support AB 1472, the bill has been suspended to deny Leno a legislative victory.
There is something terribly, terribly wrong with this picture.
Californians, and San Franciscans in particular, are losing the benefit of important laws because a single state senator does not want her challenger to get any credit for their passage. Forget about democracy and holding politicians accountable: Perata and Migden believe that saving individual political careers is far more important than serving constituents’ needs.
My own sense is that the Perata-Migden strategy will backfire. When voters around the state learn about Perata’s misuse of his Senate power, they will be more likely to vote against the term-limits initiative in February, which would give Perata another four years.
This is on top of the backroom language change Perata inserted into the initiative to give him 14 years as a Senator when current state law authorizes only eight.
Migden has political problems that stopping Leno’s efforts to help his district will not erase. This includes her endangering the lives of fellow drivers on Highway 80, illegal transfer of $1 million in campaign funds, and her decision to leave a powerful appropriations post to work on Steve Westly’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign.
Given her political vulnerability, it is understandable that her Senate colleagues would want to come to her aid. But the way to help Migden is to get her bills passed, not by preventing her constituents from benefiting from Leno’s legislation.
Send feedback to [email protected]
Contact Gov. to Save the Condors (Condor Lead Bill AB 821)
The reintroduction of the California Condor to some of its historic ranges has been a success story except for one deadly environmental factor–lead in bullets. My fascination with condors began more than a quarter of a century ago when I first saw Topa Topa at the L.A. Zoo. I spotted a huge black bird perched on a swing. This turned out to be Topa Topa, who was captured as a fledgling–at that time rather young, but now the zoo’s 41-year-old veteran male and considered the oldest condor in the world. I was the only person around, and as I approached the cage, Topa Topa took off and glided–9 feet of wingspan– next to me. Separated by some wire, I spent the next 30-minutes watching and talking to him. He was so ugly he was cute, and I saw a neurotic intensity in his eyes, that of an intelligent animal confined.
Afterwards, I’ve followed the plight of the nearly extinct condor. Never did I expect to see one in the wild in California. Never did I realize that you and I could help save them.
Two years ago I was awestruck as a California Condor landed near me in Pinnacles National Monument–the windspan resembling a small airplane. Subsequently, I watched a flock of condors feeding on a beached sea lion along the Big Sur coastline (and playing on a washed-up auto carcass). The condor in Pinnacles was lounging around on a boulder that afternoon while his two juvenile buddies (they were known as The Three Scrooges) were flying a hundred miles due east. Biologist watched #67 intensely. Later I found out that #67 had been recaptured and had to be treated for lead poisoning. I hope he is still alive.
Condors are large, highly intelligent vultures with 9 and 1/2- foot wing spans. The native Californians revered them as “cleansers of the earth,” symbols of creation–the Thunderbirds. Condors were decimated during the Gold Rush when they were killed for their flight feathers, whose large quills were used to transport gold dust. In the 1890s there were an estimated 600 condors in the wild. By 1982, there were 22 remaining. Three years later, the population was down to 16. In a controversial move, the last of the condors in the wild were captured and placed in a captive breeding program. The captive breeding program has been highly successful in bringing the species back, and there are now nearly 300 condors (some in Arizona). From the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce:
[This page has an excellent PBS VIDEO called Condors vs. Lead Bullets]
Today the population of California condors has grown to more than 275. Of those, about 125 live in the wild at Big Sur, Pinnacles, Ventura County and the Grand Canyon, with a few in Baja California, Mexico. The rest live in captivity at the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park and other facilities.
“This nest puts us one step closer to our goal of having 150 condors in the wild with 15 breeding pairs,” said Kelly Sorenson, Executive Director of the Ventana Wildlife Society.
The greatest threat to the condor recovery is lead poisioning caused by lead ammunition. Condors can ingest lead shot or fragments of lead bullets left in carcasses. A single small fragment of lead can kill a condor. Condors are constantly being subjected to lead poisoning as long as bullets in condor country contain lead. As obligate scavengers, condors eat dead animals. Lead shot scatters in killed game (and is not healthy for humans who might ingest it). For condors, just a little of the scattered lead can be deadly. It enters their bloodstream and blocks neurological receptors that affect the digestive system–the bird no longer feels hunger and dies of starvation. Condors are having to be captured and tested for lead in their blood. If lead is found, they have to go through the painful process of chelation, which binds to the lead in the bloodsteam and allows it to be excreted. Capturing and re-capturing condors to protect them against a known environmental hazard does not make sense.
By switching bullets to non-lead bullets, the condor could be saved. This is what Kelly Sorenson says we can do to help:
AB 821 already passed the concurrence vote at the Assembly so the bill is on the way to the Governor. Please take a minute and either call or email the Governor. The phone number is 916-445-2841. Type 1 (English) or 2 (Spanish), then 2 to voice your opinion about legislation followed by 0. You may be put on hold for a couple of minutes but then you will speak with a staff member. All they want to know is the bill number (AB 821 – condor bill) and that you are in favor of the Governor signing it into law. For email go to http://ent.groundspr…. It is a two-step process but only takes a few minutes. Here is what I wrote. Feel free to use parts of it, but please make it your own so that the Governor’s office doesn’t see the exact message over and over. I have been working with condors for 10 years and all that time condors have been poisoned by lead. We now know it is primarily from ammunition and it is preventable. Please take a few minutes to urge the Governor to sign this bill into law. Thank you in advance.
