Torrey Pines Democratic Club

Newsletter August 2021

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

August 26, 2021

Hello Club Members and Friends,

First, a reminder – no Club meeting on August 26th due to summer recess.

Successful Summer Social

Our Summer Social event came off very well on August 15th.  The San Dieguito Park County setting was beautiful, and the weather was perfect.

We had about 50 or so guests and a superb cast of speakers, leading off with Congressman Mike Levin for a half hour of wisdom and political forecasting.  Mike was followed by Assemblyman Chris Ward who gave a preview of things to come in the State Legislature.  Then, Council Member Joe LaCava reviewed issues confronting the San Diego City Council. Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner and Del Mar Deputy Mayor (soon to be Mayor) gave an update on our local issues. Finally, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer spoke about the San Diego County governing issues that the new Democratic majority Board of Supervisors is (at last!) beginning to confront.

What a lineup! And the audience paid rapt attention to the speakers’ over nearly two hours of presentations, questions from the audience, and responses. Speakers had enough time to develop their themes and provide details too often glossed over in regular Club meetings.

San Diego County Supervisorial District Re-Districting

At the Summer Social event, we touched briefly on the San Diego County Redistricting Commission (SDCRC) which is currently seeking input on redistricting the County’s five supervisorial districts. This happens once every ten years, following the decennial census.

If you live in the 92014 or 92075 Zip Code area, chances are that you are in District 3.  Terra Lawson-Remer is our supervisor. Take a look at the welcome page of the SDCRC website:  https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/redistricting/ to see a map of County’s current supervisorial districts.  Notice how the shape of District 3 looks somewhat like a flying, long-necked bird with horns?  The other districts are reasonably compact in comparison.  This gerrymandered district boundary was drawn by the Republican-controlled Board of Supervisors in 2001. As I recall it, Supervisor Bill Horne wanted to inflict some electoral pain on then-supervisor Pam Slater. And so, the odd shape came about to put more Republicans into Slater’s district (Slater, by the way, parried by changing her party registration). I think the time has come to correct that outdated aberration and restore District 3 to a more realistic geographic and community area. If you agree, let’s get to work.

The SDCRC is now holding public hearings for the community. At 6pm, Thursday, September 2nd, the Commission will hold a mapping pre-hearing focused on District 3. This is our best chance to advocate for a more rational boundary adjustment. The meeting will be conducted live in the Chamber of Commerce Building, 720 N Broadway, Escondido, and on Zoom. For instruction on how to watch the meeting, or to participate by presenting comments, click here:  https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/redistricting/IRCmeetings.html.

By law, the SDCRC is required to consider “Communities of Interest” (COI) in determining where to draw the district boundaries.  You can see examples of COI on the FAQs page of the Commission’s website here:  https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/redistricting/frequently-asked-questions–faq-.html
So, presentations to the SDCRC should be based upon such common interests.  The argument would be that the coastal communities of North San Diego County have more common interest among themselves than any of the communities have with inland communities, such as Escondido, San Marcos, or Scripps Ranch.  Currently the 3rd District boundaries run along the coast from Sorrento Valley to include Encinitas.  The inland “arm” stretches from SR 52 northward along the I-15 corridor to north of Escondido and San Marcos, skirting around the San Dieguito River basin communities.

A more compact and cohesive COI for District 3 would remove the northern arm that curves around Escondido and San Marcos and would add Carlsbad and the communities along the San Dieguito River drainage basin to the District. The district then would comprise the area north of SR 52, west of the I-15 and south of the SR 78 routes.  This area, from Sorrento Valley through Carlsbad and east to the I-15, generally constitutes the north coastal communities.  Note that because Oceanside has a larger population than Escondido, adding Oceanside to District 3 probably would exceed the allowed population range. Oceanside’s COI also stretches more eastward, north of the SR 78 route.

I hope you’ll attend the September 2nd meeting of the SDCRC and voice your opinions in support of consolidating the 3rd Supervisorial District.

The Recall Election – Governor Newson Needs Your Vote!

Unless you’ve been asleep for the past 6 months, you’re no doubt aware that Governor Newsom is now subject to a recall election. The election will be held on September 14th. But mail-in ballots have already been distributed and many voters are already returning them. If you haven’t received your ballot, call the SD County Registrar of Voters’ office right away. Here’s the number: (858) 565-5800.

If you have received your ballot, but are wondering how to fill it out, here’s what you should do: Just fill in the circle under Question 1 on your ballot next to the “No” choice.  This is the choice to vote against the recall of Governor Newsom.  Those voting “yes” will be voting for the recall of Governor Newsom.  Recent polls show the election is a statistical dead heat.  But the more Democrats who vote, the better will be the Governor’s chances to remain in office.  Please vote!

You don’t have to worry about choosing a successor to Governor Newsom in the event he is recalled.  All the choices are bad, some are just worse than others.  But if you feel compelled to vote for a successor, just check the box next to the name of your choice.  By the way, don’t bother writing in the Governor’s name, or the Lieutenant Governor, or Mickey Mouse; none of those choices will be counted unless the write-in has filed papers with the Secretary of State to qualify as a write-in candidate. The names of those who have qualified as a write-in candidate will not be released by the Secretary of State until September 3rd.

