The Northern California Latino Democratic Club has endorsed Joe Krovoza for Assembly District 4
“The population of the 4th Assembly District is 30% Latino, so any candidate who seeks to serve this district must be able to represent this strong Latino population,” said Carlos Alcala, President of the Northern California Latino Democratic Club. “We are proud to support and endorse Mayor Krovoza because he understands the necessary policies in the fields of education, immigration, workers’ rights, and community development. He will bring to the Assembly a great passion for serving minority communities.”
Krovoza said of the endorsement, “I am honored to have the support of the Northern California Latino Democratic Club. One of the best characteristics of this Assembly District is its diversity, and our policies must embrace and celebrate this diversity.”
Krovoza continued, “Minority communities carry a disproportionate burden when we underfund our schools, pollute our environment, and drive up the costs of higher education. Reversing these trends benefits every Californian and helps to level the playing field for communities that have been traditionally underserved.”
In additional to this latest organizational endorsement, a number of the region’s Latino community leaders have also individually endorsed Krovoza. These include Carlos Alcala, Chair of the Chicano Latino Caucus of the California Democratic Party; Norma Alcala, Vice President of the River City Democratic Club; Rick Gonzales, Jr., President of the Mexican American Concilio of Yolo County; Sylvina Frausto, Secretary of Holy Rosary Church in Woodland and recipient of the Democracy Works award by the League of Women Voters; and Josie Enriquez, Case Management Supervisor at the Yolo Family Resource Center.
For more information about Joe Krovoza’s campaign, see www.joekrovoza.org
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Meet Sheila Allen for Coffee on Tuesday
Davis City Council candidate Sheila Allen invites interested voters to stop by Common Grounds, 2171 Cowell Blvd., for a chat between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. She’ll be happy to talk about her positions on issues and wants to get community input as well.
Allen is a public health nurse, a professor and a public health administrator; she is currently the executive director of the nonprofit Yolo Healthy Aging Alliance. She also served for 10 years as a member of the Yolo First 5 Commission and as chair of the Yolo County Health Council.
She is finishing her second term on the Davis Board of Education.
More details about Allen’s campaign can be found at www.sheilaallen.org or on her Facebook page (Sheila-Allen-For-City-Council).
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Senator Yee Pulls Papers to Run For Secretary of State
On Thursday, Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) officially pulled papers for his candidacy for Secretary of State.
“I am honored by the support and encouragement I have received from all over California,” said Yee. “It is time for a Secretary of State who will expand access to the ballot box, make our government more transparent, and strengthen California’s democracy.”
Yee has served in the California State Legislature since 2002, and in that time has passed 181 pieces of legislation, including landmark bills on election reform, open government, and civil rights.
Among his most notable bills was SB 397 in 2011, which significantly expanded voter participation. The legislation enabled Californians to register to vote online, resulting in over 911,145 Californians using the new registration system.
Yee’s campaign is already off to a strong start, earning the early endorsements from the California Federation of Teachers, California Faculty Association, University Professional and Technical Employees, and UNITE HERE.
“Senator Yee has continuously been a bold and tireless advocate for our schools, and has always put the best interests of California’s children first,” said Josh Pechthalt, President of the California Federation of Teachers. “We believe he can best continue his good work as Secretary of State, where he will no doubt put into practice the values of inclusivity and accessibility he has fought for throughout his career.”
“I am committed to empowering Californians so that they can guarantee fair elections, expose special interests and prevent corruption, because it’s your California,” said Yee. “This campaign is about every Californian being able to participate in our democracy, and I encourage them to get involved and involve others through LelandYee.com.”
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John Garamendi Hosts Pasta Dinner
Supporters of Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, are invited to his annual Yolo County pasta dinner fundraiser from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 20, at the Veterans’ Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St. in Davis.
The meal costs $35 per person and is catered by Monticello Seasonal Cuisine.
For more information about sponsorship opportunities, call 916-863-6881 or visit www.garamendi.org/pasta.
—compiled by Lily Shen
I lost a lot of respect for the Latino Democratic Club when they criticized the Governor recently for appointing Oscar Villegas to the Board of Supervisors. Oscar is the first Latino on the Board, and yet the Latino Democratic Club said they were “surprised and disappointed” by his appointment. Why? Because Norma Alcala, the wife of the Club’s President, Carlos Alcala, was also a candidate.
i know this will start a s- storm, but most latinos in west sac think oscar sold them out on the gang injunction.
There is that racial tribalism thing again. And apparently Latinos believe that gangs should be a protected sub-group within in their tribe. That sure makes me hopeful for a better future as Latinos continue to dominate California politics.
it’s not that latinos believe that gangs needs to be protected it’s that latinos believe they need to be protected from police having free rein under the color of suspicion.
Where did you get information to support that “most Latinos in West Sac” have the opinion that Oscar Villegas “sold them out…”? How did this supposed majority view manifest itself in West Sac elections? How will it affect Villegtas’ in a future supervisor election?
I can see reason for the club to be “surprised and disappointed” by the Villegas appointment (Norma Alcala’s history of Democratic party activism and her association with the club, primarily).
But, I’m disappointed that the club didn’t put their disappointment behind them once Governor Brown announced his decision and didn’t wish Villegas well as the first Latino serve in this position.
i didnt do a poll if thats what youre asking. rather its an impression based on talking to z n number of leaders in west sac in the latio community which is still fairly small and close knit.
I’m not sure that you had a large enough or knowledgeable enough sample to allow such a generalization about how “most Latinos in West Sac” feel about Villegas.
Of the 15,719 voters in West Sacramento’s November-2012 election, nearly two-thirds voted for Villegas. (This was nearly 1-1/2 years after the judge finalized her anti-gang injunction.)
Villegas’ view on the anti-gang injunction was clear at least as far back as July 12, 2010, when David wrote in this very publication:
“For Councilmember Oscar Villegas he sees the gang injunction as a prevention tool rather than simply an interdiction effort. He told the Vanguard that he “would hate to see them abandon this tool.” At first they overdid it a bit and were overbroad, but he argued that they have now fixed it and he sees it as a way for people to get out of a tough situation.”
Apparently, the “fairly small and close knit” Latino community has varied opinions on both the anti-gang initiative and its popular support for Oscar Villegas.
The actual numbers and percentage of the West Sac vote have steadily increased for Villegas with each election since he first was elected in 2000.
so in your view i’m not able to make a comment based on my experience with west sac latinos unless i do a representative poll?
the complaint that most have is that villegas as opposed to johanessen has been unwilling to talk about dismantling the gang injunction.
Yes, you’re right GG. Just say NO to familial connections in politics! Down with Krovoza. Vote Dan Wolk!
Sorry for the sarcasm, I just couldn’t help myself. But Davis Progressive is right. I didn’t really care about Oscar vs. Norma, but there were lots of others who were supporting Norma for other reasons, and I know the gang injunction was a big factor.
But whether or not you agree with the Latino Democrat Club, they’re pretty good at marshaling their constituents.