[NOTE: Kelly Sorenson’s letter contains some facts that you might use in your own letter. Please do not copy his letter.]
Dear Governor,
Please pass into law AB 821, which requires the use of nonlead ammunition in condor range. Ammunition is the predominant, if not the only, source of exposure to condors and you now have the power to protect them in the wild. Lead is the number one threat to condors and it is preventable. Although the Fish and Game Commission is expected to consider amending the California Code of Regulations, I believe that AB 821 is essential for three important reasons: 1) there is no guarantee the Commission will vote in favor of protecting condors, 2) the law and the regulations do not conflict and in fact complement each other rather well, and 3) with all due respect to the current Commissioners the Commission has failed to act since 2005 when the issue was first raised with them, which prompted Mr. Nava to introduce this legislation. The Commission is not expected to vote until December of this year at the earliest.
This is not anti-hunting in the least, just anti-lead. Lead is toxic to anything that ingests it and it is time to remove it from ammunition as well as paint, gasoline, children’s toys, etc. Until lead is removed from the Condor’s food supply we have no hope for their recovery. You and you alone can save the condor! You put the condor on the California quarter and you can keep them safe in the wild too.
Respectfully,
Kelly Sorenson
Executive Director
Ventana Wildlife Society
September 6, 2007 Blog Roundup
Today’s Blog Roundup is on the flip. Let me know what I missed.
To subscribe by email, click
here and do what comes naturally.
Environment (there was a
lot today for some reason)
- California Progress
Report: Schwarzenegger’s Folly–That Reductions in Water Exports Can Be
Offset
by Water Delivery through a Peripheral Canal
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/schwarzeneggers_13.html - Daily Kos: a REAL PIKER
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/5/7475/34468 - . . . Surf Putah: Burning Season
http://surfputah.blogspot.com/2007/09/burning-season.html - BeyondChron » Recycling Ourselves to Extinction
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=4888#more - Politics in the Zeros » The Long Emergency, by
James Howard Kunstler
http://polizeros.com/2007/09/06/the-long-emergency-by-james-howard-kunstler/ - California Progress
Report: Cleaning Up Air Pollution from California’s Ports Will Have to
Wait Until Next Year
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/cleaning_up_air.html
Protecting our Health
- California Progress
Report: Landmark Legislation to Ban Dangerous Chemical in Children’s
Toys
Clears Legislature–Governor Expected to be Lobbied Heavily by Industry
to Veto
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/landmark_legisl.html - The Liberal OC » Ackerman/Correa: Let them eat
Phtalates
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/09/05/ackermancorrea-let-them-eat-phtalates/ - California Progress
Report: The Truth About Brominated and Chlorinated Fire Retardants and
Why They Should be Banned in California
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/the_truth_about.html
California Policy Inbox
- California Workforce Faces Significant Economic Challenges
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=381 - Californian African-Americans Have Higher Death Rates than
Other Groups
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=382 - Californians Want Health Care Reform but Are Skeptical That
It’ll Get Done
http://inbox.berkeley.edu/?p=383
Everything Else
- SoHum Parlance: Paper ballot panacea?
http://redwoodreality.blogspot.com/2007/09/paper-ballot-panacea.html - Metroblogging Los Angeles: The First Day of School
http://blogging.la/archives/2007/09/the_first_day_of_school.phtml - Wilshire & Washington: Arnold Gets the Message
http://www.wilshireandwashington.com/2007/09/arnold-gets-the.html - The People’s Vanguard of Davis: The Problem of Paid
Canvassers in the Referendum and Initiative Process
http://davisvanguard.blogspot.com/2007/09/problem-of-paid-canvassers-in.html - California Progress
Report: California Senate Sends Governor Bills Requiring Open UC and
CSU Meetings on Executive Compensation, Banning Trans Fats in Schools,
Fines for Voter Intimidation, Emergency Preparedness for Colleges, and
Requiring Corroboration of “Snitch” Testimony
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/california_sena_14.html - LAist: Wilshire Subway Watch: Congressman Henry Waxman,
Subway Enemy No. 1
http://laist.com/2007/09/06/wilshire_subway_11.php - The California Majority Report // Today’s Fresh Meat
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2268 - California Progress
Report: California Assembly Sends Governor Major Gender Pay
Discrimination Legislation and a Slew of Other Bills
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/09/california_asse_20.html - BeyondChron » School Beat: The Populist, Radical School Food Revolution
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=4887#more - Working Californians: Praise for Workers Exposes DWP
Infrastructure Needs
http://workingcalifornians.com/blog/julia_rosen/2007/09/06/praise_for_workers_exposes_dwp_infrastructure_needs - The Liberal OC » The Republican Party $upport$
Death
http://www.theliberaloc.com/2007/09/06/the-republican-party-upport-death/ - Bouphonia: A Third World Look
http://bouphonia.blogspot.com/2007/09/third-world-look.html - The California Majority Report // New Ads Target Electoral
College Power Grab with Taxes and War
http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=9&aid=2271 - Speak Out California!: Senate Bill 974 and The Art of the
Possible
http://speakoutca.org/archives/2007/09/senate_bill_974.php - Surfk9: Disgusted
http://surfk9.typepad.com/surfk9/2007/09/disgusted.html
The Drive For 2/3: A Movement Rises In The Desert (AD-80)
I’m starting a new series here at Calitics. We’ve seen with the budget fight and the difficulties funding health care reform that the current balance of power in the Legislature just isn’t cutting it. This is particularly irksome because they daylight is clearly seen at the end of the tunnel. 5 Assembly seats and just 2 Senate seats would bring 2/3 majorities in those chambers, and yet there is little or no talk within Democratic circles of explicitly going after the vulnerable seats within reach that would give us those numbers.
