FIRST CLUB MEETING – MARCH 2017
Francine Busby, immediate past Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, provided an overview of the Democratic landscape for San Diego County. Francine described the different tools that the local party uses such as the Grassroots Organizing (GO) Team to canvass for local Democratic candidates during the election term. Francine also commented that Democrats’ countywide voter registration hit a record of 111,000, 6.6% more than Republicans, and the Democrats now edge out Nonpartisans by just 2.6%. The political landscape of the county shifted from primarily Republican to Democratic.
Our second speaker, Ginger Jacobs, attorney, provided an overview of the immigration situation in San Diego. She dispelled myths common among undocumented immigrants. For example, even if undocumented immigrants work under a fake social security number, they pay into the social security system and they will never receive those benefits. Ginger discussed the complexity of the immigration laws. She provided an example of a client who is documented immigrant based on her father’s legal status under a law that was set over 20 years ago. However, her client cannot marry her partner because she will then lose her legal status. Ginger made it clear that it’s time for a comprehensive immigration reform to allow those already in the United States that fall under these complex legal terms to stay. Ginger discussed important tips if anyone encounters Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. She advised that people are only obligated to provide their first and last names and that they can decline to provide additional information until they speak to an attorney. Ginger brought printouts of the “Know Your Rights” card to hand out to individuals that may benefit from the information. Ginger also answered many questions from the audience regarding immigration law and immigrant rights.
We received recommendations from attendees at our last meeting and appreciate any suggestions for future programs. Here are some of the suggestions we received:
- Politics beyond “Politics”
- The issue of gerrymandering – what is it? How can we challenge it?
- Voter outreach – Where are our efforts best spent? How can we help register people? How can we get people out to the polls?
- “Sips & Civility” – How to discuss politics without making enemies.
A shout out to Jessica Davis Photography for letting us use her beautiful photography studio for our meeting.
