PRESIDENTS' DAY FEBRUARY 17, 2025

American Presidents Day is honored differently in some states. Some states do not officially observe the holiday on this day and some do not have a day celebrating presidents in general. President Washington settled the question of a "monarchical" Presidency long ago. Or so we thought. Here in California’s Placer County Democratic Party Central Committee, we honor our selection of modern Presidents who wholeheartedly believe(d) in real democracy, peace and prosperity for all, and for everyone, human rights, civil rights, voting rights, and especially those guaranteed freedoms accorded in the Bill of Rights, given special attention in the  U.S. Constitution.

Let's appreciate our  brief messages from four Democratic Presidents:

• Biden Harris Message.
• Obama Foundation Message.
• Clintons’ Message on Presidential Votes.
• Carter’s Interview on 60 Minutes.

By R. Gonzalez

PCDPCC, Communications Committee

           California Democratic Party Assembly District Elections

The California Democratic Party Assembly District Elections Meeting (“ADEM”) are held in each of the 80 Assembly Districts in January of each odd-numbered year to elect representatives as (“Assembly District delegates”) or (“ADDs”) to the California Democratic Party Democratic State Central Committee and one representative per Assembly District to the CDP Executive Board Representative.

Registration to vote online for the February 22 and 23 ADEM elections is closed, but you can still register to vote in person. If you registered to vote online, electronic voting credentials will be mailed to the address on your voter registration. The voting credentials will include your PIN and password, which are unique to you. Online voters should be receiving their voting credentials soon if they have not already. Online voters may vote at any time between now and February 23, 2025, at 6:00 pm. If you are voting in person, please click here to find the times and locations for your voting stations.

Candidate statements can be found here:

• Assembly District 1 Candidate Statements
• Assembly District 3 Candidate Statements
• Assembly District 5 Candidate Statements

Any candidates who would like a statement, graphic, or YouTube/Vimeo video posted on the Placer County Democratic Party’s website may contact Nick Bennett at [email protected]

ADEM delegates are elected by registered democrats who register to vote in the ADEM election.

                               Why You Should Vote for Assembly Delegates

• Increase your political impact by voting for the endorsements of the California Democratic Party for partisan legislative and statewide office in California,
• vote for positions we take on the Ballot Propositions,
• build a community with passionate and diverse California Democrats,
• take on greater responsibility as a voice for your local district when establishing the official California Democratic State Platform (in even-numbered years), and
• elect 14-25 CADEM Regional Directors who function as your liaison between the California Democratic Party, County Central Committees, and Democratic Party Clubs. (Courtesy of Auburn Area Democratic Club - AADC).

To vote at any of the in-person voting locations, either on February 22nd or February 23rd, 2025. All in-person voting locations serve all Assembly Districts.

To find the various voting sites in NorCal or to learn more visit the ADEM Elections website.

PCDP Central Committee Spotlights the AFL_CIO Union Event on March 8, Saturday, 5-9 pm in Sacramento, Click for more information:  Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO)

You may purchase individual tickets at https://sacclc.regfox.com/crab for $75 each

Protecting Our Immigrant Community
By Tomas Evangelista

Placer County has seen increased ICE presence like most of the country, ushered by Trump. Many ICE sightings are false alarms but cause the intended anxiety upon our immigrant neighbors. If you see ICE agents in your neighborhood, send your photos or videos to NorCal Resist at (916) 382-0256. ICE Director, Thomas Homan cherishes the thought that deportations will cause "collateral damage." Humanitarians must remain vigilant and united in protecting our immigrant families during these times. Join the Auburn Area Democrats for a vital panel discussion on immigration and community advocacy. This is a critical opportunity to hear from experts and advocates as we strategize ways to support our immigrant neighbors.

February 22nd, 2025, from 8:30am to 11:00am on Zoom

This training is for those looking to gain the knowledge and tools needed to successfully apply for local boards and commissions, including understanding the process, eligibility, and strategies for a successful application in Placer County and throughout the Sierra.

Boards and commissions play an important role in shaping local policies, driving community development, and ensuring that decisions reflect the needs of all residents. If you or someone you know is looking to make a difference, this is a great opportunity to gain the skills needed for effective leadership and community impact.

