Thursday, January 12th
Shashamane Bar & Grill, 2507 Broadway, Oakland
6:30-8:30pm

The following people have been nominated for the 2012 Executive Committee of the East Bay Young Democrats.

• President: Andy Kelley
• VP Membership: Igor Tregub
• VP Finance: Jason Overman
• Secretary: Jamie Tschida
• Political Director: Ruby Reid
• Director of Communications: Jonathan Bair
• Events Director: Dria Fearn
• At-Large (3): Charles Cole, Richard Fuentes, Donald Lathbury
• Immediate Past President: Rebecca Saltzman*

* The immediate past president is a position assigned to the past president, per our bylaws.

Only active EBYD members may vote at our endorsement meetings. To be notified of future meetings, please join our mailing list or our social networks, using the links to the left.

November 2011 EBYD Endorsements:

Emeryville City Council

• Hon. Ruth Atkin
• Hon. Nora Davis
• Jacqueline Asher

Emeryville Ballot Measures

• Measure C: Yes
• Measure D: Yes
• Measure F: No

Oakland Ballot Measures

• Measure H: No
• Measure I: No Position
• Measure J: Yes

EBYD VP Hon. Igor Trigub is at back, EBYD member Hon. Jesse Arreguin is at left.

One visit to the White House changed my perspective on what is possible for us to achieve today. I hope it might affect yours too.

Last month I was honored to receive an invitation from the White House, asking me if I wished to meet with President Obama and his senior advisers  to discuss policies affecting the people I serve. Organized by the White House’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Young Elected Officials Network, which represents state and local electeds under age thirty-six, the briefing and visit promised me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask questions of those who craft federal policies that affect the Bay Area. I was joined by my colleague on the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, Asa Dodsworth, along with Berkeley Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, East Bay Municipal Utilities Director Andy Katz, Alameda County Board of Education Trustee Marlon McWilson, AC Transit Board Member Mark Williams, and about 200 other electeds from across the country.

In some ways, this was a trip down memory lane for me. My personal biography is more intertwined with the President than he might realize. He was born of a Kenyan father and a Kansan mother; I had lived in three other countries before having the opportunity to call the East Bay my home. Despite his young age, a relative lack of experience in an elected capacity, and a funny name, he saw a distinct need to generate change from the stale politics of the past, and took the plunge. Sharing each of those three attributes myself, I was inspired enough by this bodacious move that I, too, chose to run for elected office three years ago. But since then, he on the national front, and I on a much smaller geographic plane, discovered just how difficult it was to push for fresh policies that depart so greatly from what we had been accustomed to – this, too, in the context of dramatic economic and partisan headwinds. When I read the submissions my constituents sent me in response to my solicitation for questions to ask of the President, it was palpable to me that disappointment and moroseness had supplanted the once-strong spirit of hope.

However, the words I heard from the President’s senior staff – public servants like Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Austan Goolsbee, Office of Energy and Climate Change Representative Heather Zichal, and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra – imbued me with a newfound sense of optimism. I do not believe that such mantras of the Administration as expanding development of new forms of clean energy, rebuilding the middle class, and providing access to health care to all – each of which were discussed at length – are mere talking points; they underscore a genuine commitment of this president to, in the face of vicious resistance from all sides, achieve many of the policies he had promised.

The economy, while slow to restart, is being fueled by rapid expansion in the critical sectors of manufacturing and agriculture – a much different form of recovery than the previous one which indirectly led to the housing crisis that still affects our region. The latest in a long line of environmental grants, the Rooftop Solar Challenge, encourages consortia of municipalities and the private sector to propose strategies that would lower the administrative cost of permitting in rooftop solar installation. The Administration’s technology platform, driven by the goals of democratizing government data and bringing together entrepreneurs, has fostered a climate in which a starving art student who moonlighted as a waiter recently won, much less could enter, a design competition for a major federal contract. The Bay Area, a national leader in areas such as renewable energy generation, a green collar economy, and academic prowess, stands to deeply benefit from these initiatives.

