(Good stuff! – promoted by Brian Leubitz)
This past Thursday evening, nearly 100 Democratic activists got together to kick off the Yolo County Democratic Central Committee’s 2008 Campaign – Yolo United! With the primary season over, we are now uniting to make sure that all of our energy is focused on getting Democrats elected to every seat that represents Yolo County.
We were fortunate to have three of Yolo County’s delegates to the Democratic Convention with us, all of them ready to join together to make sure that we elect Democrats to every local, state, and Federal position on the ballot.
Don Gibson (Clinton delegate), Martha Beetley (Obama delegate), and Ryan Loney (Obama delegate) will be representing us in Denver in August.
Join me below the fold to learn more about the Yolo United Campaign.
Note: I am a volunteer with the Yolo United Campaign.
The Yolo County Democratic Central Committee is putting together a powerful organization for its 2008 Yolo United Campaign. Take a look at the wonderful crowd of Democratic activists who showed up to our kick-off event because they want to help make a difference in this election!
And now a few introductions.
Our campaign is being led by Campaign Chair Claire Black Slotton.
I met Claire shortly after the 2004 election when so many of us were trying to figure out what the heck had happened. Beginning then, Claire was determined to make sure that 2008 will be different. She started an activist book club where we read and discussed works by George Lakoff, CTG, Jeffrey Feldman, the Constitution and Federalist Papers, and even Frank Lunz, to name a few. Claire also worked tirelessly to network with Democrats in Yolo County, ran for and was elected as a delegate to attend the California Democratic Party Convention, and developed a vision for the Yolo United Campaign – and beyond. Claire is in it for the long haul.
So my advice to McCain and his cronies this year – when you see Claire heading your way, be afraid, be very, very afraid. For every inroad you’re planning to make for John McCain in conservative Orange and Placer Counties, we’ll be working on voter registration and GOTV efforts here in Yolo County that will knock you out of the water. The same goes for Lois Wolk’s Republican opponent in California’s 5th Senate District – Yolo will counter your efforts in San Joaquin County (which overlaps with Jerry McNerney’s district) to make sure that Lois is elected to the CA Senate.
Steve Ybarra is a superdelegate who came to talk to us about the importance of Latino Voters in this election.
Steve came armed with a couple of tools that we’ll all need to face down the Republican machine that, even now, is gearing up to slime Barack Obama and all Democrats as we head into the general election. Those tools? A spine and a helmet. We need to be strong and ready to defend ourselves and our candidates from the onslaught we know is coming. Another tool is our deep understanding that Democratic Party principles – on health care, transparency in government, energy independence, and real security – represent the true values of the American people.
Steve also talked about Nevada’s role as a swing state this year – Latino voters who make up a large percentage of that state’s population are especially important. In 2004, a group from Yolo County raised funds to send volunteers to support Nevada’s Democrats by walking precincts and doing voter registration. Every county where we did this went blue that year. This year, we’ll again be sending volunteers to GOTV in Nevada.
In addition to being a delegate to the Convention, Ryan Loney is also the Northern California Field Director of Students for Barack Obama.
Ryan has already spent many months and countless hours working on Barack Obama’s Campaign. He’s travelled in support of the BO Campaign working on organizing and registering thousands of college students, as well as working on general voter registration efforts. He’ll stay busy until the election, continuing his efforts to mobilize young voters, who are registering as Democrats in unprecedented numbers and will be another key voting group in November.
Judy Tischer is our Neighborhood Leader Chair.
Judy is one of the friendliest, most helpful people you can imagine. She’s going to make sure that precinct captains are trained and ready to knock on doors throughout the County.
Alan Brownstein, a Constitutional Law scholar from the UC Davis School of Law, reminded us of how important this election is for the Supreme Court. The next President will name at least two justices to the Supreme Court. If democracy is to survive in this country, those justices must be named by President Barack Obama. John McCain has promised justices in the mold of Scalia and Alito.
Barbara Archer is our Communications Chair. She’ll work to frame our message throughout the campaign using all of our local media outlets.
Kevin Wolf is our Data Chair. He’ll be training volunteers to use the web-based software for tracking their progress.
Kandice Richardson-Fowler will be revamping a fundraising event formerly called “The Bean Feed.” This event will be another opportunity for all of us to contribute to our Campaign’s success!
Carl Schmid is our Davis Headquarters Chair (and a Charlie Brown supporter!).
Leslie Marcus is our Woodland Headquarters Chair.
To close out the evening, each of our Chairs met with groups of volunteers who were interested in supporting the various functions in the campaign. We had a wonderful evening – everyone left feeling energized and excited.
If you live in Yolo County, come join us in a Campaign with the goal of creating a grassroots tidal wave in Yolo County. We’ve got the organization in place to make sure that we use your energy well! We also understand the value of having fun while we are working hard. Right now, we need someone who can help us get our website up and running.
In 2008, we have fantastic opportunities to turn this country around by participating in local campaigns!