Democrats in California are close to a 2/3 majority in both houses of our state legislature. Under California's "most anti-democratic in the nation" law, a 2/3 vote is needed to pass a budget or raise taxes at all, every seat desperately matters here.
A special election is taking place this Tuesday in the district where we have the best chance of taking a seat from the Republicans. This district travels along the California central coast from Santa Cruz through part of Monterey County to San Luis Obispo. It's one of the most competitive districts in the state.
Our candidate is John Laird. If you have some free time this weekend, his campaign needs your help.
First, you can get information at the Laird for Senate site. If you live in the area, you can knock on doors for them. But there is also a special opportunity for people who have been active participants on this site.
Here's what the campaign has to say:
Democrats have a fantastic opportunity to add a strong Democratic voice to the state Senate by electing former Assemblymember John Laird to replace Abel Maldonado in the SD-15 special election.
Voter turnout is crucial, which is why local Democrats have been burning up the phone lines, calling thousands of voters and making sure this special election doesn’t get lost amid summer activities.
Can't make it down to the Laird office? Join the Virtual Phone Bank!
We've got ___ calls lined up, but we can't get through them without your help!
...
Your efforts are an invaluable help toward putting John into the State Senate. We can't thank you enough. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
If you want to contact the Laird campaign about other “get out the vote” volunteer opportunities, go to http://lairdforsenate.com.
Thank you for your activism. Together we can make voter turnout the deciding factor in a victory for John Laird.
Mollie Culver
Political Director
Note that I've edited a bit out here. There's a long discussion in the e-mail about their Virtual Phone Bank -- something that I and many others here have been doing a lot in recent years, especially in special elections -- but that discussion, and the password to access the site, is not something they want to go beyond known activists.
I've checked with the campaign, though, and I've been authorized to give out the password to people whom I know and can trust. I judge that by looking at your history here, partly in diaries and comments, and ideally if you've already been part of one of our phone banks.
So, even if you can't or don't want to hit the streets for the campaign, you can contact me and hit the phone lines. E-mail me at my address in the profile, let me know who you are (if we haven't been in touch), and I'll send you the password this afternoon. Plan to be able to receive an e-mail at the address on your profile so I can foil spoofing. Thanks!