EBYD has a vacancy on its Executive Committee.  At-Large board member, Christine Smith, has resigned after moving to Pennsylvania to work on a targeted campaign.  We are sad to see her leave but excited that EBYD members are traveling the country to provide support to Democrats everywhere!

JOIN EBYD AS A NEW XCOMM MEMBER!!

 At the February Confab, we will be electing a new At-Large member to fill Christine’s seat.   To nominate someone or if you have questions about this position, please email EBYD President, Rebecca Saltzman at president@ebyd.org

Join the California Young Democrats on Saturday from 1-4pm in San Francisco to hear from the next Governor of California — as well as at least 11 other candidates for statewide office.

We’ll be joined by young dems from throughout the entire Bay Area — from Sonoma to Santa Cruz.

This will be a special opportunity to hear from the candidates on this June’s primary election ballot.

Come hear and ask questions of the following candidates:

GOVERNOR
• Hon. Jerry Brown*

LT. GOVERNOR
• Hon. Janice Hahn

ATTORNEY GENERAL
• Hon. Kamala Harris
• Mr. Chris Kelly
• Hon. Pedro Nava
• Hon. Alberto Torrico

TREASURER
• Hon. Bill Lockyer

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
• Hon. Hector De La Torre
• Hon. Dave Jones

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
• Mr. Larry Aceves
• Hon. Tom Torlakson

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
• Hon. Betty Yee

*(Candidate is invited as a rumored candidate, but has not officially declared).

Here are all the details:

Saturday, February 6th
1-4 p.m.
SEIU Local 87
240 Golden Gate Avenue, SF
(2 Blocks North of Civic Center BART Station)

View Larger Map

PLEASE RSVP TODAY!

In 2008, Californians passed Prop 11, which calls for a redistricting commission to be established.  The commission will be made up of members of the public and all are encouraged to apply.  Berkeley will host the Northern California Redistricting Conference.  See the below message for more details:

Northern California Redistricting Conference
Redistricting California conference in Berkeley

Applications for the Citizens Redistricting Commission created by Proposition 11 are pouring in, and our outreach efforts to ensure the commission reflects the diversity of our state are moving full steam ahead. California Common Cause has teamed up with a coalition of other organizations to form RedistrictingCA, an alliance of non-profit organizations to ensure the 2011 redistricting is fair and inclusive.

The 2011 redistricting will, for the first time, be done by a citizens’ commission without ties to elected representatives or party establishment. In order to ensure that our diverse and dynamic communities are protected, however, we will need a diverse commission. And a diverse commission comes from a diverse and qualified applicant pool.

The Redistricting California Alliance is hosting events across the state to discuss the redistricting commission application process, how to conduct application outreach campaigns, and what the job of commissioner will entail.

We invite you to join us for a Northern California Redistricting Conference on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm at the Greenlining Institute in Berkeley, CA. The conference agenda will include background on redistricting and how it works, the experience of past commissioners, a review of the application process, and a discussion of outreach strategies. We sincerely hope you will be able to join us for this event.

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so reserve your spot now! Please RSVP at http://www.commoncause.org/redistrictingca/berkeley.

To learn more about the Redistricting California Alliance visit www.redistrictingca.org, or to apply for the commission visit www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.

East Bay Young Democrats is pleased to welcome our sister organization in South Alameda County: South County Young Democrats!  We are pleased to see young democrats mobilizing in South County and look forward to working with them in this election year and many more to come. 

Again, WELCOME SOUTH COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS!!!

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2010
Contact:
Rocky Fernandez
(510) 872-5784
Rocky.fernandez@gmail.com

Young Dems Mobilize in the East Bay
Hayward—Last week the Alameda County Democratic Party officially chartered the South County Young Democrats, an organization dedicated to electing Democrats and engaging young progressives in the Eden, Tri-Cities and Tri-Valley areas of Alameda County. Rocky Fernandez, AC Transit Board President and former California Young Democrats President, leads the South County Young Democrats as club president.
Other officers include Alex Hilke as Vice President a college student at CSU East Bay, Michelle Thomas as Political Director and Treasurer Meriam Reynosa both district staffers to San Leandro State Senator Ellen Corbett, Matt Freeman an American Government professor at Berkeley City College from Castro Valley, and Membership Director Ifonia Gelin whom serves as a local labor organizer.
South County Young Democrats currently have 44 members from San Leandro to Fremont and Hayward to Livermore.  All registered Democrats in the area 35 years old or younger are eligible to join.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devestated the Haitian capitol of Port Au Prince and surrounding region.  Government buildings, hospitals, and local infrastructure have been destroyed.  Thousands are presumed dead.  It is truly a humanitarian crisis of monumental proportions.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Death was everywhere Wednesday in this devastated city of 2 million. Bodies of tiny children were piled next to schools. Corpses of women lay on the street with stunned expressions frozen on their faces as flies began to gather. Bodies of men were covered with plastic tarps or cotton sheets.

Moreover, untold numbers were still trapped after a powerful earthquake Tuesday crushed thousands of structures — from schools and shacks to the National Palace and the local U.N. headquarters.

Read the MSNBC news story here

Here in the East Bay, many are already mobilizing aid efforts to support the citizens of Haiti.  We are nothing but a community with a long tradition of humanitarian support.  Please take the time to visit, support and if you can, donate to relief organizations that are working to help the people of Haiti.

Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund

American Red Cross

Texting “Haiti” to 90999 Will send $10 to Red Cross

Yele Foundation (Wyclef Jean’s Charity)

Texting “Yele” to 501501 will donate $5 to the Yele Fund

Doctors Without Border

The Clinton Foundation

UNICEF

UN World Food Program

Catholic Relief Services

American Jewish World Services

USAID

Partners in Health