My fellow Placer County Democrats, first allow me to thank you for the privilege you have bestowed upon me by allowing me to serve as Chair of this Central Committee. It has been the honor of a lifetime.
This is the end of my second term as your chair. The two terms could not have been more different. During the first term, we had many members who had been serving on the DCC for several years and I was able to learn much from them. The most recent term saw a large turnover in membership during the 2020 election. My responsibility was one in ensuring that a smooth transition from the previous administration to this one was successful. I would like to think that it has been.
We have a vibrant DCC with members dedicated to making a difference and working to make Placer a little bluer every day. From the Tahoe region, where things are pretty blue already, to Auburn where we continue to be just a few hundred Democrats short of a majority, to Roseville where we’re seeing the largest move to being purple, we have made progress in the last few years toward one goal that I’d hoped to meet prior to my departure: that goal being to build a bench so that we can reliably challenge for the partisan offices representing Placer County.
Four years ago, I put forth a vision of working to build a bench of Democrats elected to local, non-partisan offices. I felt this was key to beginning a sustainable effort to make Placer Blue. At that time I said it would take 6 to 8 years to meet that goal. That’s two years from now. I think we’re on our way and we’re on schedule.
Is it frustrating that we still have ugly, small minded people representing our residents? Of course it is. But progress is being made. We have sitting city council members who are democrats. We have several people who have served or are serving in appointed positions where they were able to contribute their democratic perspectives. We have several people who have completed the various “Leadership” programs throughout the county. We even have some Democrats serving on Planning Commissions and Chambers of Commerce throughout the county. These are virtual requirements for serving on City Councils and as members of the BOS.
Patience is a frustrating virtue. It takes years for a tree to bear fruit. But we are getting close.
I look forward to working with our next chair, Kathleen Crawford as she implements her vision of making us bluer every day. Her vision may be different than mine. But it will be one founded on real-world experience as an elected official.
You know that I have always been there working side by side, and shoulder to shoulder with you on our mission. I will continue to do so in the days to come.
Thank you for this opportunity. We have work to do.
