Call for change instead of November meetup

Written by: Chris Finnie on Oct 24, 2006 2:15 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Santa Cruz County for Democracy

The statewide election is two weeks away and California is in danger of falling into the conservatives. We'll be safe here in Santa Cruz. But that will be little comfort when the rest of the state becomes Texas by the Pacific.

The San Francisco Chronicle says, "California could very well go red. The casino-owning Indian tribes have just announced a multi-million independent expenditure against Democrats John Garamendi and John Chiang. The mud-slinging ads will begin as soon as this week. With the trifecta of oil, insurance and now, casino-owning tribes, along with 60,000 Far Right phone bankers culled from faux non-profits and evangelical churches, just about every constitutional office is in play in Democratic California. A recent estimate by the CA Republican Party shows, with the influx of gaming money and Arnold's coattails, that the Republicans have a significant chance of winning (in addition to the Governor's seat), Lt Governor, Secretary of State, Controller, Insurance Commissioner, Treasurer...and Attorney General (they are suing Jerry Brown now to try to get him off the ballot)."

We will not be holding a November meetup, but instead encourage you to spend the next few weeks working for issues and candidates of your choice. Here are some of the races that matter, and some of the things you can do about the races:

Angelides vs. Schwarzenegger for Governor
Running against an actor is never easy. One with big money behind him is even tougher. But, if you think the kinder, gentler governator we've seen this year will be back after November--I have a bridge I want to sell you. My prediction? We'll be back on the conservative script we saw in 2004 when he campaigned for Bush and 2005 when he wasted taxpayer money on his naked power grab during the special election.

Phil Angelides is a committed progressive who has found innovative ways to do good things for our state as Treasurer. He's run a horrible campaign, but I still think he'd be a good governor. To support Angelides, sign up to make phone calls from home. Using the Online Grassroots Campaign Center at angelides.vivademocracy.com/--yo... can contact your neighbors from home and encourage them to vote for Phil on November 7!

Bowen vs. McPherson for Secretary of State
People call Arnold's appointed Secretary of State a centerist. He's not. McPherson's new voter registration database in LA county was rejecting 43% of new registrations in this strongly Democratic county.
McPherson certified Diebold voting machines for use in California despite his own tests showing 16 gaping security holes; the use of this illegal software code is proven to be easily hackable. McPherson is also opposed to auditing paper records to check results against electronic voting machines.
Paul Craft is a consultant to McPherson - Mr. Craft was Head of Florida Elections Division when many qualified voters lost their vote registrations.
June 2006 special election San Diego: Congressional race Bilbray vs. Busby race: 7 days after the election and prior to all the votes being counted, McPherson's office faxed early voting returns to Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert in Washington DC. This action permitted Hastert to do an early swearing in of Republican Bilbray - AND eliminating state rights to contest the election or to a recount.

Debra Bowen is a sharp-as-a-whip state senator who understands voting issues and is committed to solving them. She has the backing of DFA and California for Democracy, and also has a "Phone From Home" program -- a way for you to make a difference in your own community by calling voters in your area from the comfort of your own home. Simply sign up for "Phone From Home" todayat ga3.org/debrabowen/phone_from_ho... -- and we'll email you a voter list and call script to make it easy. And since you'll be calling voters in your own community, you won't even incur long distance phone charges!

McNerney vs. Pombo for Congress
Not our district. But it is our Pacific Coast. And Richard Pombo wants to open it up for oil drilling. Jerry McNerney is another candidate with strong DFA and progressive backing, and a candidate we endorsed. We'll be phone banking for Jerry at the Santa Cruz HQ on Front Street from noon to whenever our voices give out on Saturday, November 4. Or the campaign also has a phone from home feature. Sign up at join.jerrymcnerney.com/phonefrom...

Show your support
Pick up a lawn sign for your favorite candidate or issue campaign at the United Democratic Campaign Headquarters, 740 Front Street, Suite 155. They open at noon weekdays with phone banks every evening Sunday through Thursday, and 9:00 on weekends for canvassers. They need volunteers for both, and for GOTV work on election day. So stop by for your signs, and volunteer to help. Or call 425-7700 for more information.

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Location: Santa Cruz County, CA 95062