Ventura County Democratic Party

Welcome

Welcome to the official website for the Democratic Party of Ventura County. As Democrats, we are dedicated to making people’s lives better. Our vision is to restore an effective and efficient government that will respect your rights, count your votes, rebuild the economy, and restore accountability. Browse this site and get involved! We’re glad you found us, now we need you to JOIN us.

The California Democratic Party (CDP) offers a pre-primary endorsement opportunity to candidates who are registered Democrats (party preference), and who agree to file as Democrats.  Pre-endorsement Conference voting delegates include members of the Democratic State Central Committee, regular County Committee Members, and representatives of Democratic Clubs.

A party endorsement is a good indicator of candidate viability and could play a significant role in the new open  primary system, under which  the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a November runoff.  This year’s sample ballot will also include a listing of the endorsed candidates.

As part of the CDP endorsement process, CDP Region 10 held Pre-Endorsement Conferences on January 21 and 22.  Races counted in the vote include:  Assembly Districts 35, 37, and 44; Senate District 19, and Congressional Districts 24 and 26.  Those candidates who garnered at least 70% of the delegate votes in the regional conference are then sent to the CDP State Convention in San Diego for ratification on February 12.

Candidates who won Region 10 endorsements, with more than 70% of the vote are: Lois Capps CD24, Steve Bennett CD26, Hannah-Beth Jackson SD19, Das Williams AD37, and Tom Mullens AD44.  Congratulations to the winners.

State of the Union – Click here to watch full Enhanced Version (about 1 hour)

President Obama outlined a series of ideas to build an economy that works for everyone, one that will bring about a new era of American manufacturing, and promote homegrown and alternative energy sources.  Taken together, those ideas represent a blueprint for the future.

For decades, economic security for the middle class has been unraveling. Jobs that were once the source of stable livelihoods were shipped overseas. Those at the very top watched their incomes skyrocket, while the majority of Americans were stuck with stagnant salaries and rising costs. And all of this was happening before the worst economic crisis in generations.

What’s it going to take to address this crisis?  We need to promote new skills and better education so that all Americans are prepared to compete in a global economy. That’s why, tonight, the President said every state should require all students to stay in high school until they earn a diploma or turn 18. That’s why the President called for a new partnership between community colleges and businesses to help train and place 2 million skilled workers.

We need to put a new emphasis on American manufacturing. That means refocusing our corporate tax structure to reward businesses who work to keep jobs in the United States, and end tax incentives for corporations that outsource. That means getting tough on trade enforcement and rebuilding American infrastructure.

We need to promote homegrown, American energy. That’s why President Obama supports finding ways to develop the extensive natural gas reserves we have in the United States, and is calling for new ways to create clean energy jobs.

And above all, we have to restore a basic sense of fairness to our economic system. We need to revamp our tax system — ending subsidies for millionaires and billionaires and protecting working families from a tax hike. We need to give every responsible homeowner the opportunity to refinance their mortgage at the current historically low interest rates. We need to make sure that Wall Street plays by the same rules as the rest of us.

Today, the economy is growing again. Over the past 22 months, businesses have created 3.2 million jobs. But it’s going to take more to keep moving forward, and that’s the goal of President Obama’s blueprint.

by RL Miller, Calitics, Jan 23, 2012

One of the benefits of newly redrawn maps for me is the ability to vote for Fran Pavley, running for state Senate District 27. Recently, former speaker of the Assembly Bob Hertzberg has expressed interest in the race. His stated rationale: he’s a moderate, the district is moderate, he’s a Valley guy. He might be looking at a different SD27.

The one I’m living in covers some of the West Valley, but also includes east Ventura County, Malibu, and parts of Santa Clarita. Pavley was a mayor and council member of Agoura Hills, the geographic heart of the new district. Democrats at an East Ventura County women’s club who heard Pavley speak a couple of weeks ago are quite sure they don’t want to be represented by a Sherman Oaks resident – they moved to Ventura County to get away from the San Fernando Valley.

More important than carpetbagging issues is Hertzberg’s record. Hertzberg is a moderate, pro-business Democrat. Currently, he co-chairs California Forward, a Third Way/raging centrist group thinking that it has a monopoly on common sense. His wife sits on the board of Kaiser Permanente, so presumably he’s less than thrilled with healthcare reform. In 2005, he ran – and lost – for mayor of Los Angeles by espousing traditional GOP themes.

By contrast, Pavley is a champion of progressive values. In 2011, her bills signed by Governor Jerry Brown include laws banning toxic cadmium from jewelry and toxic BPA from children’s sippy cups, promoting energy conservation, and strengthening domestic violence laws. Despite Hertzberg’s being a Valley guy, it’s Pavley – not Hertzberg – who has received the unanimous endorsement of the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley, an umbrella organization of 27 Democratic clubs.

Perhaps Pavley’s greatest contribution to the California economy is AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, bringing clean energy jobs to California. The law bothers oil companies so much that they mounted an entirely unsuccessful attack on it in 2010, Proposition 23. Thanks in part to her leadership, California is on target to meet its renewable energy standards early. One in four American solar jobs is in California. As a climate hawk, she’ll keep California on track to lead the fight against global warming.

Pavley was endorsed overwhelmingly, 105-1, by party insiders at pre-endorsement caucuses this weekend. She deserves to be the party’s nominee, and to win in November.

Next Democratic Club of the Conejo Valley Meeting

When:  February 1, 2012 (note the shift to the FIRST Wednesday of the month);
Time:  6:15 (networking)/ 6:45 (business)
Where: Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 East Janss Road.

We the People, Not We the Corporations

On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy elections and run our government. Human beings are people; corporations are legal fictions.

Bill Haff of Move to Amend will be speaking about the repercussions of this ruling and galvanizing us into action.

Bill worked as an antiwar activist in the Boston area from 2001 to 2008 and during that time was also a member of the Alliance for Democracy, a national group focused on globalization, corporate personhood and critiques of American democratic processes. Bill is currently working with Abolish Corporate Personhood – Ojai Valley, an Ojai-based group affiliated with national Move To Amend.

We will also hear from our candidates.  The general public is welcome.

Take action today!

One of the most important and powerful pieces of legislation to fix our broken political system is now entering a critical point in the State Legislature.

Assembly Bill 1148, the California DISCLOSE Act, will be heard this Thursday, January 19 in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. In order for this bill to move forward, it must pass out of Appropriations.

Please contact the members of the Appropriations Committee now using our easy online tool here.

The Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case and poor Federal Election Commission regulations opened the door for corporations and the wealthy to hide anonymously behind non-profit entities that conduct massive electioneering activities.

While the Federal DISCLOSE Act failed to gain passage last year because of Republican filibusters, we in California have the California DISCLOSE Act to rally around.

This legislation, AB 1148, would mandate a clear statement of sponsorship in political ads funded by wealthy individuals and big corporations. The California Clean Campaign is working to get this legislation passed directly by the state legislature or put on the ballot. This is a critical issue which affects us all. Please contact the members of the Appropriations Committee using our easy online tool today.

Americans do not want their leaders and laws bought and paid for by special interests. In fact, increased disclosure is supported by 84 percent of respondents in a recent Field Poll. To learn more about this legislation, visit www.yesfairelections.org.

To sign up to help, email Jay Kapitz at j_kapitz@yahoo.com and join the Ventura County DISCLOSE Act Working Group. Speakers are available for your group meetings.