Certainly, one visit does not equate to months and years of advocacy for the right policies. Undoubtedly, there are many aspects of President Obama’s domestic and international platform with which you and I both have our qualms. It is then most noteworthy that President Obama reasserted to us his interest in continuing to hear from you, our constituents. This point was reiterated to the visitors of the White House over and over, and, to put money where the administration’s mouth was, a booklet was given to all attendees that had the contact information for the intergovernmental affairs director of every federal agency. I encourage readers to continue to submit to me their questions and input, which I will guide to the right contact.

I return to the East Bay refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to fight the crises that we are slowly but surely overcoming. I have the audacity to be optimistic once again, and I hope that my fellow Bay residents might, too, see a glimmer of sun above the clouds.

Igor Tregub is the East Bay Young Dems VP of finance. Please contact him at itregub [at] gmail.com with any input you might wish to pass along to the Obama Administration.

Elected Official of the Year: Abel Guillen

Since I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve developed a deep respect for Peralta Community Colleges Trustee Abel Guillen.

The son of a baker and a cook, Abel was the first in his family to graduate from college. He grew up in a working-class Bay Area neighborhood where few people even considered attending college. Abel learned the value of hard work from his parents, and was fortunate to receive a great public education at UC Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in public policy.

Abel ran in 2006 against an incumbent. People told him it was going to be impossible to defeat an incumbent in a down ballot race, but he went for it and became the first Latino elected to the Board and the youngest ever to serve as Board President.

Fitting with our theme and goals of making the gala as environmentally friendly as possible, Abel has led several green initiatives at Peralta. He helped to secure over $20 million for career education and green jobs, and created the Easy Pass partnership with AC Transit that saves each student over $1,000 a year (and gets more students on the bus).

I could probably write pages about why Abel deserves this award, but I’ll save that for the event.

Kick-Ass Youth Advocate: Sean Dugar

Sean Dugar was a clear choice for the youth advocate award this year. Sean helped build EBYD to what it is today, and through his tireless activism has helped found and grown multiple other organizations in the East Bay and statewide.

In his nearly 8 year tenure with the NAACP Sean worked on a range of issues including Death Penalty, Police Brutality, and Higher Education Access issues but continued his passion of electoral organizing, coordinating campaigns that registered over 15,000 new young voters in the Bay Area between 2003 and 2008. Working his way up through the NAACP, Sean aged out of the most recent office of President of the California NAACP Youth & College Division in 2009.

Today, Sean continues to advocate for young people and people of color. Having co-founded and been elected Chair of the California Young Democrats Black Caucus in April of 2010, he has pushed a strong “Game Changing” agenda throughout the organization. Now at over 600 members the CYDBC is the largest and most active caucus in CYD.

In the fall election, due to Sean’s leadership, the CYD Black Caucus contacted 5000 young black voters across the state of California through phone banking, precinct walking, and social networking as part of its GOTV efforts in 9 targeted races across the state. Sean is also a founding member of the East Bay Young Democrats, South Alameda County Young Dems, and New Leaders Council (NLC). In 2011, Sean was elected by his peers to serve as a Delegate for the California Democratic Party in Assembly District 16.

Please join EBYD this Thursday to honor Abel and Sean and to celebrate the work we’ve done to engage young people in the political process and to elect people who represent our values.

Join us for celebration, food, and drinks at Numi Tea Garden, a beautiful oasis in the industrial Central Estuary neighborhood.

When: 6:30 – 9:30pm, June 30, 2011
Where: Numi Tea Garden, 2230 Livingston Street, Oakland
Tickets: $30 for EBYD members/$40 for non-members

To make the gala more environmentally friendly, we are providing a free shuttle from Fruitvale BART, picking up at the taxi stop. Look for the sign – “EBYD Gala 2011 Shuttle”. The shuttle will start pick ups at BART at 6:15pm and will start bringing people back to BART at 8pm. Bicycles are allowed on the shuttle. Please consider leaving your car at home and take BART and our free shuttle!

You can find more details and can RSVP on the Facebook event.

