THE VIEW FROM HERE-LA is such a remarkable place! We have made ourselves a destination hot-spot. Vacationers and residents alike patronize our theatres and concerts. The twenty- and thirty-somethings thrill to LA Live and Universal Studios. Families are drawn to Disneyland and Magic Mountain (though not technically in LA). And what about the sports venues?! Go, Clippers!
Politically, we are also a magnet. Democrats held their National Convention at Staples Center in 1996 and have hosted several State Conventions here--usually every four years.
The State Democratic Convention is held once a year. One year it is in the north (like Sacramento or San José) and the other, in the south (like San Diego or Los Angeles).
Over the years, I have attended these events which are greatly anticipated and always bring unexpected developments. As an elected delegate from the Northeast Valley ( Padilla, Bocanegra, and Martinez), I have attended quite a few. When the Convention is held in LA, I drive back and forth each day so I can be home each evening. Otherwise, I fly to the other sites. Either way, it is an expensive proposition and is quite demanding physically—and definitely not for the faint of heart.
This year Mayor Eric Garcetti proudly welcomed some 2000 delegates, volunteers, and staff to the Convention Center/Bonaventure Hotel (a joint venture shuttling attendees back and forth between the two locations).
Except for 2008 when we heard from each of the Democratic candidates for President, this year’s speakers were the best yet! Exciting, innovative, provocative, progressive, inspiring—just some of the adjectives that can describe them! None of the usual, mundane clap-trap.
No two conventions are alike and this was no exception. When you look around, however, you see a cross-section of America—a veritable microcosm of what it means to be American. This is so unlike Republican events that are quite “pale” in comparison. Unlike our “red” counterparts, we Democrats welcome a little dissonance—discord can produce a healthy end-game, beneficial to all participants. In fact, very little time is ever taken making jabs at the opposition. Most of the time is spent celebrating the Party’s values while barely commenting on its “ancient” history, dwelling instead on recent accomplishments or even defeats.
Admittedly, there was the occasional contentiousness among the candidates (backed by their ardent supporters) running for the same office and wishing to get the coveted endorsement from the State Democratic Party. Amid accusations of bullying and coercing the delegates to vote one way or the other (which I myself have witnessed on numerous occasions), no candidate for Secretary of State or Controller received a clear 60% majority, though some came very close. State Senator Alex Padilla and Board of Equalization Member Betty Yee and their opponents will be engaging in some wild campaigning this spring and fall, but just as cream rises to the top, it is my hope that our best and brightest will do the same.
This should remind us that voting the down-ballot is just as important as casting a vote for the top. After all, down-ballot officers and issues affect our daily lives in a much more profound and impactful way than most decisions made by those holding office at the national level.
We attendees look forward to being motivated and inspired by speakers who engage the receptive audience. These are usually prominent politicians with local, state, and/or national credentials who always energize us. The speakers ranged from that old codger, the cantankerous but lovable State Chair, former Congressmember John Burton, to the young State Secretary Dakara Larimore-Hall—a rising star in the Party (remember that name).
It’s nice to see the young bloods with all their enthusiasm, naïvité, and commitment to inspire a new generation and reinvigorate the rest of us. They have not become jaded by all the road blocks that we have faced in getting our agenda through but still believe that our goals can be achieved.
I must highlight some of the stand-out points made by our guests at the dais. Many reminded us that “So goes California, so goes the nation”—a pretty accurate prognostication. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pointed out just how important it is to get out the vote to keep our Senate majority and regain the House. After all, look how much has been accomplished in California once both chambers gained a majority. She reiterated what others have also said, that raising the minimum wage is essential for providing a livable wage—a basic human right.
California’s first Black woman State Attorney General is Kamala Harris. She proudly performed the first same-sex marriage after the U. S. Supreme Court once-and-for- all overturned the obnoxious Proposition 8 which tried to ban such unions. She stated that Martin Luther King, Jr. knew the difference between a dream and being asleep—thus, the march goes on and we must take our own steps to keep the Dream alive.
