April 21, 2022
President’s Message
Dear Club Members and Friends,
In this issue:
- April 28th Club Meeting Agenda
- Club Endorsed Local Candidates Need Your Support
- San Diego Democratic GO Teams Will Soon Be Active in Your Neighborhood
April 28th General Club Meeting
Our Club Meeting for April 28th features two of our locally elected incumbent representatives to provide an update on matters of interest in the State Assembly and at the County Board of Supervisors.
4th District County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, now in his second term as Board Chair, will provide an overview of the Board’s recent accomplishments and current priorities for the coming months. The Board has initiated some major changes in policies and initiated several important new programs since the 2020 election in which the Democrats achieved a 3 to 2 majority. Supervisor Fletcher was first elected in 2018, and Supervisors Terra Lawson Remer (3rd District) and Nora Vargas (1st District) joined him in the 2020 election. There will be opportunity for Q&A following Supervisor Fletcher’s presentation.
Assembly Member Chris Ward (78th A.D), representing the Del Mar and Solana Beach communities in Sacramento, will also provide an update on what has been happening in the State Capitol and what we can expect during the remainder of the current Legislative Session. Q&A will follow.
We don’t have any business items to consider at this meeting, but we will have our usual reports from Club officers. There will opportunity for members and guests present to ask questions and offer comments for the good of the order.
You can view the Club Meeting Agenda HERE.
Register here to attend the meeting:
Please Join Us Thursday, April 28th at 6:00pm (via Zoom) for our monthly Club Meeting
Link to Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87106677935?pwd=Qlo1MkVaaysvVTJrR3YrdjBPZzdYdz09
Meeting ID: 871 0667 7935
Passcode: 190259
Club Endorsed Local Candidates Need Your Support
Our Club-Endorsed local candidates are now fully engaged in their campaigns to win election in the November 8th General Election. Following last year’s redistricting, the races this year will be particularly challenging for some. These candidates depend on and deserve our support. Here’s a rundown of key races in our area.
49th Congressional District:
Beginning in 2023, and for the upcoming election, the 49th CD will include residents and voters of the Cities of Del Mar and Solana Beach, but not the City of San Diego. Two term incumbent Mike Levin’s district essentially has been moved northward, further into Orange County. As a result, the district-wide margin of Democratic registered voters over Republican voters has narrowed considerably. Registered Democrats now hold a slight edge of 36% to 34% for Republicans in the district, with 23% of the voters registered as No Party Preference. The race in 2022 is further complicated by six challengers facing Levin, 5 Republicans and 1 Democrat. In the runoff November 2020 general election, Levin defeated Republican Brian Maryott by a margin of 53% to 47%. Maryott is back for another try. https://www.mikelevin.org/
50th Congressional District:
As a result of redistricting and the loss of one Congressional seat in California, Representative Scott Peters, currently the incumbent in California’s 52nd Congressional District, will be running for election in the newly re-drawn 50th Congressional District. Peters faces two Republicans, one independent, and one Democratic for the seat. (https://scottpeters.com/) The new 50th CD now includes areas of the City of San Diego and nearby unincorporated areas that were removed from the 49th CD. The new 50th CD provides a solid Democratic voter majority over Republicans of 43% to 25%, with 23% of voters registered as no preference. The other Democrat in the race, running as a Progressive, is Kylie Taitano, a graduate of UCSD. https://www.kylietaitano.com/
California Senate District 38:
Redistricting has also stirred up the State Senate seats. Our area currently is in the 39th Senate District, and we are represented by incumbent Toni Atkins. Atkins will be termed out in 2024. Redistricting has moved the 39th District eastward and southward. Since her term is not yet up, Senator Atkins will continue in to represent the new district until 2025. Our community finds itself in the newly drawn CA 38th Senate District. The “new” 38th Senate District stretches along the Coast from Mission Viejo in Orange County to Pt. Loma in San Diego County. Voter registration favors Democrats over Republicans by a narrow 37% to 32%, with 24% non-party preference voters. The current incumbent in the 38th, Republican Pat Bates, is termed out, leaving the seat open. Two Democrats and one Republican are in the primary to see who will face off in the November general election. Democrat Catherine Blakespear, long term mayor and council member in Encinitas, got off to an early start in the race. She is running against two opponents, Democrat Joe Kerr, an Orange County retired fire captain and union leader, and Republican Matt Gunderson, a self-financing Orange County auto dealer. Given the split in partisan voter registration, that effectively pits Blakespear against Kerr for at least the second spot in the primary and the chance to runoff against the sole Republican Gunderson. https://catherineblakespear.com/
CA Assembly District 77:
The Del Mar and Solana Beach communities, currently part of the 78th Assembly District, represented by Democratic incumbent Chris Ward, will become part of the 77th Assembly District, represented by Democratic incumbent Tasha Boerner-Horvath. The new district will enjoy a Democratic voter registration advantage of 42% over Republican registration of 26%. Tasha has one opponent, Pt. Loma investment advisor Republican Dan Downey, https://www.tasha4assembly.com/
San Diego County Offices
In the Board of Supervisors 3rd District, we are represented by Terra Lawson-Remer, elected in 2020. Lawson Remer is not up for re-election until 2024. However, two other Board races could have significant impacts throughout the County. Since there are only two candidates in each of these District races, they will not compete in the Primary election; instead, they will face off directly in the November general election.
