This past weekend, Congressman John Garamendi once again demonstrated to me why we need to have him in Congress representing California’s 3rd Congressional District. He's a target of Republicans this year so he'll need our help winning in November. I hope that the information provided below will convince you to join with him so that this "better Democrat" can continue to serve in Congress along with once and future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
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Congressman Garamendi spent several hours at a “Latinos for Garamendi” event at the Garamendi/Yolo County Democratic Central Committee headquarters in Davis, CA. The Latino Congressional Summit was an event for young Latinos in Yolo County to hear from Congressman Garamendi, Art Pimetel (former Mayor of Woodland), and other local leaders in the Yolo County area, as well as to participate in discussions about topics important in their lives.
The room was filled with young people. Many are not yet old enough to vote but have made the decision to participate in the political process because they want to make a difference in their communities.
The population of Yolo County is 30.3% Hispanic or Latino. Many of the participants come from Woodland (where I live), which is 47.4% Hispanic or Latino. In short, the photo above is a snapshot of the future leaders of our Yolo County community.
The Latino Congressional Summit
In his opening remarks to the group, Congressman Garamendi encouraged them all to pursue their dreams of higher education and public service, or whatever field in which they have an interest. He thanked everyone for their support during the primary campaign and continuing into the general campaign - all of the kids had done phone banking during the primary; many of them will be fulfilling internships working in Congressman Garamendi's campaign offices between now and the election.
When three break-out groups were formed to discuss the issues of the day, the Congressman spent time with each to hear personal stories and to contribute his thoughts to the discussion. The topics discussed were:
- Education
- Immigration Reform
- The DREAM Act
It was touching to hear several of the kids talk about their own families' issues with the dysfunctional immigration policies of this country - years spent by parents to complete the process of establishing themselves as permanent residents, or having families separated by the border between the US and Mexico. Congressman Garamendi talked about his support for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for those who are already here. He supports the DREAM act as interim policy while comprehensive reform is worked out.
Throughout his career, Congressman Garamendi has been a fierce advocate for students and teachers. He is a former University of California Regent and California State University Trustee who believes that America's prosperity depends on a well-educated workforce. He encouraged the kids at the forum to pursue higher education, to work hard to achieve their goals, and not to listen to those who would discourage them with tales of how it can't be done.
The day ended with each of the three groups presenting their ideas about ways to have a positive impact on the outcomes of the three issues. Their energy inspired me to continue working for Congressman Garamendi's election to represent CA-03 - I know that he will work hard in Congress so that these young people will have every opportunity to be successful if they are willing to work hard.
More About Congressman John Garamendi
When we talk about "better Democrats" here at Daily Kos, we are talking about Congressman John Garamendi. In addition to immigration and education, he supports progressive positions on healthcare, women's issues, the environment, social justice, labor, and veterans issues, to name a few.
He was born and raised in the Sierra Nevada foothills and currently lives in Walnut Grove where he raises Angus cattle on the family ranch. He and his wife Patti have six children and 10 grandchildren. He has served in the California State legislature, as California's Insurance Commissioner and Lieutenant Governor, and as Deputy Secretary of the Interior under President Bill Clinton. He was elected to represent California's 10th Congressional District in 2009. This year, with California's redistricting, he is running to represent the new 3rd Congressional District.
Here is a list of some of Congressman Garamendi's positions on issues. You can find much more at his campaign's website.
About the New 3rd Congressional District and Garamendi's Race
California's New 3rd Congressional District is geographically vast and amazingly diverse. The district includes all or parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. The new district is composed of 23% of the old CD-10 (Garamendi's current district), 23% of the old CD-01 (Mike Thompson's current district), and 33% of the old CD-02 (crazy Wally Herger land), making the new district less of a Democratic stronghold than old CD-10 or CD-01.
Because of this new configuration, Republicans see CD-03 as a potential pick up opportunity this year. In his comments on Saturday, Congressman Garamendi cited a Superpac purchase of $300K on local television for the month of October (Sacramento market) (I did some googling and couldn't find a source for this information - if someone has a source, please point me in the right direction and I'll add the info here). In addition, his Republican opponent, Colusa County Supervisor Kim Vann, is doing well in fundraising. At the end of the 2nd quarter, she had more cash-on-hand than Garamendi. So there's no room to be complacent in this race - we will need all hands on deck to make sure that we keep CD-03 blue this year...
Please join me in the fight to Keep CA-03 Blue by donating – your time or your dollars – to make sure that John Garamendi is re-elected to Congress in November.