Noses to the Grindstone

“I don’t want to live in a California run by Republicans,” says Amy Wilkinson, a delegate to the California Democratic Party state convention from Kings County. “The one thing keeping me sane right now is that we’re strongly Democrat

Democrats throughout the state convened in San Francisco Feb. 20‒22 for their endorsement convention. State Party Chair Rusty Hicks announced “Together we win!” as the theme for the convention.

Central Valley Democrats came away from the convention both energized and frustrated.

Energized by collaborations and strategizing, the focus on taking back Congress in November and unity in opposing the madness in Washington, D.C., particularly the abuses of ICE.

Frustrated because no candidate was endorsed in the major races for governor, lieutenant governor, insurance commissioner and treasurer and, specific to the Central Valley, the impact of party rules that might well have prevented the endorsement of a community-supported candidate in Congressional District 22 (CD22).

To win an endorsing caucus and be placed on the consent agenda for the party’s endorsement, a candidate must receive 60% of the votes cast by the delegates in the geography applicable to a particular office. Some candidates had previously been placed on the consent agenda by having received 70% of the votes in the pre-endorsing caucuses that took place in January.

Central Valley delegates expressed frustration with the process in the CD22 endorsing caucus. Randy Villegas, an associate professor of political science at College of the Sequoias, won 55% of the vote in the pre-endorsing caucus, whereas that flipped to 56% for his opponent, Assembly Member Jasmeet Bains, in the endorsing caucus. How did that happen?

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D‒Hollister), “in his infinite wisdom, put a punch of his special delegates into CD22 and told them how to vote, and that doesn’t reflect our values,” noted Cathy Jorgensen, chair of the Kings County Democratic Central Committee.

Her counterpart in Tulare County, Joshua Evans, has “a real problem with the state party’s view that individuals like Robert Rivas and the Senate Pro Tem and other executive officers getting to appoint delegates” to put their thumb on the scale for candidates that “might be ‘safe’ or ‘establishment leaning’ when the community has galvanized” behind a different candidate.

“Apparently you can game that system,” says Wilkinson, who feels that the Bains campaign “took advantage of that and basically ruined it so we can’t get an endorsement for a candidate that would be a really good fit for our district.”

“I’m disappointed in the party because of some of the top-down things that are still happening,” adds Jorgensen. “That doesn’t reflect our beliefs, and I think it’s wrong.”

Wilkinson goes even further, “That smacks of Republicanism.” She wants to see the party “take steps to make sure that kind of chicanery and shenanigans doesn’t happen in our party.

“We should be better than that.”

Jorgensen concluded that she was “glad that the candidate the speaker was pushing did not get endorsed because of the tricks that he pulled.”

A recurring theme among delegates throughout the convention was the possibility of Republicans being the top two candidates for governor following the primary because of so many good candidates splitting the Democratic vote.

Many delegates fear the Democratic candidates “will divide the vote so much in the primary that we won’t even have a Democrat to vote for in the general election,” laments Marsha Conant, a delegate from Fresno County.

Hicks, the party chair, however, feels that the “field will naturally narrow as we move closer to the primary.

“California Democrats are prepared to do what is required.

“We’re ready, willing and able to ensure that a strong Democrat is headed to the general election and in position to win in November.”

Coming out of the convention, Wilkinson says that the attendees are “really energized for the election. Our job now is to go back to our communities and get everyone else excited.”

“I think we all know we have to put our noses to the grindstone now and work really hard,” says Myra Coble, a delegate from Fresno County, “because, as cliché as it sounds, this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime.”