The Santa Barbara County Democratic party is very proud that our county’s party chair–Daraka Larimore-Hall–is also a candidate for Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party.
Delegates to the state convention later this month will be casting their ballots, but we are all invited to support Daraka’s progressive agenda to improve California democracy.

Sunday, May 7th, 1 – 3 p.m.
Alameda Park (1400 Santa Barbara St.)
RSVP & Facebook Event

People’s March For Climate, Justice and Jobs

Sat. April 29, 12 – 2 p.m. 

La Playa Stadium at Santa Barbara City College

On Trump’s 100th day in office, environmental and climate justice organizations are calling for this march in D.C., New York City, and around the world. Join community members, workers, youth, businesses, public officials, and Chumash tribal representatives in action on behalf of the climate!

Voter Reg. at Earth Day

Santa Barbara’s traditional Earth Day Festival provides the DSC with fertile ground for growing the base of local Democratic voters. Our voter registration booth in the festival’s “Public Square” this weekend was well-staffed with volunteers and ready to help first-time voters get on board and to re-register those who have moved or, perhaps, changed names. New this year: 16 and 17 year-olds can pre-register and be set to vote as soon as they turn 18.

The DSC’s Earth Day tabling has been organized by Pat Beals, and staffed over

	DSC volunteers Hap Ziegler, Pat Beals, EJ Borah and Chas. Clouse take on the first shift of the Earth Day weekend.

two days by EJ Borah, Temmy Bowman, Leslie Edgerton, Gail Gillies, Francis Hallinan, Bev Herbert, Jane Herner, Vijaya Jammalamakdaka, Meredith McMinn, Chris Nelson, Gail Teton-Landis, and Hap Ziegler. Thank you all!

The booth was also serving as home base for all the endorsed candidates for the 2017 city council and mayoral races: Cathy Murillo (for Mayor), Gregg Hart (Dist. 6), Eric Friedman (Dist. 5), and Jim Scafide (Dist. 4).

Progressive Allies

The Democratic Service Club continues to support and participate in the Santa Barbara Progressive Coalition’s regular meetings and wide-ranging activities. The Coalition web page lists its goals as follows:

1. Stand up to the threats that Donald Trump and his Cabinet pose to the people of the United States, the world, and most importantly our local communities here in Santa Barbara.
2. Advance progressive values of diversity, inclusive communities, economic justice, environmental protection, affordable health care, women’s rights, immigrant rights, LGBQT rights, public education, anti-corruption, and protecting the Bill of Rights, particularly the First Amendment rights of free speech and liberty.
3. Brainstorm ideas for action and take action both at meetings and in between meetings.
4. Provide a community to support one another.

Everyone is welcome at bi-monthly meetings (alternating Monday evenings and Saturday afternoons) held at Casa de la Raza (601 E. Montecito St., SB). Also, check into the action on the Progressive Coalition’s Facebook group page.

The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest.

The March for Science is a celebration of science.  It’s not only about scientists and politicians; it is about the very real role that science plays in each of our lives and the need to respect and encourage research that gives us insight into the world.

Nevertheless, the march has generated a great deal of conversation around whether or not scientists should involve themselves in politics. In the face of an alarming trend toward discrediting scientific consensus and restricting scientific discovery, we might ask instead: can we afford not to speak out in its defense?

There is no Planet B. Join the #MarchForScience.

Santa Barbara County Democrats know what’s at stake. Tickets to the 2017 Roosevelt-Hamer Dinner are going fast!

Don’t forget to RSVP and purchase your seats!

What: 2017 Roosevelt-Hamer Dinner

Space is limited! To purchase tickets, click here.

For more information about the dinner please contact us at: (805) 965-8030 or info@sbdems.org. 

In Solidarity,
Santa Barbara County Democratic Party
http://www.sbdems.org/

The Meeting Was A Party

“What’s so crazy about peace, love and understanding?” was the visual theme and message of the DSC’s annual general meeting and volunteer appreciation party held Feb. 5 at the wildly decorated Cathedral Oaks Village Association clubhouse. Members, volunteers, and new recruits heard from the successful candidates from the 2016 campaigns–State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assembly Member Monique Limón, 1st District

Supervisor Das Williams, and 3rd District Supervisor Joan Hartmann. Although Rep. Salud Carbajal was in Washington that day, former Rep. Lois Capps spoke from her experience in Congress. Club business included re-electing EJ Borah as Vice-President and Jen Cooper as club Treasurer.

