Join us for a virtual club meeting this Thursday, May 19th at 6:30pm!
As mentioned in our notice a couple weeks ago in response to the Supreme Court leak, Governor Newsom, Speaker Rendon, and our Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins announced a constitutional amendment that will enshrine abortion rights into our California Constitution.
We will have staff from the Pro Tem's office present on where we are at with the proposed amendment and consider an early endorsement for the proposition.
Late yesterday, we all checked our phones.
Disbelief. Confusion. Depression. Anger. Resolve.
It was one of those seminal moments in life where you remember where you were when you heard the news. San Diego Democrats for Equality has, for nigh-on decades, been a champion for women's healthcare, women's rights, abortion rights, for choice, and for reproductive justice.
We've asked probably hundreds of candidates where they stand, the question itself is enshrined in our candidate questionnaire, and we do not endorse candidates who stand in opposition.
Democrats for Equality,
Join us on Thursday, May 5th at InsideOut in Hillcrest from 6:00pm to 8:00pm for a fundraising reception for Kent Lee!
Kent Lee, of course, is our club's endorsed candidate running for San Diego City Council in District 6 -- the last Republican-held city council seat.
Also, with Saturday (April 23rd) being an important fundraising deadline, it would help Kent tremendously. Let's get those donations and RSVP's to help support Kent Lee ASAP!
Democrats for Equality,
Join us for our next virtual club meeting this Thursday, April 21st at 6:30pm.
We are going to follow the Central Committee's lead and get the jump on some local and regional races coming up later this year. We will be considering friendly endorsement considerations for LGBTQ Vista City Councilmember Corinna Contreras, and Chula Vista Elementary School Boardmember Cesar Fernandez.
We'll also consider endorsements for Mayors of Imperial Beach and Vista, Carlsbad City Council District 1, Oceanside City Council District 1, Vista City Council District 4, and Helix Water District 2.
Democrats for Equality,
It has been a week, but we are excited to see our endorsed candidate Georgette Gomez advance -- and take the lead -- for the special election to succeed former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez in the 80th District.
An updated tally of votes from the April 5th special election has Georgette in the lead with over 38% of the vote.
The run-off AND the 2022 primary election will be held the same day, so we'll need to lace up our shoes, charge our phones, and prepare for a big fight.
Our Friend, Stanley "Stan" R. Lewis (1945 - 2002)
Dear Democrats for Equality,
With a heavy heart, we sadly inform you about the passing this week of Stan Lewis, a longtime member who once served as Vice President of our club.
A longtime LGBTQ+ activist, Stan had served as Co-Chair of San Diego Pride, was a former president of Dignity/San Diego, and a member of the Gay and Lesbian Advisory Board to the San Diego Chief of Police.
Save the date for our next virtual club meeting next week on Thursday, March 17th at 6:30pm.
Our endorsed candidate for State Senate and USMC JAG officer Joseph Rocha will swear-in our newly elected and re-elected executive board, and speak about his campaign to unseat a Trump Republican incumbent.
We will also consider an endorsement for Superior Court Judge Office 35, and Rick Bates from UNITE HERE Local 30 will present an informational item on Sports Betting Ballot Measures and Workers at Tribal Casinos.
Save the date for our next virtual club meeting on Thursday, February 17th at 6:30pm
Our guest speaker will be our Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party (and Immediate Past President of our club) Will Rodriguez-Kennedy.
As a DNC member, our party chair will update us on campaign conversations happening at the national level -- as well as our state and local levels -- as we inch closer to the 2022 midterms later this year.
Democrats for Equality,
Thank you to our members who attended our last two endorsement meetings this month! We are excited to announce several more endorsements for the 2022 election cycle.
For our final statewide endorsement, club members voted to endorse LGBTQ Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin for State Controller. If elected, Ron could become our second LGBTQ statewide elected official after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
As we've been mentioning and prepping for the last couple of weeks, we are going to try out our first endorsement-palooza for a host of friendly incumbent and non-incumbent legislative races and for State Controller this Sunday, January 23rd at 12:00pm.