Thanks to our generous host committee for helping making this event possible:

Leaders: Hon. Jesse Arreguin, Hon. Susan Bonilla, Hon. Joan Buchanan, Hon. Abel Guillen, UFCW Local 5, Hon. Bob Wieckowski

Mover n’ Shakers: APA Democratic Caucus of Alameda County, Berkeley Patients Group, Cal Dems, Harborside Health Center, Mario Juarez, Milo Group of California, Oaksterdam University, Barbara Parker, Hon. Bill Quirk, Hon. Nancy Skinner, South County Young Democrats, Hon. Igor Tregub, Hon. Betty Yee

Advocates: Luis Alcazar, Jonathan Bair, Olga Bolotina, Hon. Rob Bonta, Ronnie Caplane, Hon. Keith Carson, Hon. Josh Daniels, Amy DeReyes, Sean Donahoe, East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, Frieda K. Edgette, Dria Fearn, Rocky Fernandez, Annie Flores, Hon. Nicky Gonzalez Yuen, Hon. Loni Hancock, Hon. Ann-Marie Hogan, Hon. Rebecca Kaplan, Hon. Andy Katz, Andy Kelley, Royce Kelley, Hon. Beatriz Levya-Cutler, Kate Maeder, Peggy Moore & Hope Wood, Kathy Neal, Dave & Mary Nicely, Wayne Nishioka, Lily Nguyen, Jennifer Ong, Hon. Elsa Ortiz, Dorian Peters, Ces Rosales, Rena Rickles, Hon. Courtney Ruby, John Russo, Rebecca Saltzman, Hon. Tim Sbranti, Hon. Libby Schaaf, Sean Sullivan, Hon. Sandre Swanson, Hon. Lena Tam, Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont, Matthew Tisdale, Hon. Tony Thurmond, Vien Truong, Hon. Kriss Worthington

At its annual All-City Luncheon on April 27th, the Oakland League of Women Voters honored East Bay Young Democrats and supporters with the prestigious Making Democracy Work award for their blogs illuminating the inner workings of local government and encouraging public participation.

East Bay Young Democrats President Rebecca Saltzman writes Living in the O, EBYD Communications Director Jonathan Bair was honored for his blogs The DTO and FutureOakland, and EBYD member Echa Schneider publishes A Better Oakland. Aimee Allison, a friend of EBYD who did a wonderful job MC’ing our memorial for the victims of the Arizona shootings in January, received the award for her community news hub, OaklandSeen.

In addition to Jonathan Bair of The DTO, Rebecca Saltzman of Living In The O, Echa Schneider of A Better Oakland, and Aimee Allison of OaklandSeen.com, the League of Women Voters also awarded Zennie Abraham of OaklandFocus and Debby Richman of Today in Montclair.

Photo courtesy Lee Aurich.

California is redrawing her lines. For the first time, an independent citizen’s commission will be heading the effort to apportion state and congressional representatives, instead of the State Legislature. The 14-member commission has been selected from an initial applicant pool of over 30,000. Significant efforts were taken to create a commission that reflected the demographics of the state. The resulting demographic make-up of commission mirrors this work. The commission also evenly split among party affiliation: 5 are either registered Republican or Democrat and the remaining 4 are Decline-to-State, Green Party, or other party. All of this care was taken to ensure that the commission at least appeared neutral and removed from the influence of the political environment.

The new lines will be based on existing City and County lines, rather than on existing district lines or the residences of incumbent lawmakers. When City and County lines can’t ensure evenly-divided districts (465,674 people per Assembly District, with up to a 1% variation), the Commission is instructed to take into account communities of interest. Defining these communities will be part of the Redistricting Commission’s public hearings, in which we can all participate.

Defined, a community of interest is: “A contiguous population which shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.” What does this mean to you? What does it mean in the dynamism of demographic shifts and the movement inland by California residents along with the hard truth of geography? Redistricting asks us to examine what is fundamental and fair in representative government.

This commission is the perfect opportunity for you to shape this effort. The real work is set to begin and there is a way for you to participate. On Saturday, May 21, there will be a public workshop in Oakland (Place: TBD). We here at EBYD will keep you up-to-date and connected to the process – join our Facebook group for the latest information.

