Speeches and Action at This Weekend’s California Democratic Party Meeting

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Marcy Winograd
California Democratic Party Executive Board Representative
41st Assembly District

Some wore Obama t-shirts, a few mourned Hillary’s exit, but the majority just talked about taking back our country from those who took us to war.

Meeting near San Francisco last weekend, representatives to the California Democratic Party Executive Board, planned neighbor-to-neighbor voter outreach campaigns, passed resolutions calling for the elimination of water boarding and torture, and looked to the future – not just in Washington, but also in Sacramento, as gubernatorial hopefuls came calling.

First came SF Mayor Gavin Newsom addressing the party's Progressive Caucus, praising the recent Supreme Court decision approving gay marriage, making proud references to his city's universal pre-school program, and sharing his Sanctuary Outreach Campaign that assures all SF residents city employees will not, unless forced by the feds, cooperate with immigration raids.

Then came Lt. Governor John Garamendi, who was approached by activists, like me, on his way into the main ballroom.

Is it true you're running for Governor? we asked.

I am Governor, he said, smiling, acknowledging that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was out of the state – yet again, leaving Garamendi in charge.

Do you think we'll ever have single-payer? Can't you just sign Senator Sheila Kuehl's single-payer health care bill while the Governor is out of town?

Sorry, no. The Governor wouldn't like that -- though Garamendi reminded us he is a big supporter of single-payer and believes expansion of the Medicare program would be the fastest route to universal health care.

During a speech to the full E-Board, Garamendi criticized Schwarzenegger's proposed half-a-billion dollar education cuts, longing for the days when California enjoyed a robust higher education system and wasn't 46th on a list of 50 states for per pupil education spending.

Finally, Attorney General Jerry Brown took the podium, blasting No Child Left Behind for its testing-not-teaching focus and lamenting the revolving door of the California prison system, where 75% of those released are back in prison within a year.

We need re-entry programs, Brown insisted when I cornered him in the hall.