Well, you shouldn’t wait for others tomorrow to begin what you can do today. So I’m going to be profiling districts and candidates that can get us to what should be the overriding goal of 2/3 majorities.
We begin today in California’s 80th Assembly District, which largely covers the desert region around Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Indian Wells, but which encompasses Imperial County all the way down to the Mexico border. This district is currently held by Republican and hot Latina Bonnie Garcia, yet there are a plurality of Democrats there. This is the most Democratic seat held by a term-limited Republican, though obviously that term limit can be overturned. But regardless, this seat represents an opportunity. And I met with the man who can not only deliver that seat, but who can give rise to a new movement of young people of color devoted to improving the lives of their constituents.
That man is Manuel Pérez.
I met with Manuel at a coffee shop in Indio, a working-class town surrounded by the posh hotels and golf courses of the Palm Springs area. It really is a haves versus the have-nots story, with resorts fighting with growers for water resources from the Colorado River, to name just one pressure point. When you move into Imperial County, where the population is 75% Latino and over 65% speak Spanish as their first language, that dichotomy is even more stark. In this environment, someone with ties to the land is crucial. And Pérez’ history goes back generations.
Manuel Pérez’ parents were immigrants who met in the fields while chasing the crops they picked for work. His mother worked 26 years in the fields, despite raising a family. His father became a veteraño (a veteran of the migrant fields) and worked for the city of Indio on water issues. Growing up in Coachella and Calexico, Manuel worked in the fields himself over the summers when he wasn’t in school. His parents understood the importance of education, teaching the values of “service and sacrifice and social justice,” and pushing him to advance as far as he could go. At an early age, he saw a community of gangs and drugs where his best friend was killed in a drive-by shooting.
He became the only person in his family to go on to higher education, getting his bachelor’s degree at UC-Riverside (and becoming an organizer on campus). He had the opportunity to get a master’s degree in Social Policy at Harvard, and took it. Instead of leaving his community behind, he returned to it, organizing field campaigns throughout the state for candidates and issues like Schools Not Jails. This is someone who hasn’t waited around for higher office to make a difference in his community; he’s rolled up his sleeves and dived in. As a director for the Borego Community Health Foundation, he’s created one of the first diabetes resource center in the desert region and has delivered health services to underserved regions. As a researcher for the California Institute for Rural Studies, he put together a groundbreaking study on women’s reproductive health issues in Imperial County, where women have little opportunities and resources to manage their own health. With Promotores, he’s part of a group of community-based leaders devoted to teaching about health issues and making sure people in the community get the facts about programs at their disposal. As a schoolteacher he started his school’s first ever Chicano Studies program designed to allow students to learn history from their perspective. With the Eastern Coachella Valley Social Change Collaborative, he identified farm workers living in the area and trained them to be community leaders themselves. Believe it or not, he’s only 34.
Eventually, Pérez and like-minded community leaders saw the ability to effect social change through policymaking. So they founded an affiliation called “Raises,” or Roots, a group of people from the community who got their educations elsewhere and then returned to lead. They decided to work in campaigns and put up candidates. The first year, Pérez was voted onto the Coachella Valley School Board. And Eddie Garcia was elected to city council in Coachella. Then Garcia was voted mayor, and Steve Hernandez was elected to city council. It went from 1 to 2 to 3 and this year 5 members running for office and seeking social change. These are community leaders built from the bottom up, infused with the desire and obligation to give back. In Garcia’s mayoral election, they signed up 15,000 new voters, and criscrossed the region 5 or 6 times, knocking on doors persistently despite being outspent by 3 to 1. Garcia took 70% of the vote, and so did Pérez.
Manuel Pérez is not only a perfect fit for this district, providing an opportunity to retake this seat and get us closer to 2/3. He represents a new generation of Hispanic-Americans who are dedicated to working for change from the bottom up. He would bring to Sacramento a unique set of skills, as someone who can build coalitions and train a group of leaders far into the future. There are primary candidates on the Democratic side for this seat who appear to be very nice. I don’t think anyone combines the résumé and the hope for the future more than Manuel Pérez.
He has an ActBlue page and he is worth your support.
(I should add that if anyone knows of a great legislative candidate they’d like me to profile for the Drive for 2/3, please email me at dday-at-calitics-dot-com.)