Nov 23 2018

Welcome to the DCSMV Bilingual Website

We hope you will find our website informational and interesting.  We strive to provide educational tools to help voters make good, informed decisions, and to become an active Democrat.  To view the Home Page horizontal “Scrolling”  posts, click on the right arrow to view the next post, or, click on the image to view the full post.  When finished reading a post, scroll up to the Tab “Home” and click on it.  You will be back to the same place and can continue scrolling the posts, or, click on any of the Tabs across the top of the site and you will be directed to other areas of interest, such as elected representative’s contact information. There are also items of interest along the right side of the header page.  Everything can be read in languages other than English. JUST CLICK ON THE “Select Language”  BUTTON IN THE UPPER RIGHT COLUMN OF OUR OUR HOME PAGE.   Voters can register, or change information on the “Register To Vote” link, and join or donate to our club using secure ActBlue with your credit card.  The calendar of all of our monthly club meetings are also listed along with our contact information.  Join us and meet our members and a guest speaker.   Visit our Facebook by clicking on the icon at the top of our header page.  Please let us know if we can improve our website.  Thank you!

Nov 13

NOVEMBER 6, 2018 ELECTON RESULTS

Santa Barbara County General Election SEMI-OFFICIAL

 (FINAL CERTIFIED UPDATE DEC. 6, 2018) 

(For all statistics and areas, http://sbcvote.com/elect/resources/results11_2018/results-1-so.htm)

_________________________________________

LOCAL:

CITY OF SANTA MARIA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER – DIST. 3

GLORIA SOTO

CITY OF SANTA MARIA CITY COUNCIL MEMBER – DIST. 4

ETTA WATERFIELD

SANTA MARIA-BONITA SCHOOL DISTRICT (2)

RICKY LARA

V. R. ALVAREZ-FLORES

SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT (3)

CAROL KARAMITSOS

DIANA PEREZ

DOMINICK PALERA

ORCUTT UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT (3)

MARK STELLER

MELANIE WAFFLE

SHAUN HENDERSON

GUADALUPE UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT (3)

DIANA R. ARRIOLA

SHEILA COSTA CEPEDA

M. SABEDRA-CUELLO

CUYAMA JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (2)

HEATHER LOMAX

WHITNEY N. GOLLER

_________________________________________

STATE:

GOVERNOR

GAVIN NEWSOM (D)

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

ELENI KOUNALAKIS (D)

SECRETARY OF STATE

ALEX PADILLA (D)

CONTROLLER

BETTY T. YEE (D)

TREASURER

FIONA MA (D)

ATTORNEY GENERAL

XAVIER BECERRA (D)

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

RICARDO LARA (D)

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION 2ND DISTRICT

MALIA COHEN (D)

UNITED STATES SENATOR

DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 24TH DISTRICT

SALUD CARBAJAL (D)

STATE ASSEMBLY 35TH DISTRICT

JORDAN CUNNINGHAM  (R)

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

TONY THURMOND (D)

_________________________________________________

PROPOSITIONS AND MEASURES:

PROP 1 VETERANS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND ACT OF 2018

YES.

PROP 2 NO PLACE LIKE HOME ACT OF 2018

YES.

PROP 3 BONDS. WATER, FISH/WILDLIFE, GROUNDWATER PROJECTS.

NO.

PROP 4 BONDS. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION. INITIATIVE STATUTE.

YES.

PROP 5 TRANSFER PROPERTY TAX BASE. INIT. CONS. AMEND.

NO.

PROP 6 ELIMINATE TRANSPORTATION FUNDING. INIT. CONST. AMEND.

NO.

PROP 7 DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.

YES.

PROP 8 STATE REGULATION OF KIDNEY DIALYSIS CLINICS. INITIATIVE STATUE.

NO.

PROP 9 WITHDRAWN.

PROP 10 LOCAL GOVT AUTHORITY TO ENACT RENT CONTROL. INITIATIVE STATUTE.

NO.

PROP 11 CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT. EMERGENCY AMBULANCE EMPLOYEES.

YES.

PROP 12 STANDARDS FOR CONFINEMENT OF CERTAIN FARM ANIMALS.

YES.

MEASURES

MEASURE Y2018 ALLAN HANCOCK BOND

NO.

MEASURE G2018 COUNTY ORDINANCE

YES.

MEASURE H2018 COUNTY INITIATIVE

NO.

MEASURE U2018 CITY SANTA MARIA PUB SAFETY SVCS

YES.

