On Sunday it rained and rained and rained. Hundreds of Democrats came out anyway to vote in the California Assembly District 25 Delegate election.
As folks filed into the SEIU Union Hall in San Jose, they were greeted by delegate candidates (32 for 14 positions) and by interest groups within the Dem Party. There were folks from the Muslim-Americans for Peace and Prosperity (MAPP), the Fremont-UnionCity-Newark (FUN) Progressives, and people promoting planned local demonstrations. The FUN Progressives handed out a ballot slate of Sanders style progressives. Our State Senator, Bob Wieckowski, wisely put forward a unity slate that was a mix of progressives and more conservative delegate candidates.
All the activists met the voters coming into the hall with ballot guides for their candidates, flyers about demonstrations, and other useful information. My favorite was a little girl handing out the FUN ballot guide.
People were on hand to promote the upcoming demonstrations.
- There is going to be a demonstration against Republican plans to cut Medicare in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center on Jan. 15 (see www.CalNurses.org for more information).
- On Jan 20 (the inauguration the will live in infamy), the Women’s March folks will gather in Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose at 10 AM. See womensmarchbayarea.org/… for more details.
- There will be a demonstration in Bakersfield on Jan. 27 to protest Rep. McCarthy’s (R) support for privatization and cuts in Medicare. Call 877-223-6107 for information.
Tim Orozco was the master of ceremonies. He kept the process working in a very orderly fashion. Everyone was happy and upbeat. There were no evidence of the bitterness you read about online. The focus was on moving forward. Lots of people wanted to have a say in the direction.
Each delegate candidate had a bare minute to introduce themselves before voting could begin. In CA, the delegates must be 50% women and 50% men. The women spoke first. I noted that there were a large number of teachers among the candidates. Most folks did not speak directly to issues in CA. They preferred to make more personal introductions.
Regardless of which wing of the party you call home, there were candidates for all factions. As we are the one of the most diverse districts in the state, we also had every ethnicity, religion, and life-style represented among the candidates.
I sat through the candidate speeches and when I stood up to join the line to vote, the crowd that had entered the hall before the speeches had doubled in size. The line to vote was very, very long.
Two very quiet but efficient youngsters laid out the lanes on the floor with duct tape. The line snaked 4 times across the hall. It went out the door. It went down the hall.
As a result of my military service, I have bad hearing and a intense aversion to standing in lines. So I wandered about for a couple of hours talking to people.
There was a party volunteer and FUN Progressive member named Kelsy working the Voter Registration table. Many people were galvanized into action by the terrible presidential election results. People who had never voted before came in to both register to vote as Democrats and to vote in the delegate elections.
After I voted, my presence was requested back at palatial Rainsborough Manor. I was not able to stay for the ballot counting. I am sure the CA Dems website will post the results soon. www.cadem.org/…
In short, a good time was had by all.
P.S. When I got home, I discovered that the internet tubes were completely blocked due to the rain. So I had to wait until I went to work this morning to post this summary.