If you’re interested in taking part in the redistricting process, come to our mixer at Shashamane this Thursday, April 14th from 6 – 7:30. Ask anyone in the room about Redisticting and you will find out more.

We’d like to congratulate our young democrats in the surrounding areas who were elected to be delegates for the state party at the turn of the New Year. Please make sure to look for opportunities to get to know these folks as they are our voting representatives at the convention (just around the corner!). If you’d like to learn more about the CA Democratic Party Convention, join our Facebook group.

14th AD
Abraham Kneisley
Jael Myrick
Igor Tregub

16th AD
Nwamaka Agbo
Sean Dugar
Richard Fuentes
Abel Guillen
Jennifer Pae
Rebecca Saltzman
Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont
Chantal Reynolds

18th AD
Rocky Fernandez *
Julie Lind

20th AD
Aref Aziz
Alex Hilke
Deepa Sharma

* also elected to Executive Board

Last week I sat on my couch reading about what was happening in Madison, WI from my friends’ links on Facebook. It was hard for me to fathom this direct attack on working families in the name of a budget deficit. I take this assault personally. If it wasn’t for organized labor, my mother would not have been able to provide for my sister and me. I may be from California, but Wisconsin’s struggle is symbolic of what’s happening around the country.

As state and local budgets are struggling to balance their budget, we see an ongoing struggle for power. Who has it and how are they going to keep it? This is at the heart of the debate in Wisconsin. Although organized labor has agreed to concessions to help offset costs in the state budget, the Governor will not negotiate: he wants to essentially eliminate collective bargaining. This would be a major blow for organized labor and for worker rights – an inherent Democratic value.

Although I could have stayed in Oakland and supported the campaign from afar, I needed to go to Wisconsin. I called up my dear friends, used my frequent flier miles, and traveled to a city that I hadn’t visited since I was President of the United States Student Association. It brought back a lot of memories. In 2005, I traveled throughout the state numerous times for student organizing campaigns, and even though I felt like a fish out of water spending so much time in the Midwest, it also felt very comfortable.

It’s no joke when folks say there’s a friendly and charming feel to Madison. I had numerous conversations with complete strangers about the impacts this bill would have in their lives and for Wisconsin. As I walked along State Street (a street that connects the University of Wisconsin with the State Capitol), I saw solidarity signs everywhere. They’re along store front windows and countless people were walking with them. However, what took my breath away was walking in the Capitol building.

It was in the middle of the week and I had just missed a rally, so the crowd was going in the opposite direction. I was unsure if there were folks still in the rotunda, but as I walked in with no security check needed, I could hear chanting echoing throughout the halls. There were hundreds and thousands of letters, posters, and banners all along these walls. That was the first time I understood the term “the people’s house.” I passed by several sleeping bags and mats, and the following Friday night, security had to limit the number of people into the building because there were too many people sleeping in the Capitol preparing for the biggest action yet.

The national media outlets may not have covered the march and rally of Saturday, February 26th, but I sure felt it from head to toe. This was a true Wisconsin action. It was 16 degrees and snowing, but it didn’t keep people from marching around the State Capitol and participating in the rally that day. The rotunda was already at capacity and the line wrapped around the building.

Everywhere I looked there were displays of anger, humor, and sadness, in signs and costumes. From the plumbers union saying “Walker needs to be flushed” to a 4 year old girl asking the Governor to “Save my Future.” You can check out more signs here. This exemplified Wisconsin’s character. Despite the cold, thousands of people came out because this was about the livelihood of families in Wisconsin and its effect on families around the country.

At the rally, I listened to Bradley Whitford from the West Wing describe Wisconsin residents as stubborn because, “We fish through ice.” Another actor also stated today’s action is “a great union production – the lighting, make-up, and costumes look amazing.” A nurse with a heavy Wisconsin accent that “cannot be faked” expressed her deep concern for patient care if catheters are given by anyone other than a union nurse. A pilot who helped land a plane safely in the Hudson River proudly listed all of the union members aboard who saved all of the passengers. Every day, firefighters walked through the Capitol playing bagpipes to show their solidarity. Countless others have spoken up and will continue to put pressure on Wisconsin Republicans to do the right thing.

