Inspired by Democrats!

The Campaign Slut has returned from the November Executive Board meeting of the California Democratic Party, a mercifully short drive from the San Francisco airport this time, inspired and hopeful and ready to campaign on.

What could have been two contentious items involving strongly held views by passionate Democrats were averted, one by being pulled, the other by being referred to a thoughtful committee for further consideration by 2015. (Ask me, if you really need to know.)

So the 2014 election cycle is in full swing. We met candidates for Secretary of State, term limits ending the tenure of our beloved Debra Bowen. Three men, State Senators Alex Padilla and Leland Yee and Common Cause's Derek Cressman are vying for that seat. They spoke to the Progressive Caucus last night. Wish more people were there to listen. This is an important seat.

Friday night our Platform Committee took testimony and broke into smaller plank groups. We continue to fine tune the Preamble and got some good work done on my other planks, Death with Dignity and Energy and the Environment. 

The Women's Caucus Saturday featured the Proposition 8 case plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier who spoke of the importance in getting involved in issues we care about early, so that we can keep bad propositions like Prop. 8 from happening in the first place and protect our hard-earned but never entirely safe, rights.

Then we got a special Campaign Boot Camp workshop on the 1965 Voting Rights Act which the Supreme Court is busily gutting with newly enacted voter ID laws, meant to disenfranchise old people, students and anyone of color.

Lots of schmoozing in the bar, in the lobby, in between meetings and general sessions.  Jan Black and I met a fascinating Polish gentleman on his first trip to the States, to give  a training for the local office of the large investment firm he works for. We talked politics, American and Polish, including Party make up and health care. His English was excellent. He says people in Poland learn English with a British accent. We exchanged contact info, and Jan on her international travels, already plans to meet up with him and his wife in Chile the first of the year.

The most fun was having political wizard Joe Louis Wildman, who has the most wicked sense of humor in all the good ways, share his strategy for a 1996 supervisorial race comprised entirely of  slogans in weekly ads in the Anderson Valley Advertiser. He lost, but the Campaign Quips live on. A sample printed here, courtesy of designer Sonia Taylor. Enjoy.  They may inspire your own future campaigns!