Category Archives: California Politics

Meeting of March 8 – Celebrating International Women’s Day

We celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 with a great crowd at Arts Benicia, 991 Tyler St., Suite 114.

See the video of the event on Constance Beutel’s Youtube channel: full-length version or 20-minute edited version.  From our previous announcement:

2020: Women Stepping Up in Benicia

  • Celebrate International Women’s Day – Women making a difference!
  • Women’s leadership forum – learn about leadership opportunities for women of all ages and life stages from local leaders.

Panelists:

  • Betty Yee, California State Controller since 2015
  • Susannah Delano, Executive Director, Close the Gap California
  • Linda Escalante, So. CA Legislative Director, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
  • Cora Young, Field Representative, Congressman Mike Thompson

Opening remarks by Mayor Elizabeth Patterson
Moderated by Kari Birdseye

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW!
PLAN TO ATTEND OUR NEXT MEETING!


Download the poster – distribute far and wide!

Close the Gap: Big win for women in 2018, keep up the good work in 2019!

From an email by Susannah Delano, Executive Director at Close the Gap CA

Keep up the good work in 2019

They’re sworn in and at their desks. You helped them get there and you’ve had an impact. Women are now 30% of the CA Legislature, up from 21% at the start of 2018. In state rankings, CA has jumped from 30th to 22nd for our proportion of women legislators.

An unexpected moment of parity, California-style: As the 2019-2020 session begins, four new Latina Senators from CTGCA target districts bring the number of Democratic women in the Senate even with the total number of Republicans, at 10.

California Legislature

State Senate:
State House/Assembly:
Total Senators: 40          Total Women: 13
Total Members: 80          Total Women: 23
Percentage of Women: 30%
Ranking among state legislatures for the proportion of women: 22

Congratulations! We sent flowers, too!  Filing for 2020 opens in 8 months. Not a moment to waste.  Click here to find out how you can pitch in.

Board President Sonya Logman and volunteer Barri Babow delivered CTGCA bouquets to 9 new women legislators (Asm. Christy Smith, pictured in the center)

Opportunity: Will you host a Marshall Ganz Swing Left Academy: Live! training?

From an email by Swing Left Academy

Swing Left AcademyFrom: Saskia at Swing Left Academy <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2018 5:29 PM
Subject: Will you host a Marshall Ganz Swing Left Academy: Live! training?

Host a local event with the legendary organizer and lecturer!

We’re very pleased to share the exciting news that we’ve rescheduled the Swing Left Academy: Live! event with legendary organizer and Harvard University senior lecturer Marshall Ganz for Saturday, August 18th!

Almost 50 volunteers stepped up to be local hosts for our first SLA: Live! event earlier this month and it was a huge success with almost 1,000 participants around the country. So let’s keep the momentum going and make this one even bigger!

Sign up now to host a Swing Left Academy: Live! with Marshall Ganz event for volunteers near you.

Marshall Ganz has been organizing for over five decades, including work alongside Cesar Chavez, and he helped build the innovative organizing model for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. During this powerful live event, he will cover one of the most essential organizing skills, public narrative. Then you’ll see how sharing your personal story impacts and improves every aspect of your work as an activist.

The entire day will be streamed live from Cambridge to living rooms around the country—so volunteers can come together at an event near them to watch, learn, and participate in a series of interactive exercises with fellow activists.

All you need is a comfortable space of any size, a good Internet connection, and a computer with a television or monitor to accommodate your guests. We’ll take care of the rest by providing materials and guidance for hosting a successful event.

Sign up now to host an interactive event:

What: Host a Swing Left Academy: Live! with Marshall Ganz event
When: Saturday, August 18, 12pm – 5pm ET ( 9am – 2pm PT)
Where: Your own home, office, or other suitable venue
Why:  Help local volunteers get schooled in the skills that will help take back the House in November

Part two of this experience is to put Ganz’s teachings to use—by going out and taking action in your local Swing District the next day (or the following weekend). That’s where you’ll see first-hand how sharing your personal story makes all the difference when you’re calling voters and knocking doors.

By hosting an SLA: Live! training you’ll also get to work on your own organizing skills by bringing other volunteers together to participate. Investing in these skills now is how we are going to win in November!

Help us train activists in your area by signing up to host an event now. When you take  this step, you’ll be empowering yourself and others with the critical skills it will take to win back the House.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Saskia at the Swing Left Academy Team

P.S. If you have any questions or want to know more about hosting, feel free to contact our team  at [email protected]. Thanks again and I really hope you can take part in this exciting weekend of action!