Join us on Zoom the evening of Wednesday, June 3, for our regular monthly meeting, with an all-star cast of local and national headline-makers that are all returning favorites of our club!
We’ll hear from Congresswoman Susan Davis for one of the last appearances before her retirement at the end of this current term. She’ll reflect on her many years of representing us in Congress, and the new and daunting challenges brought on by the coronavirus. Congresswoman Davis will also fill us on on the latest attempts by the House to get a relief package through the Senate and White House — these funds are sorely needed by small businesses, families, cities, ports, transportation, hospitals, and schools in San Diego County.
Be prepared to ask Susan tough questions as to the curiously mis-managed national response to the pandemic or any other issue that’s on your mind. What would you like for Congresswoman Davis to address? Send us your questions by replying to this email.
Professor and political observer Carl Luna will help us understand what lies ahead in this new and challenging landscape for local candidates of all stripes. How can these candidates operate regarding campaigning, fundraising, voter outreach, and November turnout? Will leading candidates be able to maintain their voter advantage? Who benefits from likely massive mail-in voting?
Pundit and veteran political operative Laura Fink will also talk about local races — and we hope to hear her national predictions as well. Can Joe Biden withstand a well-financed, but fact-challenged campaign by a largely unpopular president, who has seen his ratings drop south of 40% in many polls, following his bungled handling of the pandemic? Will President Obama’s decision to actively campaign for the Biden ticket propel the former VP to success in battleground states? Who will be Biden’s running mate and how will she create votes and enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket? What has caused white suburban women voters to run from Trump?
The County Supervisors are making headlines daily regarding their use of federal funds and county reserves to help with Covid-19 disaster relief. The only Democrat on the San Diego Board of Supervisors, Nathan Fletcher, has been the face of the County in his frequent news conferences outlining the Board’s plans and strategies. They’ve recently pledged $360 million dollars to the county’s response/recovery efforts. The Supervisors have also petitioned the Governor to open hair salons, gyms, youth sports and some religious services, but in a controlled, responsible manner.
Georgette Gomez will join us in her capacity as the powerful President of the San Diego City Council, as well as a candidate for Davis’s Congressional 53d District seat. She’ll talk with us about the city hold-up on accepting the SDSU proposal for the West Campus Stadium Area plan. Also, how will the city face the economic challenges of a diminished budget due to the virus, and the increased demands placed on the city for homeless sheltering, public safety, beach openings, increased cleaning and sanitizing of public areas, and more? What are the city’s options here — layoffs, curtailing city services, closing parks, diminished public safety? How does the city generate sales and Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenues with this lockdown in place?
We’ll have Gomez’s opponent in the Congressional race, Sara Jacobs, to talk about her efforts to campaign thru the pandemic and help provide relief to struggling people.
Also, our own Chris Pearson, VP for Political Action, will give a primer on the many important down ballot seats seeking Democrat candidates, and how important it is that we challenge Republicans in each and every open contest throughout the county. In other words, you — yes, you! — need to run for local office! Chris will tell you why.
That’s a great night — but it won’t be complete without you. The meeting starts on Zoom at 6:30 pm Wednesday, June 3, for social conversation. Programming starts at 7 pm. You’ll need to register ahead of time; do it here:
Also, the club will vote on endorsing local, state and federal candidates in the November election. Find the roster here:
Endorsement vote for Democratic Candidate
Jeff Benesch
VP Programming
La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
La Mesa-Foothills Democratic Club 