Latest Updates

2025 Board Installation & Brunch

This Sunday, join us for an in-person Board Installation & Brunch event on from 11:30am to 2:00pm at Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest. Address is 1236 University Ave., San Diego, CA 92103.

We will be conducting the oath of office to our club's newly-elected and re-elected members of the executive board, including those elected at our February meeting:

Michelle Krug as Vice President for Political Action
Brandon Johnwell as Secretary (1-year term)
Melinda Vásquez as Controller
Rickie Brown as Sergeant-at-Arms
Katie Melendez as North Coastal Area Director (1-year term)
Ross Pike as North Inland Area Director
Martín Campos as East Area Director
Antonio Ramirez as Metro West Area Director
Lauren Cazares as At-Large Director
Manny Reyes as At-Large Director

Virtual Club Meeting: February 20, 2025

Please join us for our next regularly scheduled club meeting on Thursday, February 20 at 6:30pm.

Register for the February 20th club meeting here!

The club's executive board has recommended signing on as a co-sponsor to support proposed state legislation involving the LGBTQ+ community. The specifics are being kept private at this time, and we will have draft language and more to share at the meeting next week, but we wanted to formally notice that we will consider voting to co-sponsor this legislation.

Speaking of our executive board... club elections are upon us!

All executive board positions are two-year terms unless otherwise stated. Those positions up for election include:

Vice President for Political Action
Secretary (1-year term)
Controller
Sergeant-at-Arms
North Inland Area Director
North Coastal (1-year term)
East Area Director
Metro West Area Director, and
2 At-Large Directors

Should you wish to serve as a member of the executive board, please e-mail our Nominations Committee at [email protected]

Nominees for our executive board must have been dues-paid members for 90 days prior to taking office at our March club meeting.

Special Virtual Endorsement Meeting: February 2, 2025

Please join us for a special endorsement meeting via Zoom on Sunday, February 2nd (Groundhog Day) at 1:00pm. We will consider an endorsement in the upcoming special election for County Supervisor in District 1.

The special election for District 1 will be held using the post-2021 redistricting boundaries, which includes Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City, the City of San Diego neighborhoods of San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, East Village, Golden Hill, Grant Hill, Lincoln Park, Memorial, Mount Hope, Mountain View, Nestor, Sherman Heights, Southcrest, Stockton and the unincorporated areas of Bonita, Sunnyside, Lincoln Acres, East Otay Mesa, La Presa, and parts of Spring Valley.

Register for the Special Endorsement Meeting here!

Virtual Club Meeting: January 16, 2025

Join us for the first virtual club meeting of 2025 on Thursday, January 16 at 6:30pm.

Our Immediate Past President Will Rodriguez-Kennedy and Democratic activist and party volunteer Jason Bercovitch will give a presentation on the shrinking of the Democratic Party at the national and local levels, focusing on the 2024 results and compared to past election results. And just in case you thought we were done with endorsement meetings, fear not, for it appears we will need to consider an endorsement in a soon-to-be scheduled special election for County Supervisor in District 1.

The County Board of Supervisors will consider options for the soon-to-be-vacant District 1 seat, so it's best that we start our process in the next month given the expected truncated timeline for whenever the special election would be held.

Register for 2025 virtual club meetings here!

Happy New Year!

We hope you've had an amazing holiday season these last few weeks, and are looking forward (anxiously and/or motivated) to make some good things happen this year.

As we enter 2025, I'd be remiss to not mention that we are entering our 50th anniversary as a Democratic club.

For those who know the history, our club was founded in the privacy and safe spaces of loving friends and family in 1975. This was back during a time when the first marchers in the San Diego Pride Parade wore paper bags over their heads because of fear from being outed and ostracized, being the targets of bigotry, hate, and discrimination.

Unfortunately, with the rise of anti-LGBTQ hate in recent years, somethings feel like they haven't changed so much in spite of all the other progress we've made along the way.

2024 Holiday Party: Saturday, Dec. 14

It's that special time of year again! We are excited to collaborate with some of our allied Democratic clubs to celebrate the season and the yuletide with the firewood and the chestnuts and all that jazz.

Please join San Diego Democrats for Equality, AAPI Democratic Club of San Diego, Latina Democratic Club, and the Clairemont Democratic Club for a joint holiday party on Saturday, December 14th from 4:00pm to 6:30pm at Uptown Tavern in Hillcrest.

Since space is limited, we are encouraging RSVPs so be sure to RSVP here!

Otherwise, there will not be a regular club meeting this month. Enjoy the holidays!

Virtual Club Meeting: November 21, 2024

Please join us for our regularly scheduled club meeting on Thursday, November 21st at 6:30pm. We will have an overview of the election results, hear from our successful candidates and elected officials, and provide a safe space to collectively vent in a shared space.

Register for the virtual club meeting here

As difficult as it is to reconcile your feelings, your rationale, and your sense of self, it's important that we take some measure of solace that we all did what we needed to do to win this election.

Voter Guide: 2024 Presidential Election

Ballots have been mailed out, and early voting starts Monday, October 7th!

Our voter guide is being mailed out to our club members and is a handy and trusted guide for our recommendations and endorsed candidates that will be on the ballot for the Presidential Election on November 5th, 2024.

We have a no-frills, printer-friendly version of our voter guide available as well for your convenience.

New CADEM LGBTQ Caucus Leadership

Big news this week at our California Democratic Party's LGBTQ Caucus!

As of October 1st, Luis Zamora and Sasha Renée Pérez announced their joint decision to step down from their leadership positions as Caucus Co-Chairs.

Earlier this year, Sasha Renée Pérez who also serves as Mayor of Alhambra won her March 5th primary election becoming the Democratic nominee for State Senate District 25. Mayor Pérez is heavily favored to win her election in November in a safe Democratic district succeeding longtime State Senator Anthony Portantino.

Last month, Luis Zamora was appointed by San Francisco Mayor London Breed to the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees. Trustee Zamora is favored to hold the seat in November after earning endorsements from the San Francisco Democratic Party, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club, Equality California, and the LGBTQ Victory Fund.

Pérez and Zamora's resignations allowed for the leadership transition to yours truly and Shay Franco-Clausen as the new Co-Chairs of our CADEM LGBTQ Caucus.

Virtual Club Meeting: September 19, 2024

Join us for our regularly scheduled virtual meeting this month on Thursday, September 19 at 6:30pm. This will be our absolute last-chance endorsement meeting -- and club meetings -- prior to the November 5th Presidential Election.

For endorsement considerations, we will vote on uncontested friendly incumbents Tony Kranz for Encinitas Mayor, Eric Ortega for Bonsall Unified Area E, and Oscar Caralampio for Fallbrook Union High School District Area 4.

We'll also consider endorsements for uncontested Democratic candidates running for Palomar College Area 4, Del Mar Union School Board (short-term seat), and a short-term seat on the Calexico City Council.

You can register for the virtual meeting here.