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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.

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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!

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June 27, 2017 Meeting Recap

Executive VP Phillips chaired the meeting in President Chau’s absence.

Resolution to Restore Trust in Democracy

The Resolution to Restore Trust in Democracy Within the CDP by Validating Votes for State Party Officers and Regional Directors was submitted by Immediate Past President Crosby. Since the resolution did not meet the 10-day consideration requirement, it was moved and seconded that the 10-day notice requirement be suspended in this instance. The membership, after discussion, adopted the resolution unanimously with no abstentions. It was directed that the resolution be sent to CDP officers, Executive Board members, and the Party Compliance Review Committee. Full text of the resolution is here.

Young Dems Panel Discussion

Participants in our discussion were Devin Murphy (Chair, Young Dems Black Caucus), Becca Barrett (VP, Contra Costa Young Dems), Jonathan Bash (President, Contra Costa Young Dems), Dyana Delfin-Polk (Latino Young Dems) and Igor Tregub (National Committeeman, CA Young Dems) appeared as members of a panel. Each described how they became involved in Democratic party work, emphasized the importance of mentors, and suggested strategies for creating durable partnerships with Democratic clubs.

Devin grew up in San Francisco, attended UCLA, and lives in Pinole. He cautioned that Young Dems should not be called kids since we are all doing the work, fighting together; older Dems help Young Dems to be at the political table, spreading the Young Dem message to others, building the bench; and giving at Young Dem fund-raising events, which supports paying for Young Dem services.

Becca got involved as a high school junior in Contra Costa Dem politics as a volunteer and intern, and benefited from mentoring. She made the point that a “Young” Democrat may not be new to politics and that some clubs, recognizing this, appoint a Youth Outreach Coordinator who will assist with communications strategies to reach those under age 36. Young people are increasingly not joining traditional civic and political groups and often do not have time to attend meetings after work. Thus, communication that depends on physical gathering is being replaced by online congregation such as Facebook, Twitter, online fund raising. Becca added that she got a $500 scholarship grant from the Lamorinda Dem club that helped her with college expenses.

Jonathan noted that there are about 100,000 young people in Contra Costa County between age 18-35 without a sense of community. Many commute more than an hour to school or work , so Young Dems try to supply that community. If your club knows a young person who doesn’t know how to get involved, refer them to the Young Dems. Each of us has worked for an elected official as staff or consultants and we have experience in campaigning and press releases that we can share. During the 2016 election campaign, we used a NextGen grant to reach out to the 100,000 young people in the county and helped get 6,000 registered to vote!

Dyana described being mentored by her grandmother (who was the first Hispanic woman to serve on a school board in California). She pointed out that Latino millennials are the fastest growing population–and Dyana is actively working with that community in Alameda County, but hopes to expand to Contra Costa. She urged club members to help pay for Young Dems to go to CA Dem Party conventions as an important learning experience. She added that Young Dems could help any club develop strategies for working with high schools to establish Dem clubs (only 10 student members are needed to start a high school club).

Igor said that Young Dems are the political present, being affected by Trump policies daily. He indicated that plenty of Young Dems are good at policy writing (eg. letters, bills, help with ordinances) and asked older Dems to bring Young Dems along by seeing them as partners and mentees. This, he felt, would fulfill the ECDC legacy of activism by carrying it to the next generations. He urged clubs to invite Young Dems to any caucuses that involve presentations (eg. environmental).

Contact the Contra Costa Young Dems through http://www.cocoyoungdems.org/, https://www.facebook.com/ContraCostaYoungDems , or #CoCoYD.