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SEPTEMBER 2021|NEWSLETTER

Newsom Recall

As Ventura County could play a key role in whether Gavin Newsom goes or stays, we join with DSA-LA in recommending that you vote NO on the recall. We agree with this statement from their twitter account:

“...we’re looking at a fascist, reactionary and capitalist rebellion against the very belief that the government has any responsibility or right to improve the living conditions of its people.

Newsom getting replaced by a Republican would be deleterious to our mission. It would destroy momentum state-wide towards achieving goals like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.  

We recommend that you vote no on the recall – but remain clear-eyed that the future of California will not be decided with one election.”

-Excerpt from @dsa_LosAngeles twitter account.

Endorsement

We are excited to announce our endorsement of fellow member Daniel Wilson for Congressional Seat CA-26.  Daniel is a working-class transgender veteran who shares our values and commitment to advocating for underserved taxpayers, victims of social injustice, and those struggling with overpriced healthcare.  He is running a fully nonpartisan, grassroots, and people-powered campaign to uplift the voices of the unrepresented, the politically homeless, and the laboring masses, from the streets of Ventura County to the halls of Congress.

Believing firmly in the ethos “Everybody in, nobody out,” Daniel is committed to securing universal policies in healthcare, housing, jobs, and education. “It is an indisputable fact that people work, learn, and function better when they have their basic needs met. This is because you cannot thrive when you are struggling to survive, and the people of Ventura County deserve better than just surviving,” Wilson said.

Citing the failures of both the local and national governments during the pandemic as the catalyst for his run, Wilson explained, “As I watched an ever-increasing number of our neighbors lose jobs and homes, our small businesses permanently close, and our food lines explode with no meaningful response from our elected officials, I realized that no one is going to come save us - we have to step up to save our own communities.”

For too long, many of DSA-VC’s 200 dues-paying members, 2,000 supporters in our database, and hundreds of followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, have been frustrated with incumbent centrist Democrat Brownley.  She takes campaign donations from for-profit healthcare corporations while repeatedly over the past 4 years refusing to co-sponsor single-payer healthcare legislation in Congress.  Millions of Americans are dying and facing bankruptcy from inadequate access to healthcare professionals.

Enacting our endorsement process, we asked Daniel to speak at our 8/1 chapter meeting.  We made available to the members his questionnaire answers, then asked all dues paying members in attendance to vote in an on-line poll.   For the week after, the poll and questionnaire were also available on slack to our members not in attendance.   15 dues paying members chose to participate: 10 for endorsement, 2 for no endorsement and 3 abstentions.  As our chapter has done in all previous such votes, we give an endorsement based on majority rule.   Congrats were sent to Daniel for being the first ever Ventura County candidate we have had the opportunity of endorsing who proudly shares our values and is a dues paying member.  The chapter will decide at a later date how much financial and/or volunteer resources we will commit to his campaign.

Our Steering Committee announced the endorsement on our slack and social media accounts.  A press release was also sent out to county news outlets.

To donate, sign-up and get more information about Daniel’s campaign, go to danielforcongress.com.   

Events

Coffee with Comrades 

New and long-time members are encouraged to join us for this informal social gathering on-line.  Lets get to know each other better!

11 AM  | Saturday, September 4  - and every 1st Saturday!

Link to RSVP

Labor Working Group Meeting

Join organizers who are fighting to improve the lives of Ventura County workers!

6:30pm, Wednesday, 9/8/2021

Join the slack channel: #wg-labor

Democratic Socialists of America - Ventura County
http://www.dsaventuracounty.org/