In the 4th District race, Board Chair Nathan Fletcher will face his first reelection bid. He is challenged by Amy Reichart, a State-licensed private investigator from La Mesa, who is a co-founder of the organization ReOpen San Diego, a nonpartisan group organized to oppose “lockdowns, mandates and restrictions.” Nathan and his family have been victimized by anti-mask and anti-lockdown advocates in the County. https://www.nathanfletcher.com/
In the 5th District race, Republican incumbent Jim Desmond is facing a strong challenge from endorsed Democratic candidate Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson. Boyd-Hodgson is a mother, scientist, and business owner from San Marcos. The long time strongly Republican 5th Supervisorial District has been re-drawn and the new boundaries stretch along the norther tier of San Diego County from Oceanside to the Imperial County border. The district now includes a slight edge in favor of Democratic registered voters of 36% to 33% Republicans, with 23% declined to state. This slight edge gives Boyd-Hodgson an even chance against the strong Republican opponent. She is also a dynamic candidate who makes for an appealing choice. https://tiffanyboydhodgson.com/
Two county-wide races also deserve attention. We are fortunate to have two well-qualified Democratic candidates running in these races.
Dave Meyers is the endorsed candidate running for San Diego County Sheriff. https://www.davemyersforsheriff.com/
Barbara Bry is the endorsed candidate running for San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk. https://barbarabry.com/
We encourage all members to support these endorsed candidates through campaign contributions and volunteer efforts on behalf of the campaigns. You can sign up for both on the campaign websites noted for each.
San Diego Democratic Party GO Teams Will Soon Be in Your Neighborhood!
The June 7th Primary Election is just around the corner. The County Registrar of Voters will begin distributing Mail-in ballots to all registered voters on May 9th, just over two weeks from now. The San Diego Democratic Party GO Teams are also finishing up their organizing activities and will begin canvassing neighborhoods on May 8th. The purpose of the GO Teams is to help elect more Democrats to state, county, and local offices. The GO Teams accomplish this by canvassing “friendly” voters (registered Democrats and NPP voters) in more than 60 communities across the County. There are about 1,000 volunteers involved in this effort.
By going door-to-door, these volunteers (“Neighborhood Leaders”) engage their neighbors in conversations about the issues of concern to them and with questions about the election process and the candidates on the ballot in their districts. The information gathered is made available to Democratic candidates, helping them to focus their campaigns. The GO Team volunteers also assist voters with any problems they may have with their ballots and information about the candidates. The County Party’s Official Voter Guide is distributed by these volunteers. They may also assist non-registered eligible citizens in registering to vote.
Research has shown that such grass roots voter contact helps to increase voter turnout by nearly 20%. Just the process of leaving the Official Voting Guide helps to improve voter turnout by a significant amount.
If you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining the GO Teams, you can sign up to receive more information at www.sddemocrats.org/
In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz, President
April 14, 2022
President’s Message
Dear Club Members and Friends,
In this issue:
- War in Ukraine
- U.S. Domestic Political Divisions
- Torrey Pines Democratic Club Candidate Endorsements
- Democrats Face Challenges in the Upcoming Primary Election
- Recent Polling on California Voters’ Concerns
- Program Speakers for the April 28 Club Meeting
It’s been a while since my last message on March 21st and a lot has happened – but not much progress has been accomplished – on the global and political scene.
