Hi John xxxxxx, 

You’ve been a supporter of my work over the years, and of our vision of a world where no animal suffers unnecessarily. So I wanted you to be one of the first to hear: I’m running for Mayor of Berkeley on a platform of making our city the first plant-based city in the world. We’re calling it the #GreenNewCity, and we just launched our first campaign video today. (Please share it here!)

I’m doing this because of the pandemic crisis. We know the exploitation of animals was the root of not just the coronavirus, which likely came from a live animal market in Wuhan, China, but of many other pandemics over the past 100 years. 

I’m doing this because politics as usual isn’t working. We’ve seen a 43% increase in homelessness in Berkeley over the past 2 years, regression on climate change, and broken promises on animal rights. We know solutions are out there, but our current leadership is too trapped by insider politics to move forward. 

But I’m doing this, most of all, because the people of Berkeley -- and the nation -- are ready. Over the past 7 years, we’ve been sounding the alarm about the existential threat posed by animal agriculture. Now is the moment, with our most basic assumptions about human life being challenged, that our society is primed for change. 

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking to Berkeley voters. We’ve found that a shocking 75% say they are with us, with 23% undecided and only 2% opposed. When we talk to people, we win them over. 

But the incumbent, an establishment politician who has spent his entire adult life in office, has many advantages -- endorsements, the party machinery, and big donors who will bankroll his campaign. 

To win, it’ll take a team effort. We’ll need thousands of people to share our content on social media, to give it the widest reach possible. We’ll need masses of ordinary people to donate, especially if you live in Berkeley (where we get a 6:1 match), because we’re committing to take a maximum of $50 per person to keep money out of politics. And most of all, we’ll need a movement speaking together. Starting today, we are undertaking an unprecedented grassroots effort to reach every Berkeley voter by phone or by social media. We have scripts and trainings and workshops ready, as we campaign in this unprecedented era. Early polling shows that if we can reach 40,000 voters, we will win. With your help, we will win. 

And when we win, as with the Berkeley fur ban, the fight against factory farms in Berkeley will set off a chain reaction across the nation. For the first time in history, animal rights will be a subject of real political debate. But to do that, we need you to see the power in your hands. 

Because this is no ordinary campaign. This is a grassroots movement.

So what do you say? Can you devote a couple hours a month to join our volunteer #GreenTeam? Our first (virtual) meeting is this Sunday!

Wayne