When you have completed your ballot, seal it in the return envelope, sign it (use the same signature as on your driver’s license), date it on the front, and put it in the mailbox before September 14th. No stamp required. Or, you can drop it off at an official drop box (call the Del Mar Library: (858) 755-1666 for hours and dates).  You can vote in-person, or drop off your mail-in ballot, at the nearest community voting center – Del Mar Hills Academy, 14085 Mango Drive, Del Mar, 92014.  The community voting centers will be open from 8am beginning Saturday, September 11th.  If all else fails, you can vote or return your ballot during open hours at the Registrar of Voters’ office: 5600 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92123

And, if you would like to volunteer to canvass San Diego County voters in support of Governor Newsom, you can choose how you want to participate and sign up here: https://sdcdp.ngpvanhost.com.

Let’s Stop the Recall!

In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz,
Interim President


PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

August 18, 2021

Fellow Club Members and Friends,

You’ve been reading and hearing much about the upcoming Republican Recall election against Governor Newsom.  Well, here’s a new headline from CNN:

IT’S TIME TO START TAKING THE RECALL ELECTION SERIOUSLY!
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/17/politics/gavin-newsom-california-recall/index.html

Seriously?  Yes, the ballots are already arriving in our mailboxes. Voters have begun voting. And polls indicate the Governor’s recall election is too close to call.

If we don’t get serious now, we could find ourselves in a real jam in a hurry, with a Trump-supporting Republican governor issuing Executive Orders cancelling mask mandates and Covid restrictions; issuing permits for drilling new gas and wells on land and offshore; cutting back the State’s new budget allocations for the homeless, the hungry, the sick and infirm, and the kids; suspending our air and clean water regulations; cancelling our state-of-the-art carbon reduction strategies; and sending more water to Republican-supporting agri-businesses up and down the Central Valley to the detriment of Delta water quality, the environment, and domestic users. Worse yet, in the event of an unexpected vacancy in either of our U.S. Senate seats, the new governor would be able to appoint a Republican for the unexpired term!  If that “parade of horribles” doesn’t worry you, it should.

How could this be, you ask?  Because Republican voters are more charged up about this election than in any previous election in recent memory.  Republican voters could set new records for their turnout. Meanwhile, those same polls show Democratic voters are lethargic and unconcerned about this election.  Yes, Democrats currently enjoy an edge in the number of registered voters over Republicans voters by a 45 to 24 margin.  But that won’t count for much if the Republicans manage to get more of their voters voting than we do.  We can’t let that happen.

We need to rouse ourselves, pitch in to make sure we get every possible Democratic-friendly vote out in San Diego for this recall election.  And we need to start now; before too many voters set aside and forget about their ballots.  September 14th is just four weeks away!  The San Diego County Democratic Party is calling on all of us to join the “Days of Action” campaign beginning this Saturday.

Here’s the plan.  We focus our efforts on high-voter-density neighborhoods.  We flood those neighborhoods with lots of volunteers. And we form teams to canvass these neighborhoods door-to-door, dropping our literature and, for those willing, knocking on doors to talk with willing voters.  Our message is simple:  Just Vote NO on the Republican Recall!  That’s it, nothing complicated.  No need to discuss any of the contenders vying to replace the governor if the recall effort succeeds; if we lose this recall election, it won’t matter which of the 46 contenders will be elected – there aren’t any good choices among them.

Here’s the challenge.  Republican voters are really charged up about their recall election.  They know this may be their final opportunity to get a Republican into the Governor’s office for the foreseeable future. It worked for them in 2003, when Grey Davis was recalled.  This time ought to be different.  This time, we have a popular Governor, and there are no celebrity contenders as popular as Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Yet, we still need to turn out our Democratic voters.  Polls show our voters are complacent; they don’t think Governor Newsom can lose.  He can lose if the Republicans get more of their voters to vote than we do. We can’t let that happen again. If you’re ready to join us and to do your part, here’s how:

Days of Action in our North Coastal Region

Choose one or more of the following Days of Action to help defeat the Republican Recall.  Volunteers will be distributing door hangers (in the shape of a STOP sign) and talking to voters (if they are comfortable doing so) to find out how they are voting and how they’ll return their ballots.  You’ll be provided with paper lists for canvassing.   There’ll be a brief orientation, but you probably already know how to do this.  It’s easy.

  • This Saturday, 10:00 am, August 21st: Day of Action in Carmel Valley 
  • This Sunday, 1:00 pm, August 22nd:  Day of Action in Oceanside
  • Sunday, 1:00 pm, August 29th:  Day of Action in Carlsbad 

Go to sddemocrats.org/action to register for one or more of the Days of Action — and bring your friends along too, just have them register.

People ask:
How should I vote?  Just vote NO on the 1st question: “Shall Governor Newsom be recalled?” You can leave the 2nd question blank.
Can I write-in Gavin Newsom’s name in the Write-in box? Yes, but it won’t count. By law, a recalled governor cannot be re-elected on the same ballot.
How many votes does it take for Governor Newsom to be recalled?  Just 50% plus one of all votes cast statewide.  That’s why we must get our voters to vote NO.

How About Phone Banking?

The County Party is also scheduling phone banks Mondays through Thursdays, from 6-8 pm; and on Saturdays from 1-3 pm.  If you can’t canvas, at least register for phone banking at sddemocrats.org/action   Click on “Let’s call our neighbors.”  Get your friends to register too and have your own phone banking party!

To get more info on this election, go to sddemocrats.org/vote

In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz,
Interim President