______________________________________________________

JUDGES

AJ OF THE SUPREME COURT-CAROL A. CORRIGAN

AJ OF THE SUPREME COURT-LEONDRA R. KRUGER

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 1-VICTORIA G. CHANEY

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 1-HELEN BENDIX

PJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 2-ELWOOD LUI

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 2-VICTORIA M. CHAVEZ

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 3-LUIS A. LAVIN

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 3-HALIM DHANIDINA

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 3-ANNE H. EGERTON

PJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 4-NORA M. MANELLA

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 4-THOMAS WILLHITE

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 5-DOROTHY C. KIM

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 5-CARL H. MOOR

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 5-LAMAR W. BAKER

PJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 6-ARTHUR GILBERT

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 6-MARTIN J. TANGEMAN

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 7-GAIL R. FEUER

AJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 7-JOHN L. SEGAL

PJ 2ND APP DIST, DIV 8-TRICIA A. BIGELOW

 

Visit our Facebook Page and share your ideas with others.

https://www.facebook.com/DemocraticClubOfSantaMariaValley/

Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley

 

LISTS OF CAMPAIGN DONORS:   https://www.opensecrets.org

CALL TO ACTION:  https://santamariademocrats.info/resist-call-to-action/

Call/Sign Petitions:  https://santamariademocrats.info/petitions/

Write letters to the Editor:  https://santamariademocrats.info/letters-to-media/

Look up elected representatives:  https://santamariademocrats.info/your-reps-and-maps/

INDIVISBLE:   https://www.indivisible.org

Get Local Events and Political News at Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/DemocraticClubOfSantaMariaValley/

 

Apr 10

Friday, April 19, 2019, 7 p.m., Join us for an evening at the SM Civic Theatre special “reader” live performance!

Silence your cell phones and join us for an evening of a special reader’s theater presentation by the Santa Maria Civic Theatre, 1600 N. McClelland St., Santa Maria, CA  93454.

7 p.m. Friday, April 19, 2019 
$20  per person.  Purchase tickets online with credit card click –  HERE,
or drop off or mail check to:
DCSMV, 327 E. Plaza St, Santa Maria, CA 93454
(Tickets held at the door.)

Please note, this is an evening performance. We will still enjoy our wonderful appetizer and dessert reception. However, it will be an early soiree at our office Headquarters instead!! The office, 327 E. Plaza, #2, will open at 5:45 p.m. for this special reception. An added bonus is that those who are interested may join forces and create a carpool caravan. Fewer cars mean fewer parking hassles, and even a drop off at the “front door” for those who need it! Another bonus is the cost. It’s only $20!!  

Play synopsis:

An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café. A stranger at the next table who has had enough. And a dead man with a lot of loose ends. So begins “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” a wildly imaginative new comedy by MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl. A work about how we memorialize the dead and how that remembering changes us, it is the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption, and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world.

Call the Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley (805) 349-2708 for more information (leave number for call back.)

(Note: Online purchases must be completed by Wednesday, April 17, 2019. Please call 805-406-9989 after that date to check on availability.)

 

Mar 28

Thursday, April 18, 2019. Our DCSMV General Meeting.

Democratic Club Santa Maria Valley meetings are held every third Thursday of the month,

IHOP Restaurant, 202 Nicholson Ave, Santa Maria, 93454.


JOIN US!  Public Welcome!  No-host social and menu dinner at 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm.
  

Speaker session open to the public 7:00 -7:40 pm followed by 
DCSMV business meeting (registered Democrats only) until 8:30 pm.  Call for more information 1-805-349-2708, Office open M-F, 11a-2pm.

Mar 07 2019

STOP new oil wells in Cat Canyon! Save our WATER! Next Hearing May 29, 2019 in Santa Maria.

Upcoming SB County Planning Commission public hearing, May 29, 2019:

Recently, on Wednesday, March 13 at 9:00AM, the Santa Barbara Planning Commission held a public hearing on ERG’s Project.  Although the Planning Commission shamefully chose to hold the hearing during working hours, 100 residents attended the hearing and expressed, once again, all of the multiple reasons why this project SHOULD NOT BE APPROVED.  WE MUST KEEP TELLING THEM.  Oil Companies have 100 year plans, and will never stop pushing their destructive agenda… AND WE MUST NOT STOP EITHER!  Tell the Planning Commission to deny the Project and protect our climate, air quality, water resources, and public health.  ERG is proposing to drill dozens of new thermally enhanced, steam injection oil wells, producing thousands of barrels of oil per day.  

This project is only 1900 feet from an elementary school and residences. It would increase air pollution, damage residents’ health, degrade water quality and ecosystems, generate traffic and 24/7 light and noise pollution, and lock in dirty fossil fuel production for decades to come – at a time when climate reports warn we need to accelerate a transition to cleaner sources of energy. 