WAR IN UKRAINE
The brutal and horrific war in Ukraine grinds on. The only change being the surprising defeat of the Russian advance toward Kiev by the resourceful Ukrainian defenders. But a renewed assault on the Donbas region by reinforced Russian divisions seems imminent. The US and EU allies have increased their economic and military support in weapons and supplies to aid the Ukrainian forces. Increasing evidence of Russian war crimes, whether by individual units, or on orders from Putin, or both, has emerged. Teams of forensic investigators are on the scene in the recaptured areas around Kiev and have so far uncovered and documented thousands of deaths attributable to intentional torture and killing of civilians by Russian forces.
U.S. DOMESTIC POLITICAL DIVISIONS
The former president remains unindicted for his suspected involvement in conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, and the Republican members of Congress – most of them at least – continue their denial of Trump’s involvement in anything wrong. It becomes increasingly obvious that the leadership in the Republican Party today have made their Faustian bargain with Trump to take over the Congress, and as many additional State legislatures and Governor’s offices as possible, along with State election officers, in their pursuit to overturn our liberal democracy. Let’s hope the desperate measures they are now taking are symptomatic of their last gasp as a credible political force. Better yet, let’s all pitch in to mobilize our efforts for ensuring that the Republicans fail to realize their ambitions.
Torrey Pines Democratic Club – Candidate Endorsements
Here’s a recap of the Club endorsement for locally elected candidates running in the June 7th Primary Elections. These endorsements were approved by a supermajority vote of 60% or more of the Club members voting online following the February and March 2022 Club meetings. (Note: These endorsements are not to be construed as SDCDP or CDP endorsements).
- CA 49th Congressional District – Mike Levin
- CA 50th Congressional District – Scott Peters
- State Senate District 38 (new) – Catherine Blakespear
- State Assembly District 77 – Tasha Boerner Horvath
- S.D. County Board of Supervisors, District 4 – Nathan Fletcher
- S.D. County Board of Supervisors, District 5 – Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson
- S.D. County Board of Education District 5 – Rick Shea
- S.D. County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk – Barbara Bry
- S.D. County Treasurer-Tax Collector – No Endorsement
- S.D. County Sheriff – Dave Meyers
Many thanks to Board Members Jim Smith, Phil Currier, and Marisa Hildebrand-Criqui for their hard work and efforts in arranging for the endorsement proceedings and conducting our online election procedures. And thank you to all the Club Members, more than 50% of you, who participated in the voting process.
Endorsement considerations by our Club, along with other clubs, provides important benefits to the successful candidates in helping them with their campaigns; and to the public and our Club members for the opportunity to meet and hear from the candidates in the selected races.
Democrats Face Challenge In the Upcoming Primary Elections
In San Diego, our County Democratic Party GO Teams are finishing up their organizational activities to get ready for door-to-door canvassing efforts to talk with friendly Democratic and Non-partisan voters about the upcoming June 7th Primary election. There’s a lot at stake. Democrats are eager to show we can sustain the gains made in recent elections at the State, county and city levels, and the Democratic surge in voter registration numbers is no fluke. And we hope to further expand the recent successes.
We face some serious challenges for the coming Primary election. With so many Democratic victories at the local level in recent years, Democrats now find themselves on the defense. The GOP excels at “attack politics;” that is their forte. Democrats campaign on issues. Our State and County electoral districts have undergone extreme changes in district boundaries because of the recent re-districting by independent State and County commissions. Many voters are not familiar with those changes and many incumbents find themselves representing new pockets of constituents. Voter apathy is particularly strong in advance of any Primary election, which many voters see as merely “the preliminaries” to the main event in November. But with our “Top Two” Primary Election system, the “preliminaries” become the “finals” for any candidate who doesn’t make the top two tier. And, while the U.S. economy has grown in near record amounts in both GDP growth and employment growth during the initial 15 months of the Biden administration, we have also experienced rapid increases in energy prices and inflation that have unsettled many voters.