It was exciting to hear from the current Mayor of Houston, Texas, Annise Parker. Her constituents love her and are loyal supporters. She reminded all of us that a left-leaning, lesbian Democrat can win in a red district. She recently married her long-term partner in California (not yet legal in Texas). She promotes transgender issues as well as a broad spectrum of other concerns that are significant to Houstonian residents. She epitomizes Democratic values.
Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland (the former transformative mayor of Baltimore) wowed the audience with his address. He emphasized that “belief is important because belief drives action” and that “things that are measured are things that get done.” He certainly adheres to his own preachings as he was able to turn the city of Baltimore completely around to make it the viable city that it now is and is doing the same for the state.
O’Malley further pointed out how unrepresentative the House still is because of the gerrymandered redistricting lines that were drawn after the last census in order to insure, in certain key states, safe Republican districts that cut out the true cross-section of residents within them. In fact, the total national vote in 2012 for the House of Representatives was overwhelmingly Democrat but the House still holds a significant Republican majority because of how those lines were drawn.
O’Malley may very well be a future, viable Presidential contender! It would be wise to follow his career and accomplishments.
CTA President Dean Vogel spoke with passion about education. He lauded our current State Superintendent of Education, Tom Torlakson, in all his efforts to reform education in an effective way. We have 6 million children in California who deserve a superior education. Both are pushing for universal pre-schools and after-school programs that are free for all (when I earlier spoke with Dr. Deasy, the Superintendent of LAUSD, he thought the idea was “great” but immediately dismissed it as not doable--to my chagrin). Personally, I think preschool should begin at age 3 instead of 4 but that is something that can be worked on once we get our foot in the door. Nevertheless, Vogel and Torlakson are now both backing that very achievable concept. Darrell Steinberg, our current Senate Pro-Tem, supports this plan but goes even further by saying we need to spend more on the education and welfare of all children from birth through age 3.
With regard to charter schools about which I have spoken earlier, Vogel emphatically stated, “Public schools are no place for Wall Street speculation.” Too many people just don’t seem to realize that the real impetus behind the expansion of charters is to privatize education, thus virtually doing away with our long and proud history of publicly run schools that are truly answerable to the community.
Very importantly, State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, spoke of a proposition that will be on the November ballot. If passed, it would give the Commissioner the clout that he and future commissioners need to enforce rulings that would force the recalcitrant insurance companies to follow the law. He also supports single-payer (which is like Medicare for all—a proposal which would have more likely passed Congress if its members had thought of the ACA in that way).
Gavin Newsom, our Lt. Governor, is famous for his stand on same-sex marriage. He conducted the first in San Francisco (pre-Supreme Court ruling) when he was its Mayor. He enthusiastically stated that same-sex marriage is here, “like it or not!” In essence, Newsom launched the legal movement that resulted in changing the laws that had for too long blocked such unions in California and elsewhere.
So many others spoke (I can’t mention them all): Very popular current Secretary of State Debra Bowen got rid of “black box” voting, noting that there is “nothing more important to Democracy” than the vote. John Chiang, our current State Controller and the only Chinese-American to hold statewide office, famously stood up to the State Legislators when they could not come to a resolution on the State budget—a delay that adversely affected hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Californians. He promotes a student college-loan system that creates easier access to student funding and reasonable post-graduation debt.
Billionaire activist, Tom Seyer of NextGenClimate, wants to put his money where his mouth is by donating millions of dollars to oppose any pro-fracking candidate. He spoke with great fervor about what is happening to our climate-changed world. He wants oil companies to pay their fair share through extraction fees —California is the only state that does not require that tax and it could potentially bring in a billion dollars a year to our State. While we are transitioning off oil, what a benefit to our citizens those fees would be! Right now California taxpayers are covering the costs that result from the practices that adversely change our climate and that cause greenhouse emissions that radically affect our weather patterns and our health and safety. These petroleum companies put profits before safety and it is imperative that we turn that trend around.