• Topics include:
  
  •    Principles of good governance
  •    Roles and responsibilities of Trustees
  •    Interview tips
  •    Conflict resolution
  •    California’s Code of Ethics

On Saturday, February 1, DNC members voted to elect a new slate of DNC Officers including positions for Chair, Vice Chair of Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, three Vice Chairs, Secretary, Treasurer, and National Finance Chair.

David Hogg was elected as one of the Vice Chairs to the DNC. David is a survivor of the Parkland school shooting - the largest school shooting in American History. David became an activist and co-founded March For Our Lives, one of the world’s preeminent youth-led movements.

David is just 24 years old. Gen Z and younger Millennials have lived through some of the most tragic times in our modern history - and they’re ready for change. David’s rise in the DNC and the support and endorsement from individuals like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz show that the Democratic Party is ready for young leaders to emerge. The Placer County Democratic Party is committed to engaging and involving young democrats here in Placer County. Be on the lookout for more events in the coming year on how Placer County can reach more young Democratic voters.

By: Daniel Medina

PCDPCC, Communications Committee

                                     Democratic Club of Lincoln

                                          Ruth Cox, President

Dear Fellow Lincoln Democrats:
 
I wanted to reach out to you today with a message of reassurance, of commitment and of hope. Recently, we got a good look at what we can expect from the next Trump administration:

• an oligarchy supported by spineless Republican Senators and Congresspersons, including our own, with total disrespect for the law and our Constitution,
• an unelected co-president giving a Nazi salute at a presidential inauguration.
  (I didn’t see that one coming and it sickened me especially when the media tried to cover it up),
• pardons for the worst of the J6 insurrectionists,
• the dismantling of reproductiverights.gov and the Spanish version of the White House websites,
• our exit from the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.

In other words, despite all the denials, Project 2025, Trump’s governing manifesto, is on the road to full implementation.
 
So, the questions we as a community have to ask ourselves is whether these acts are consistent with the law and our Constitution and whether they will improve the lives of everyday Americans. I saw no executive orders that would lower food prices, make health care more available and affordable, address the housing shortage, or create good-paying jobs for the American people. 

TRUMP  v  U.S. CONSTITUTION

Link:  Trump 2.0 vs. the US Constitution, annotated

How the 47th president-elect is pushing the boundaries of the founding document
By Zachary B. Wolf, Curt Merrill and Way Mullery, CNN
Published: January 18, 2025

The legal view above on the danger facing the U.S. Constitution is certainly worthy of reading.

Equally important is a societal or cultural view of our current state of American politics found in this Substack posting by Russ Baker:

                   "Getting the Cult out of American Culture"

"TRUMPING" THE ENVIRONMENT

By: Robert Sherriff, January 29, 2025

PCDOCC, Communications Committee

People of sound reason and an appreciation for the future would expect an administration to possess at least the barest modicum of respect for the land on which it governs. Yet, in his first week of office in 2025, President Donald J. Trump has, with all the subtlety of a runaway train, managed to steer the United States directly towards an environmental calamity, all while tooting his own horn with the gusto of a man who mistakes arrogance for wisdom.

To be specific, in his first week, Trump began the process of pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords, ramping up the production of domestic oil/gas, undermining the “Endangered Species Act”, removing incentives for electric vehicles, and eliminating environmental justice. “These orders will make our communities less prepared for extreme weather,” wrote Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert, and author who co-founded the nonprofit think tank Urban Ocean Lab.

Let’s look at more details on some of Trump's environmental dystopian actions from his first week:

Pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement: Among his opening salvos was the decision—executed with a pen that seems to hold a particular grudge against common sense—to once more yank the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This is rather like a man leaping from a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, convinced he can outswim the storm. While the rest of the world rallies to confront the impending tempests of climate change, the self-proclaimed genius of industry and economy has declared it best to throw our lot in with the rising tides and see if America can out-drown its competitors.

     “Walking away from the Paris Agreement won’t protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will hand China and the European Union a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and lead to fewer opportunities for American workers,” said Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute.