The problems of inflation and energy price increases are global problems. Every part of the global economy and every nation are experiencing the same issues. In large part, the causes of both problems are beyond the powers of government to manage or control. They are the inevitable after-effects of the Pandemic that curtailed production and supply of goods and services, and which now is clashing with the pent-up release of demand for the same goods and services. Also, the war in Ukraine threatens future food and energy supplies from Ukraine, and from Russia due to the sanctions imposed by the West. But many voters are not concerned with such “excuses” as they see it. When things are not going well, it is often the incumbents who bear the brunt of political reaction. Let’s take a closer look.
Recent Polling on California Voters’ Concerns
Today, the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS) released the results of its recent poll among California voters on the issues that most concern them. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sn293xs
The results show there are big partisan differences in the responses of Democratic and Republican voters over the issues that most concern them. For Democratic voters, the top three issues of concern, in order, are: Housing Affordability (37%), Homelessness (32%), and Climate Change (27%). Republicans consider the top three issues to be: Crime and Public Safety (39%), Gas Prices (28%), and Taxes (26%). Interestingly, No-Party Preference voters share the Democrats’ concerns with Housing Affordability (33%) and Homelessness (30%) and share Republicans’ concerns with Taxes (23%).
On the issue of California’s support for the high-speed rail project (from Bakersfield to Merced), California voters support the State’s efforts by 56% to 35% opposed, despite the continuous negative publicity in the media. Democrats, however, favor the project by 73% to the Republicans’ opposition to the project by 66%. Independents tend toward the Democratic views on the issue, favoring the project by 54% to 37% opposed.
As for the recent spike in gas and fuel prices, income status is the determinative factor in the level of concern. Of those respondents with annual household incomes of less than $40,000, 52% see the issue as “very serious” and 29% see it as “somewhat serious.” While among those with annual household incomes of $200,000 or more, only 18% see gas price hikes as “very serious, and 24% as “somewhat serious.” Still, overall, among all income groups, 41% see gas price hikes as “very serious,” and 28% see it as “somewhat serious.”
As a result, 71% of respondents expect to drive less around town, or on car trips, due to the higher gas prices. However, despite their concerns, only 25% (11% very likely, and 14% somewhat likely) expect to rely more on public transit.
Please Join Us Thursday, April 28th at 6:00pm (via Zoom) for our monthly Club Meeting
Link to Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87106677935?pwd=Qlo1MkVaaysvVTJrR3YrdjBPZzdYdz09
Meeting ID: 871 0667 7935
Passcode: 190259
Program Speakers for the April 28 Club Meeting
We have two familiar and very important speakers lined up for our April 28th regular Club Meeting.
First up, will be Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, 4th District County Board of Supervisors, and Board Chair. In 2018, Supervisor Fletcher became the first Democrat to be elected to the County Board of Supervisors in more than two decades. He was joined on the Board by two more Democrats – Terra Lawson Remer, District 3, and Nora Vargas, District 1 – in 2018. Now in his fourth year of office, Supervisor Fletcher is running for reelection in the upcoming Primary on June 7th. This will be Supervisor Fletcher’s first appearance at our Club as a program speaker. He will provide us with an overview of the many ways in which the County of San Diego has an impact on our lives and well-being. With his Democratic colleagues on the Board, there have been many progressive changes since the beginning of 2021. Unless you’ve been following local news carefully, many of the new directions taken will come as a surprise. You will be encouraged and uplifted by what can be accomplished when there is political will to do so, along with voter support.
Our second speaker will be making a return visit to our Club – Assembly Member Chris Ward, 78th Assembly District. Following the recent redistricting, Assemblyman Ward will be seeking re-election to the newly drawn 78th Assembly District. Although the communities in the 92014 and 92075 Zip code areas have been removed from the 78th District for the 2022 Primary election, Assembly Member Ward continues as our representative to the Assembly until the beginning of 2023, when the Assembly members elected in November will assume their offices and our communities will be included in the 77th Assembly District. Assembly Member Ward sits on several influential committees in Sacramento, and he is an active sponsor of progressive legislation concerning California’s environment, transportation, labor and employment, and housing and community development. At present, the Legislature is in the peak period of committee considerations on proposed laws. This is a time of rapid change and important development concerning the future of our State and economy.
We have no business items on the agenda for the April 28th meeting, but that could change over the next few days. So, stay tuned.
You can view the Preliminary Agenda for our Club Meeting HERE.
In Solidarity,
Wayne Dernetz,
President