Meet on May 29th at 8:30 am, 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria, CA 93455.  (Joe Centeno Building off E. Betteravia and Centerpointe Parkway.)  

Contact Santa Barbara Planning Commissioners before the next hearing!!

**** Phone or Email comments on ERG’s 233 new steam injection wells to:

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION:
Deputy Director: John Zorovich/Energy, Minerals & Compliance
Supervising Planner: Errin Briggs 805-568—2047
Staff Contact: Nancy Minick 805-884-8050
Staff Emails: dvillalo@co.santa-barbara.ca.us,  and nminick@countyofsb.org.

 Also, contact our elected SB County Board of Supervisors:

Link:  https://santamariademocrats.info/your-reps-and-maps/north-santa-barbara-county-supervisors/

Click on the link: NO drilling! Reject proposals by oil companies AERA, ERG (currently in bankruptcy) and PetroRock.  These projects would drill through the Santa Maria Valley Groundwater Basin, which provides clean drinking water to 12 cities and over 200,000 people. We need to make sure our county votes against these proposals! 

Steam Injection to extract oil is what is happening at Orcutt Hill and several other Orcutt sites on the east side of 101 Freeway mixed in with agriculture land. And now big oil company ERG wants to develop even further in Cat Canyon, OVER THE SANTA MARIA WATER AQUIFER. Let the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission know we expect them to do their jobs for the community and deny ERG’s request and prevent them from steam injecting through our water table!!

INJECTION:
Pressurized steam is injected into the oil-bearing zone over several days, creating fissures for the hot steam to reach the thick crude oil and soften it.
EXTRACTION;
Steaming ends and as the heated oil becomes more mobile, it is drawn up through the same well system. As more and more oil is taken out of the ground, support for the surface substrate weakens, causing land around the well to sink.

 

SIGN THE PETITION:

https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2949

CONTACT YOUR SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SUPERVISOR:

https://santamariademocrats.info/your-reps-and-maps/north-santa-barbara-county-supervisors/

OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST:

https://www.environmentaldefensecenter.org/programs_post_type/climate-energy/three-new-thermally-enhanced-onshore-oil-projects/

Oklahoma Has Had More Earthquakes Than California in 2014, Partly Because of Fracking

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/earthquakes-triggered-by-fracking/

 

 

  • This project would double the county’s current onshore oil production and is starkly at odds with our county’s Climate Action Plan goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county by 50% by 2030.  
  • It would drill through the Santa Maria Valley groundwater basin, which provides clean drinking water for residents and agriculture. Well castings can and do fail, and surface spills are inevitable, thus risking our county’s largest clean water source. ERG has already spilled more than any other onshore oil company since 2010. 
  • The crude oil in Cat Canyon is so thick that ERG needs to truck in a lighter crude from Kern County to mix with it, and then truck the combined crude back out again to a pump station – requiring 156 one-way truck trips every day of light and blended crude oil. 
  • Trucks are the least safe way to transport oil, and accidents can shut down roads for extended periods of time. The project creates roadway hazards by adding oil tanker trucks to the 101, a critical transportation corridor for our region.
  • This project represents an industrial expansion in a high fire hazard area. ERG has had 34 fire department violations over the past four years and there have been recent fires on their site. This is an unacceptable risk given ever-increasing wildfire risk due to climate change.
  • ERG’s natural gas pipeline, with a capacity greater than all residential natural gas usage in the county, poses an explosion risk along the 101 where a gas leak and roadway spark could trigger a vapor cloud fire. 
  • The project presents a financial risk to the county. When a spill, fire or other disaster occurs, companies often leave taxpayers and counties on the hook. ERG is in bankruptcy, making the chances of them paying for damages highly unlikely.  They have even failed to pay property taxes. In County Council’s 2017-19 budget request, they reported that ERG owed the county $14 million in back taxes

Jan 19

“Santa Maria Valley Women’s March” on January 19, 2019 was AWESOME!!! Thanks Santa Maria Valley!!!

 

 

25 photos.  For videos and more photos, visit our Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/DemocraticClubofSantaMariaValley/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nov 22

CONGRATULATIONS!! Incumbent Congressman, 24th District, Salud Carbajal re-elected November 2018!

 

 

 

 

1619 S. Thornburg Street, Santa Maria, CA  93458 (S. Broadway to W. Battles)

Open Mon – Thursday 9am – 5 pm.

Phone: (805) 730-1710

A local office will be an opportunity for constituents to discuss with Congressman Carbajal how he can best be of assistance in dealing with constituent casework and federal matters that concern Santa Maria residents.