Declaring a “national energy emergency": Next, he declared a "national energy emergency" via an executive order, which is a turn of phrase as peculiar as it is misguided, for the emergency exists not in the need for more oil and gas, but in the desperate consequences of their overindulgence. With all the zeal of a carnival barker, Trump has pledged to "drill, baby, drill," as if the earth were some bottomless purse, eager to be emptied without consequence. It is worth noting that under the previous administration, America had already become the world's largest oil producer. But the man’s solution to any problem, real or imagined, is ever the same: double down, facts be damned.

     Then there came his effort to bulldoze past regulations faster than a unsuccessful Vegas gambler fleeing his debts. Trump’s orders to accelerate permitting for energy projects, coupled with his dismissive words on the Endangered Species Act and Arctic protections, seem to suggest that nature itself is merely a nuisance standing in the way of commerce. If the trees, the rivers, and the air cannot turn a profit, then what good are they?

Revoke set goals for electric vehicles: Not content to ravage the present, Trump turned his gaze toward the future, setting his sights on electric vehicles saying that he will end Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate.”  All of that is likely frustrating for automakers, who have to make long-term decisions, said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at auto-buying research firm Edmunds. As the rest of the world moves to electric cars, automakers have to decide how to factor in the global direction the industry is headed alongside the sudden lack of federal support.

Eliminate a push for environmental justice: Lastly, and most insidiously, Trump has abandoned the notion of environmental justice—an idea as simple as it is just: that the burdens of pollution ought not to fall disproportionately on the poor and marginalized. His administration, in its infinite wisdom, has decreed that such considerations are unnecessary, as though the lungs of the less fortunate are somehow less deserving of clean air. This action means that when the government reviews new facilities that emit pollution, officials are no longer likely to consider environmental justice, or how that new pollution will add to the emissions and health problems.  These are sweeping moves that Rena Payan, chief program officer at nonprofit Justice Outside, called “rolling back decades of progress in addressing environmental discrimination.”

To sum it up, President Trump has, in one short week, managed to outdo even his own previous tenure in his war against the environment. He has taken a cudgel to progress and wielded it with pride, all while his followers’ cheer from the sidelines, blissfully unaware that they, too, must breathe this air and drink this water.  Trump is showing once again that he is not MAGA but is actually MALGA - “Make America Less Great Again”.  

I hope that these extreme actions will wake up those who didn’t vote and provide backbone to those who reluctantly voted for Trump and pull what I call “Pulling a Grover Cleaveland” who’s split 2nd term was so disastrous that at the midterm both the house and senate flipped.  To keep my sanity these next two years until the midterms join with me and answer Michelle Obama’s call to action of “Just Do Something.” 

DEMOCRATIC PARTNERSHIPS

Placer County Democratic Party seeks to partner with more like-minded groups in 2025.  If you know of any organizations that you would like to see the Placer County Democratic Party working with to advance Democratic values and policies, please let us know.  Any contact information would be greatly appreciated. Contact:  Chair PCDP email:   [email protected]

The Placer County Democratic Party (PCDP) Central Committee coordinates the party’s activities throughout the county, making endorsements, organizing events, and directing resources to support local, state, and national candidates and initiatives. It is charged under state law with overseeing the Party’s local activities and campaigns and is duly chartered by the California Democratic Party. 

                            Do You Want to Assert Democratic Values in

                                 an Authoritarian Federal Government?

If you want to form a club in your area, please contact us. According to State by-laws, any organization that uses the name “Democrat” and raises money must obtain a charter from the County Central Committee of the county in which they operate.

To be a chartered Democratic club an organization must have:

• A minimum of 20 registered Democrats, a majority of whom reside in the same Assembly District and/or belong to the group the club intends to represent (youths from 16 to 18 may join if they sign a statement that they intend to register as a Democrat at 18);
• A set of bylaws that establishes annual dues, nomination, election and term of officers; 
• a regular meeting schedule; and
• All general program meetings must be open to the public.

Clubs may make endorsements in non-partisan elections but may not endorse, support, encourage, or help non-Democratic candidates in partisan and non-partisan elections.



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