Hello, 2017. Wow, what can we say about 2016? I mean, a solid year right? Of nothing but politics, campaign slogans, poll results, and election coverage 24/7. And all that election-ad-nauseum for what? So we could elect The Glowing Donald in a gut-wrenching display of “Democracy,” whilst also losing the House and Senate in what appears to be a fatal blow to the Democratic party? Sorry 2016, I hate to personify a whole year of my life, but you were a real asshole.
But back to 2017. Now that the shell shock of these events has started to wear off, and the winter winds have begun to numb my fingers and toes, it’s starting to feel like everything is going to be okay. It was kind of like a bad dream, and for better or worse, the elections are over now, and I can finally go back to my day to day life as a normal human being. Right?
At least that’s what I was thinking on Tuesday morning when I woke up at a reasonable hour for the first time in two weeks and sat down to “business as usual.” Then, somewhere between my first cup of coffee and my eleventh email, news arrived.
Just when it looked like we had all made it out of the dark and scary woods alive, news of another election landed in my inbox. Another election? How could this be!? Was I still dreaming? What about the horror of November 8th and the resulting doom spasm? Had that been real? None of my trusty news outlets had warned me of an impending election. How is it possible that the incessant chatter
of American media had failed to warn me of this looming iceberg! In that instant, I swore aloud and hurled my profanities directly at 2017. It had to be a joke, but when I looked into it, it wasn’t a joke. There IS another election.
I continued to read this confounding email, and suddenly...my outlook began to change. A smile crept onto my lips, and I’ll tell you why.
What if there was a way we could take the sting out of the events of November 8th by winning back some of what we’ve lost, while at the same time legitimately building a progressive Democratic party base from the ground up? As it turns out, we can. And the opportunity to do so is happening the very first weekend of the year.
2017, you’re amazing.
OK. So here’s the deal. There’s an election taking place on January 7th and 8th in California, and its sole purpose is to elect the members of California’s District Assembly. These civilian politicians who represent the lower third of the House of Representatives are given the the glorious title of Assembly Delegate.
Sounds great, but what the hell is an Assembly Delegate? Well let me break it down for you quickly. In California there are 80 Districts. Every two years each district elects seven men and seven women through a caucus vote. Once elected, these 14 men and women have the power to elect Party officers, endorse candidates for statewide, legislative and congressional offices, attend the annual party convention, network with other Democrats, represent their constituency, and vote to endorse resolutions and ballot measures that they believe in. This office in other words, is a gateway for movers and shakers to bring fresh, bold, and progressive ideas into their own party in a very real way. On an average election year, however, most of California’s districts have less people voting than the number of nominees who are actually running to fill these seats. Which means you and a bunch of your friends can grab a hot beverage, come join the caucus, and have a major impact on the outcome of this severely overlooked local election.
As is my custom when thinking things through, I put my phone down for a few minutes to walk over to the local coffee shop for some neighborhood wisdom about this unforeseen election news, and after a few invigorating talks, it seemed clear to me: I hadn’t given up. Even though the thought did cross my mind a few hundred times, and laid there like a cat in the afternoon sun, somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that I could never throw in the towel. I could never check out of the game and make way for schmarmy thugs, loud mouthed bigots, and corporate tyrants to have their way with our future without dedicating my every breath to standing up against them. Even after all the pain of 2016, I can’t quit this one. I’ve got too much skin in the game.
What this election also helped me realize is, here is an opportunity to change the Party that had seriously let me down. Like seriously freaking let US down. #DemExit. After last year’s party debacle, I toyed with the notion that unifying a third party was of the utmost importance to help break the “lesser of two evils,” mold. (And I still see the importance of diversifying the political parties that are meant to reflect our diverse country. I mean it’s ridiculous that a country of over 350 million people of all walks of life are reduced to a party system of two. Even Jennifer Love Hewitt had a party of five. #90’s.)
Clik here to view.
With the election coming up this weekend I sense a big opportunity to have a pragmatic and
immediate impact: the Democratic Party needs to accept the ideas and innovations of its young constituents. #design #socialmedia #realprogressivevalues. And the Assembly Delegate is our ticket in. The establishment might never listen on their own, but if we can begin to operate more officially within the party through these Delegates, then our message now gains its foothold. Because for the party to really thrive, we need that new energy and innovation from not just us the voters, but from the people we are voting for.
When I returned to my phone, with impeccable timing, a Bernie quote was sitting there, waiting for me.
“I don’t want to minimize the difficulties facing us.” Sanders said. “But throughout history, serious people have fought back. That’s where we are now, and that is exactly what we have to do. It is not acceptable—it really is not—for people to throw their hands up and say, ‘Oh, I’m giving up.’ It’s not about you. It’s about the future of this planet. It’s about your kids and your grandchildren. It is about American democracy. It is about some very fundamental issues. You’ve got to jump in and start fighting.”
Amen. But where to start?
Clik here to view.
Over the course of my work campaigning for Bernie and building traction for our shared progressive
ideas, I met some energized and dedicated people working hard to improve the landscape of our system and the country it is meant to serve. Taking Bernie’s wisdom to heart, they have changed the course of their lives in order to change the course of our nation.
This is the new energy and innovation I’m talking about.
One such person who I will be supporting this weekend is Meg Pinsonneault in Assembly District 41 who represents The Progressive Slate, known as 41forProgress (www.41forprogress.vote) whose mantra is simply, “People Over Profits,” and whose goal is to bring more millennials into the process to grow support for the issues we care about. Others who I worked side by side with at the Bernie Sander’s office in Glendale and have garnered my full support, are Dionne Lignan, Alex Calleros, Alek Bartrosouf and Samer Kassab "Samerai" (all in District 43) and Eden McFadden (in District 51).
Clik here to view.
Consider voting in this one. It’s really easy. Put your address into the the robot here; this convenient website tells you what district you are in, when you need to show-up, and what progressives are running in your area. Stand behind the candidates of your choice. I’m not asking you to run for office (though you could), I’m just asking that you continue to feed your appetite for grassroots change by keeping your ear to the ground on our shared progressive movement and take meaningful action when action is needed. Much needed.
Like this weekend, Jan 7th and 8th. See you there.