OTHER LOCATIONS:

OFFICE LOCATIONS

WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE
212 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Phone: (202)-225-3601

SANTA BARBARA OFFICE

360 S. Hope Ave.
Suite C-301
Santa Barbara, CA 93105Phone: (805)-730-1710

SAN LUIS OBISPO OFFICE
1411 Marsh St
Suite 205
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone: (805) 546-8348

 Register to vote or update information:    https://registertovote.ca.gov

Nov 15 2018

CONGRATULATIONS!! GLORIA SOTO, WINNER DISTRICT 3, SANTA MARIA CITY COUNCIL

GLORIA SOTO, newly elected to the Santa Maria City Council,  was born, raised, and educated in Santa Maria.  She comes from an immigrant family whose example taught her the value of hard work and determination. Gloria took advantage of every opportunity that her family and community offered her. She holds degrees from Allan Hancock College and Chapman University.

Gloria is a non-profit professional who, over the last seven years, has worked with Planned Parenthood California Central Coast in a variety of positions, including education, public affairs, community engagement, and development. Currently, she is the Regional Development Manager. Her work in the non-profit sector has also included volunteering to train youth leaders and directing week-long youth leadership programs. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors for Future Leaders of America and has served on The Fund for Santa Barbara’s Grant Making Committee (GMC). She is currently the GMC liaison to the Fund’s Board of Directors. Her wide experience with non-profit organizations has taught her the importance of building coalitions between communities and individuals who share common goals.

Gloria is a homeowner and resident of the Westgate neighborhood in District 3. She is bilingual, bi-cultural, and deeply connected to the Santa Maria Valley’s many communities. Gloria understands the everyday struggles of families in our city and will be a fierce advocate for affordable housing, living wage jobs, and expanding opportunities for all the youth of Santa Maria. The Candidates & Endorsement Committee recommends her endorsement.

or   http://gloriafordistrict3.com/video/

Look up your address to find your District – HERE

Jun 28 2018

The facts about Trump’s policy of separating families at the border.

Obama’s guidelines prioritized the deportation of gang members, those who posed a national security risk and those who had committed felonies.

Trump’s January 2017 executive order does not include a priority list for deportations and refers only to “criminal offenses,” which is broad enough to encompass serious felonies as well as misdemeanors.

Because of Trump’s executive order, DHS can deport people for misdemeanors more easily, because the government no longer prioritizes the removal of dangerous criminals, gang members or national-security threats. (A DHS fact sheet says, “Any individual processed for removal, including those who are criminally prosecuted for illegal entry, may seek asylum or other protection available under law.”)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/06/19/the-facts-about-trumps-policy-of-separating-families-at-the-border/?utm_term=.00610c418f4a&wpisrc=nl_fact&wpmm=1

Where are the children coming from?

  1. This rural town, is among the poorest in a nation.

2) Guatemala’s capital is plagued with gang violence.

3) Rival gangs are responsible for most of the murders in El Salvador’s capital.

More than three-quarters of the children minors are from mostly poor and violent towns in three countries: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Children from Mexico, once the largest group, now make up less than a quarter of the total. A small number come from 43 other countries.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/15/us/questions-about-the-border-kids.html

 

 

Jun 15

Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino is not on the list. 279 US Climate Mayors commit to adopt, honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement goals

Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino is not on the list.

Here are the Mayors on the List on the Central Coast:

Goleta, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo.  See interactive map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1aTksAOrC9gLOgSlBZecxZiBHenQ&ll=34.49875259839798%2C-113.24761935830116&z=6

U.S. Climate Mayors:

We will continue to lead. We are increasing investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. We will buy and create more demand for electric cars and trucks. We will increase our efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, create a clean energy economy, and stand for environmental justice. And if the President wants to break the promises made to our allies enshrined in the historic Paris Agreement, we’ll build and strengthen relationships around the world to protect the planet from devastating climate risks.

The world cannot wait — and neither will we.

https://medium.com/@ClimateMayors/climate-mayors-commit-to-adopt-honor-and-uphold-paris-climate-agreement-goals-ba566e260097

http://www.climate-mayors.org

May 02

May 2, 2018, Co-authors held a public press conference announcing efforts to reform our broken campaign finance system

San Luis Obispo, CA – On Wednesday, May 2, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Bill Ostrander, Director of Citizen’s Congress, (and 2018 Candidate for CA 35 Assembly) introduced the Corporate Political Disclosure Act of 2018.

