Again, that’s Saturday, August 26, 1 to 4 p.m. Save the date!
CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN LEGACY, COMMUNITY CENTER, AUGUST 26
YVONNE M. STEFFEN PASSES AWAY
JULY 8 IN SAN FRANCISCO
With profound sadness we announce that Yvonne Marcelle Steffen, one of the most active and longest-serving members of our Club, passed away on July 8 at her home in San Francisco.
Yvonne had French and Swiss parents and her first language was French. She was a career teacher of French, at Stanford, at several high schools, and on military bases in France, Japan, and the US. Her most recent teaching position was at Hogan HS in Vallejo. Of course she was also a dedicated political activist, tireless member of the Sierra Club as well as the ECDC, and a campaign worker for both Clintons and for Tony Thurmond. Her commitment, in politics and in general, was exemplary.
On top of that and much more, she was a great believer in physical fitness, and a really good cook as many of our members can attest. We in the Club have missed her since she moved to San Francisco two years ago, and now she will be missed by many others.
JULY 25 MEETING PREVIEW
Even with the incessant turmoil in the Democratic Party, and the disappointment many of us are experiencing (SB 562, anyone?), we can look forward to a really inspiring July meeting. Our speaker will be Kimberly Ellis, former executive director of Emerge California, who ran to be Chair of the California Democratic Party (CDP). By the time we meet, the Compliance Review Commission of the CDP may have issued its decision regarding the outcome of that contest. But whatever the outcome, we know that progressive Democrats have a heavy lift going forward. From the national disgrace of the 2016 election resulting in the current occupant of the White House, to the current struggle to enact single payer health care in California, progressive Democrats have our work cut out for us.
As a preview of the upcoming attraction, I will leave you with this quote from Kimberly’s birthday message on Facebook:
[Running for chair] was also about the opportunity to force some really tough and long overdue conversations along the way. It was a chance for the members of the California Democratic Party to hold the mirror up to our own faces and take a long, hard, honest look at ourselves.
It was about redefining what it meant to be a Democrat and getting our Party back to being the Party of the people, by the people and for the people.
Hope to see you there!