Reaching Out

Since Election Day 2016, the club has received a marked influx of interest and inquiries from local Democrats about how to get more involved in political activities and volunteer service. We hope to play a role in broadening the grassroots network of active Dems locally.

Beyond our own projects, we intend to help connect activists and support the various groups working the same territory: We have, for instance, appointed a permanent liaison, Cecily Hintzen, to the SB Progressive Coalition; we have added new members to our leadership committee–besides Cecily, Leslie Edgerton, Chris Nelson, and Pat Beals–to give us strength in supporting candidates and causes; and we always stand ready to lend a hand to allies such as Health Care for All Santa Barbara, Indivisible Santa Barbara, and the young electeds in Isla Vista. We are also grateful for the services of our webmistress Katharine Gring, who has kept our website in synch with the wild post-election political scene.

Democratic Organization–Not an Oxymoron!

And finally, our volunteers were on hand last month to facilitate an unusual public forum downtown at Impact Hub Santa Barbara on how the Democratic Party at all levels works and sometimes mystifies. The all-afternoon session, held just before the national party’s selection of a new chair, was sponsored by the Democratic Club of Santa Barbara, who like the DSC is chartered under the county party. Along with presentations from local officials such as Supervisor Das Williams and SB City Councilman Gregg Hart, the fully-engaged crowd listened as Daraka Larimore-Hall, chair of the county Democratic Party and secretary of the state party explained the benefits and limitations of our Democratic party structure.

Introducing City Council & Mayoral Candidates

Santa Barbara will be electing a new mayor and city council members for Districts 4, 5, and 6 in November. In an effort to assure the success of progressive values in a city that heavily favors Democrats among registered voters, the county’s Democratic Central Committee has endorsed the following candidates:

For Mayor: Cathy Murillo
Now in her second term on the city council, Cathy is well-known to city voters and has built an impressive record of involvement and achievement in District 2 (Westside), which she now represents. Cathy has a strong record of promoting and defending affordable housing, job creation, protecting our environment, and strong fiscal management. She is council liaison to the Santa Barbara Youth Council, Housing Authority Commission, Library Board, Rental Housing Mediation Board, Living Wage Ordinance Committee, Sustainability Committee, Neighborhood Advisory Council, among others.

For District 4: Jim Scafide
A private practice attorney with municipal and state government experience, Jim moved to Santa Barbara in 2009, though he’d gone to SBCC in the 1980s. Immediately prior to moving to Santa Barbara, he was a Division Chief for the Massachusetts Attorney General and had served as the General Counsel for a publicly-traded company in Boston, Massachusetts. He is now an adjunct Professor of Law at Santa Barbara College of Law. His most recent public service experience was as the City of Santa Barbara’s representative on the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens. In the past, he was a two-term Mayor and City Councilman in the City of East Liverpool, Ohio.

For District 5: Eric Friedman
Eric has lived in Santa Barbara County since 1980, graduating from Lompoc High School in 1995 and going on to receive a B.A. in history from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters in Public Administration from Cal State Northridge. From 2002 to 2016 he worked as a district representative for 1st District Supervisors Naomi Schwartz and Supervisor Salud Carbajal. Highlights of that service include being lead staff to Supervisor Carbajal on President Obama’s State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Resiliency and Preparedness, working on the current effort to implement a Tri-Countues Community Choice Energy Program, staffing the 2013 Countywide Poverty Study, and contributing to the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Santa Barbara County.

For District 6: Gregg Hart
Having served two previous terms on the city council (elected in 1995 and re-elected 1999), Gregg returned to the council in 2013. A life-long Santa Barbaran, he entered public service as a legislative aide to State Assemblyman Jack O’Connell. He owned and operated Transitions Preschool for 20 years and besides holding a seat on the city council is currently employed as the Government Relations & Public Information Manager for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. He has served both as a City Planning Commissioner (1988-95) and a California Coastal Commissioner (2000-04).