For more information, click on the link below:

https://santamariademocrats.info/past-local-political-events/may-2-2018-carbajal-and-ostrander-announce-legislation-to-disclose-corporate-election-spending/

Apr 18

CALIFORNIA MUST PROTECT HEALTHCARE. SUPPORT SB562, CA HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

California can’t count on congress to assist Americans with affordable insurance.  We must take steps to provide coverage to those who will need it and whose lives depend upon health care.  The CA Senate has passed SB562, now the CA Assembly must pass it.  

CALL Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon (AD 62): (916) 319-2063.  Vote on this in 2017!!

The Senate passed SB562 June 2, 2017, now the Assembly has to step up!!

Please FORWARD this message to friends and activist groups. We need a flood of calls to stir these legislators! Thank you all for your work!

This is an important message for all SB 562 supporters. Please read and follow up ASAP.

As our bill heads to the CA Assembly, the Healthy California campaign is asking us to make THREE VERY QUICK PHONE CALLS.  If everyone does this, it will bolster the process and build momentum going forward.

SAMPLE MESSAGE: “SB 562 is key to our health and economy. I am looking to (name of Assemblymember) to support it.”

1.) CALL:  

District 35 State Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham

                Phone: (805) 549-3381 SLO

SAMPLE MESSAGE: “SB 562 is key to our health and economy. I am looking to (name of Assemblymember) to support it.”

1150 Osos Street, Suite 207, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

District 35 Map:   http://www.calvoter.org/voter/maps/2011/assembly/map_20110815_ap_ad_35_certified.pdf

2.)  CALL 

two other important Asssemblymembers, Health Committee Chair Jim Wood and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon:

               Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon (AD 62): (916) 319-2063
                       

                          Assemblymember Jim Wood (AD 2): (916) 319-2002

 

***  BE NOTIFIED OF THE PROGRESS OF HEALTH CARE FOR ALL SB562:  http://www.healthycaliforniaact.org/home/

 

The case against Charter Schools and Voucher programs. Today, black students are over five times more likely to attend high-poverty schools than white children

Still Separate, Still Unequal: The Role of Black Women and Girls in the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education

May 18, 2018
Yesterday marked the 64th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the Court ruled that state laws segregating schools were unconstitutional. Yet schools today are more segregated than they were in 1968, with approximately 75 percent of black students attending racially segregated schools. This is bad news for students and particularly impacts black girls.
Vouchers divert desperately needed resources from public schools to fund the education of a few students at private or religious schools.

Continue reading –

https://www.aauw.org/2018/05/17/still-separate-still-unequal/

Jan 30 2018

800,000 Dreamers are at risk in the land of immigrants.

 

SIGN THE LETTER. Protect the Dreamers.  These Dreamers came forward with the government’s promise of protection, and passed a rigorous background check, paid a fee, and are currently in school, active duty or the workforce. They are hardworking, young individuals who are part of the fabric of our nation. Eliminating the ability of these Dreamers to work legally in the U.S. and subjecting them to immediate deportation is a moral, policy, and political disaster.
There is overwhelming bipartisan support across America for legislative solutions to protect Dreamers from deportation and to create a legal status for them.
Take action to protect Dreamers.

SIGN THE LETTER:

https://dreamers.fwd.us/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=protect-dreamers&utm_term=dream_act&utm_content=

 

EASY CONNECT WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:  https://dreamacttoolkit.org/?link_id=1&can_id=83c605ec892ede215fcc88c82e0a78fb&source=email-defenddaca-protect-undocumented-communities&email_referrer=email_228200&email_subject=defenddaca-protect-undocumented-communities

 

SIGN THE PETITION:

https://santamariademocrats.info/petitions/immigration-and-daca/tell-trump-to-protect-dreamers/

 

Jan 29

Why do the wealthy run the country? People living in poverty are registered, but don’t vote.

Study: Polarization and Gridlock Work Well for Rich Americans

Data collected by the Pew Research Center in 2014 found that only half of the least financially secure Americans are registered to vote, and only one-fifth planned to cast a ballot in that year’s midterm election. These voters also didn’t follow politics very closely — only a quarter knew which party controlled Congress, and only 14 percent had gotten in touch with an elected official in the last two years.

“Most people are registered to vote but you’ll find that they’re not turning out to vote,” says Alexandra Gallo, an organizer with West Virginia Citizen Action Group who participated in a panel on rural organizing. “They don’t feel that it matters or that it’s going to make a difference, or they don’t want to vote for the lesser of two evils.”

“You don’t just show up and knock on people’s doors,” she continues. “You have to develop trust. They want to know why you’re there. How long you plan to stay. And usually, when people are showing up, they assume that they have some money associated with their being there that probably will never get to the community.”

http://billmoyers.com/story/poor-people-arent-involved-in-politics/#.WU3KOExq96w.facebook