When I ran for election to the Santa Cruz City Council for the first time in 2000, and again in 2004, I must have knocked on every door in an attempt to speak to every voter.  I was privileged to receive the most votes ever in each election, and I credit it to this hands-on campaigning.  Running for the State Assembly, I have tried to connect with voters in the same way, but campaigning in a much larger district requires innovative thinking.  That’s one reason I am proud to be a part of the Calitics community – it gives me the chance to speak with people without a media filter and without resorting to sloganeering.

I want to share with you another innovative approach to voter communication I had the good fortune to experience.  Yesterday evening, I hosted a telephone town hall for voters across the 27th district, reaching out to nearly 28,000 voters in all.  We discussed issues ranging from global warming to universal healthcare.  I used telephone town hall technology to speak with voters from Boulder Creek, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Santa Cruz and other parts of the district. Over 4,000 people joined me for some or all of the one hour town hall, from the comfort of their own homes.  

The event was like an amalgam of a virtual house party and a radio call-in show.  I began by telling the folks on the call a little bit about my background as a progressive small business person and two-time Mayor of Santa Cruz and then outlined some of the themes of my campaign, including environmental protection which was the theme of the town hall.  But most of the time was dedicated to answering questions from those who called in.  Callers were able to hear each other’s questions as well as my answers, as we discussed how to increase public transit and rail service in the district, preventing cuts to the education budget and creating alternative sources of energy instead of relying on fossil fuels.

This town hall – with the large number of participants – would be difficult, if not impossible, to put together in a usual venue.  I look forward to participating in more once I am in the Assembly, in addition to in-person town halls, as a tool to bring the voices of voters to government.  If commenters know of other innovative voter and constituent communication tools that you have used or participated in, I would love to hear from you.  Thanks to Calitics for providing a similarly innovative forum and for your support of my campaign.

( – promoted by Robert in Monterey)

This week, the California State Senate will be holding a hearing on SB 1295, a dangerous bill intended to weaken the power of the California Coastal Commission. I urge you to sign my petition below and join me in voicing opposition to this bill.

Click here to sign the petition!

For over 30 years, the California Coastal Commission has worked to safeguard 1.5 million acres of our coastline, fighting the good fight for our beloved California coast.

As the toughest defender of our coast, the Coastal Commission has faced various attempts to weaken its ability to advocate on behalf of our coastal environment. The most recent such attempt is SB 1295. This bill would eliminate the ability of Commissioners to appeal local government project approvals. I strongly oppose this bill, and any legislation that seeks to undermine the Commission's ability to provide effective oversight of projects along the coast.

On Tuesday, March 25th, at my request, the Santa Cruz City Council unanimously voted to officially oppose SB 1295 and communicate our opposition to our legislators and the Chair of Natural Resources Committee.

I urge you to join me in opposing the bill by making your voices heard prior to the State Senate hearing on April 8th, when this bill will come in front of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

Click here to sign the petition!

In the aftermath of the failure of Prop 93 on Tuesday, most attention seemed to be focused on the leadership contests in Sacramento. But Prop 93’s failure has sparked a whole series of contests to replace outgoing lawmakers. With the June primary four months away, potential candidates are scrambling to get their names out there in the public eye, raise money, and rally supporters. These contests will help determine the future of the Democratic legislature and progressive politics in the state, and so it’s time we looked at some of these in greater detail.

Here in the Monterey Bay area, in AD-27, we’re faced with the task of replacing the incomparable John Laird, one of the most knowledgeable legislators on the budget and a strong progressive. The Yes on 93 campaign won Santa Cruz and Monterey counties with an effective “Yes on 93 – Keep John Laird” appeal, but it wasn’t enough. Laird’s future is uncertain – like the equally talented Fred Keeley, who represented the district before he was termed out in 2002, Laird does not live in SD-15, the long coastal state senate district currently represented by Republican Abel Maldonado. Most of us here would love Laird to move a few miles east and run in SD-15, one of the most winnable Senate districts in the state (Dems now have a lead in registration), but Laird has not announced his intentions.

Five candidates have declared for the Democratic primary here in AD-27. Emily Reilly is a member of the Santa Cruz City Council and last year served as the city’s mayor. She’s visited Calitics before – in December she wrote an excellent piece attacking the “design-build” concept that Arnold is so much in love with, and I personally support her in the race to replace Laird. She has strong progressive credentials on issues from health care to sustainability and climate change, and has also demonstrated significant fundraising prowess – she raised nearly $120,000 from over 300 small donors in Q4 2007, even before it was known whether she would actually be a candidate for AD-27 (she, like most in the race, promised to withdraw if Prop 93 passed).

Bill Monning is another experienced entrant into the race. Monning is a Monterey attorney, and has challenged for this seat before – in 1994 he was the Democratic nominee, but lost to Bruce McPherson in that year’s Republican tide. Monning, like Reilly, emphasizes his strong progressive credentials, and is especially interested in action on climate change. According to the Monterey Herald Monning has $60,000 in the bank, but plans to raise $480,000 for the primary.

Over the flip I discuss the other announced candidates for the seat…

Barbara Sprenger is an activist from Felton in Santa Cruz County, and like Reilly and Monning has a strong commitment to progressive ideas – her website explains her support of single-payer care, student loan reform, and green jobs. Sprenger also helped organize the town of Felton’s public buyout of a private company that had controlled their water supply. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel she had already raised $60,000 as of early January.

Stephen Barkalow, a Monterey doctor, emphasizes the need for health care reform (though does not explicitly call for single-payer) as well as action on education, environment, and affordable housing.

Finally there is Doug Deitch, of Aptos in Santa Cruz County. He doesn’t have a website yet his website is here, but he is running as a one-issue candidate – focused on water. Deitch believes that the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency should have its state-delegated powers stripped because, in his eyes, the agency has given too much groundwater to farmers. Interestingly, Deitch was going to run in the primary even if Prop 93 had passed.

Overall it’s a strong field, and each one will be bringing a good set of progressive values to the campaign. Of course, with the state budget issue dominating all else in CA politics, and given that these candidates are vying to replace the legislature’s acknowledged budget genius, they’re going to need to explain to voters how they will help provide long-term revenue solutions to the budget, instead of going for short-term fixes and crippling spending cuts. My advice to the candidates is to take leadership on the budget, and show voters how that squares with the candidate’s other progressive positions.

That’s good advice for any Democrat running in the June primary, and I invite your comments on other races.