When Governor Brown came to the podium, he was received by a mixture of cheers and jeers. He enumerated his many accomplishments: the California Dream Act, Drivers’ License access for the undocumented (to make our streets safer), expanding the franchise with on-line voting, Homeowners’ Bill of Rights, reduced cuts to public schools, balanced budgets, and prison re-alignment—to name the most recent.
He asked us to answer the call to climate change, particularly in light of the horrendous drought we are all facing. He favors goals to address water-usage demands and to create energy-efficiency. On the other hand, he (like President Obama with regard to Keystone XL) is keeping his decision close to the vest with regard to the fracking issue. Therefore, not only were all delegates greeted with a major anti-fracking protest as we entered the Convention Center on Saturday but Brown was faced with signs and demands for banning all fracking in our otherwise very progressive state. He acknowledged that he “heard” us but still was unable to state in unequivocal terms that he could or would support the ban.
In fact, for a while, the very small placards that we delegates planned to hold up during his speech were actually forcibly taken from us before we could enter the hall--so as not to embarrass the governor. When the on-site news media were informed of this unconstitutional action, the Party relented and we were allowed to exercise our free-speech, First Amendment rights. Many of us were willing to be arrested, if it came to that, if our concerns were not allowed to be expressed in a peaceful manner. At length, we prevailed and Governor Brown heard us! But what will his ultimate decision be?!
For me, the most exciting moments came when we were treated to remarks by Congressmember Keith Ellison at the luncheon and San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro (whose identical twin brother is Congressmember Joaquin Castro) at the dinner banquet.
Keith Ellison, a Muslim, was sworn into office with his hand on the Qu’ran, the first national legislator to do so. He says it would be a moral crisis if we do not address the immigration issue in a fair and compassionate way (it is partly because of the “shadow” work force that wages are being brought down). He promotes raising the minimum wage (as all the other presenters do) to at least $10.10 per hour. A minimum wage must also be a living wage, and since so many of our laboring force is employed by the Federal government, Ellison was emphatic about Uncle Sam not being the “low-wage leader.” The federal Government must be a model for all other companies by following President Obama’s Executive Order to raise the minimum wage for all newly contracted Federal employees.
The highlight of the day was when I attended the dinner that Saturday night and got to speak with Mayor Castro. What an open, accessible, appealing, intelligent young man! I shared with him (as Congresswoman Barbara Lee also did when she introduced him) that in 2004 when I heard Senator Barack Obama give the key-note address at that year’s Democratic National Convention, I turned to my husband (who is Black) and declared that Obama would be President one day. He replied, Never in our lifetime. Clearly he was wrong. I promised Mayor Castro that he too would one day hold that exalted office!
Castro believes that investing in our poorest communities will pay off for everyone in the long run. He also advocates for universal pre-school and college access. He ended his comments, saying that “success is a relay—one generation succeeds the previous one with ever-greater accomplishments.”
Sunday’s final hours observed the overwhelming support for total legalization of marijuana (under tight restrictions) and an outright ban on fracking (despite Governor Brown’s hesitancy). Other decisions and endorsements were made, of course. However, there was great emphasis on encouraging diligent work to maintain the Super-Majority in Sacramento, something which has been responsible for getting so much done over the last two years because of the Democratic preponderance of State legislators.
If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Convention (even as an observer)—be it Republican or Democrat—please do so. Getting involved is a worthwhile commitment. You can be part of change from the bottom up, from grass-roots volunteerism to elective office (at any level). This suggestion is not so far-fetched since numerous lawmakers (too numerous to mention) started out in just that way. Even if your ultimate desire is behind-the-scenes (as most of us are), you will derive great satisfaction by being a part of the system—someone on the inside looking out and being part of the wheel that moves us forward.
Los Angeles continues to provide a platform for all of the above--another reason to laud our City!
(Rosemary Jenkins is a Democratic activist and chair of the Northeast Valley Green Coalition. Jenkins has written Leticia in Her Wedding Dress and Other Poems, A Quick-and-Easy Reference to Correct Grammar and Composition and Vignettes for Understanding Literary and Related Concepts. She also writes for CityWatch.)