After some nudging from a list of Democratic activists, longtime San Francisco politician aims to increase stability in Democratic Party

by Brian Leubitz

As you may know, I am a regional director for the state Democratic party.  As a San Franciscan, I have tremendous respect for the work that Sen. John Burton has done for our community and for the state.  He is a progressive that will fight for his beliefs.

But it turns out he knows how to lead a state Democratic party.  He knows how to hire a good team and let them run a solid organization.  Since he assumed control, the party has been in a much better financial situation, has spoken out on issues that it was too timid to discuss before, and oh, by the way, also managed to sweep statewide during a tough election year.

And as somebody who, as a statewide field director, relied heavily on the state Democratic Party’s field operation last year, I know that John Burton and his team know how to mobilize voters and win elections.  It was for these reasons I was glad to sign on to a letter asking him to run again, and equally glad to hear that he’s running again.

California Democratic party chair John Burton, 78, hasn’t officially announced it yet — but he has made the decision to run for another term to lead the party in 2013, the Chronicle has learned.

The plain-spoken, tough-talking Burton — one of the most battle-scarred of California political veterans — was urged earlier this month to run for another term by a host of party activists and insiders. Their efforts were expressed by two party leaders, CDP regional director for San Francisco Brian Leubitz — who’s also the Calitics blog director — and Alice Huffman, NAACP president, in a letter earlier this month. The group expressed “strong support” of Burton’s next term and urged him to announce his decision for another term.(SF Gate)

The day he was elected as chair, Sen. Burton called on President Obama to bring our troops home from both Iraq and Afghanistan. And he has continued to challenge the Democratic Party to dream big. He’s done well, and the party will be lucky to have him and the strong team that he’s built (and convinced to stick around).

By the way, Burton had some choice words for the Republicans debating in our state right now.  Check that out over the flip.

In Advance of Tonight’s GOP Presidential Debate in California, Democrats Release New Numbers on Job Losses in California Which Would Result From GOP’s Extreme Budget Policies

GOP’s Support of Tea Party Budget Plan Would Cost 931,570 Californians Their Job

Sacramento – In advance of Wednesday night’s GOP Presidential debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, the California Democratic Party released an estimate of the number of jobs which would be lost in California, based on a new analysis conducted by the DNC, as a result of the GOP Presidential candidates support for radical economic policies.

The DNC’s analysis found that just the balanced budget amendment called for in the GOP plan, if in place in 2012, would result in the loss of 9.5 million American jobs including 931,570 jobs right here in California. The loss of so many jobs could blow a hole in the U.S. economy and further damage recovery prospects while adding millions of Americans to the ranks of the jobless.

Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton:

“Tonight’s debate will be a showcase for an extremist agenda that promises much but ultimately results in more corporate profits for the few and the privileged and more layoffs for Californians struggling to get by. The draconian cuts to Social Security, education, health care, Medicare, infrastructure and job training supported by these Republican candidates would cost millions their job.

Californians are still busy digging their way out of the mess produced by the last bad batch of Republican policies and we don’t need more of the same.”

Link to DNC Report