Last week, Governor Walker spoke on tape with a blogger who claimed to be John Koch. During an interview on Meet the Press, he clarified his statement about inciting a violent protest by “planting a troublemaker in the crowd,” because he will not allow anyone from outside the state to come and disrupt the debate. In reality, the actions throughout the last several weeks have proven to be very peaceful. Regardless of where we’re from, we can all make a difference.

People around the world are watching. From Ian’s Pizza receiving donations to feed demonstrators from 43 states and 10 countries including Egypt, to #WeAreWI being a frequent trending topic on Twitter, it is critical to keep the pressure on. Governor Walker has already threatened layoffs in order to balance the budget if none of the 14 Senate Democrats return to Wisconsin. As this continues to unfold, I urge you to take a moment to help. If you know ANYONE in WI, ask them to call their Senator. If you can donate, support one of the community organizations on the ground. Please keep educating your friends and family about what’s going on in Wisconsin.

I’m a firm believer that your time, talents, and treasure should reflect your values. If you believe in fairness, equality, and justice, then let’s keep this momentum going. After all, we are all Wisconsin.

Jennifer Pae is an At-Large Executive Committee Member of the East Bay Young Democrats.

This Thursday, March 3, the East Bay Young Democrats will hold its first membership meeting of 2011. We’ll discuss the priorities and projects for the club for the year, introduce four new committees, and discuss the upcoming California Young Democrats/California Democratic Party convention.

• 6:30pm – Mix, mingle & enjoy food provided by EBYD
• 7:00pm – Membership meeting
• 8:00pm – Convening of new committees (all attendees are welcome and encouraged to participate in these committees)
  • Political Action
  • Membership & Outreach
  • Finance
  • Event Planning

If you’re interested in getting involved and shaping the direction of the club, this is the meeting to attend! For more information on EBYD events, join our Facebook group.

Greetings! I am your outgoing 2010 Xcomm at-large member and webmaster, Reuben Duarte.

How self-serving, right?  I’m writing my own “goodbye” post to the EBYD website.  Well, I have reasons.  First, I moved away from the East Bay to attend grad school in Los Angeles back in August so I was unable to see many of you.  Second, I wanted to say I truly enjoyed being your club’s webmaster and can say I will miss being able to improve the clubs online infrastructure and communicating with all of you.

For those who have been with us for a while may remember our old website.  It served its purpose and was unapologetically without style.  Rare blog posts that were usually just event advertisements and links to Act-Blue for membership renewals.  And that was fine.  But when I was asked to serve as the club’s webmaster, I wanted to completely revamp everything, practically starting from scratch.  And I did and here it is.  The www.ebyd.org you see before you is the realization that, as a young Dems club, our online infrastructure should reflect our profeciency in the modern internet age.  You can even get the mobile site on your iPhone. Maybe you didn’t agree with all that was posted.  But at least it was posted.  It brought you to the site to learn and to engage.  And that is and always shall be a goal of EBYD.  I am confident in our newly elected Director of Communications to continue this effort.

Let me close by asking everyone to demand more of your club’s website, facebook and Twitter!  We are young Democrats. We are a generation of computer proficient gurus who spend hours on our computers engaged in a plethora of social networking activities.  We read the news on our iPhones and iPads.  We crack up at youtube videos while at work and we stay up to date in almost real time with our friends and the world with Twitter.  We are more connected with one another than any generation before and this makes us incredibly powerful.  This is our platform and we have created a world that yields to our knowledge and preference of this modern medium.  So why is it that, in the past, Young Democrats have ignored this vital resource?

Young Democrats are intelligent and insightful. We have opinions and ideas that impact the present and future of politics and our communities.  The future’s uncertainty is its most exciting attribute; for if our future is unwritten then we each may have the opportunity to author.  So tell the world!  Ask to post a guest-post on the EBYD blog.  Demand more club meetings and attend Xcomm meetings! Go out in your communities and lead to a better future.  Play the politics, push forward and never fade.  Let everyone know who we are and what we want.  If we are to be future leaders, let us begin today.

Democratically yours,