For many years I have worked alongside you to make our California Democratic Party more effective and accessible, more progressive, and more small-d democratic. This work continues, and I hope through my record, I have earned your endorsement for re-election as your Vice Chair.

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I started my engagement in my local Democratic Party as a club member running for my County Central Committee. I lost -- but I didn’t give up. I kept volunteering and kept showing up. I eventually became a member of my Central Committee, and later I served as County Chair for 10 years.

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 At the same time, I spent a decade as a rank and file union leader at my workplace, organizing new members, building a political program for our local, and helping to organize the first union for postdoctoral scholars in the United States.

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Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about organizing and politics, and how unions, community organizations and the Democratic Party can be tools to help regular people get political power. At the end of the day, that is what we are here for, even if sometimes we lose sight of it. I’ve never backed down in fighting for those values, our values, Democratic values. I never will.

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 I’m running again for Vice Chair to continue being a conduit and an advocate for the Party’s grassroots and the movements fighting for economic, social and environmental justice. I want to continue the fight to modernize our leadership structure and empower local Party organizations. Above all, I want to continue to be a voice for long-term thinking in our Party, focused not just on the next election, but on how we govern and who we are engaging.

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Together, we’ve achieved a lot in California. However, history won’t judge us by the number of seats we win, but rather, in positive changes in the lives of ordinary Californians and the condition of the natural world. That’s why I believe in an organizing CDP, an advocating CDP, a politically engaged CDP.

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That starts, of course, with a safe and just CDP. While we made tremendous progress in establishing a Code of Conduct, and a long-overdue reporting and discipline process for harassment and discrimination, we can’t claim to be free of the cultures and structures of fear, intimidation and  We can do better. And for the safety of our staff and thousands of volunteers across the state, we must do better. I support keeping the process of healing, reconciliation and structural change alive.