Dear members, friends, and curious readers,
I want to offer my sincerest gratitude for electing me as the new president of the Culver City Democratic Club and thank my fellow Executive Board members for their commitment to serve alongside me. I would like to give immense thanks and appreciation to our now immediate past president Jeff Schwartz for his ongoing leadership and dedication to this Club over the years. It is not an easy task to run and maintain an active Democratic club such as ours and we all serve as volunteers while maintaining our jobs and families. Don’t worry, Jeff is still here and I am thankful for his ongoing guidance to the Executive Board and myself. ☺
As president, I want to use this opportunity to move us towards a brighter future despite the constant attacks on our democracy. We have to assess where we are, where we want to go, and have a strategy to get there. I remember a quote from former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner during a CADEM convention, “You don’t build your shield on the battlefield,” and right now I am focused on building our shield. The only weapon we have to fight this plutocratic oligarchy in the federal government is to fortify the layers of our shield starting at the local level where we have the most impact, and work up.
Over the years, our Club has made major impacts locally that have filtered up into the County and State. I want to continue to grow that power. To do that I hope to focus on the following:
• Membership Growth and Engagement
• Fundraising
• Internal Structure Building
• Coalition Building
• Youth/Young Dem Engagement
• Civic/Voter Education
I know many of us feel demoralized, burnt out, and even hopeless, due to the nonstop fight we have been in to maintain our progressive values at all levels of government. Now we are facing a major environmental disaster with the fires that have either directly or indirectly impacted all of us. I encourage you not to give up hope. The community response to the fires has shown me how much impact each person can have when we come together as one. Folks of all ages have shown up at donation or aid sites around LA county and contributed what they could.
That is exactly what we need! Everyone contributing a little to create a large impact. That is what community is about, seeing beyond the small things that make us different and realizing that we all are in this together.
Now let’s keep that going beyond major disasters and let it be a core value that drives us forward.
So, to all of you who have taken the time to read our newsletter, I hope that you are willing to help build this shield with me, because I cannot do it without all of you. See you (on Zoom) at our next meeting, on February 12.