2005 Wrap-up, Looking Toward Victory in 2006 (CA Dem Party email)

[pinto]

Dear member:

California Democrats made history in 2005. Our Democratic elected leaders and officials are making us proud by standing up to the Republicans and their culture of corruption.

Let's take a look at some of our accomplishments over the last year:

In January, we hosted the DNC Chair Candidate Forum in Sacramento with more than 600 activists in attendance. The Democratic Party was very fortunate to have such a talented and experienced group of individuals running for National Chair, and this was the first time many California Democrats were able to hear what these candidates had to say.

In February, the Association of Democratic State chairs formally endorsed Gov. Howard Dean and with my help, just a few weeks later he was elected to serve as DNC Chair.

Howard has spent most of the year calling for Democrats to commit to reforming our Party from the bottom up -- strengthening the State Parties and their grassroots and integrating state and national party operations by supporting Democrats organizing in local communities. Democrats also made history by electing California's own Congressman Mike Honda as Vice Chair, the highest office in a major political party ever held by an Asian Pacific Islander American.

In March, after the DSCC reorganization was complete, I met with many DSCC members in Los Angeles and Sacramento to discuss ways to help open up year-round Democratic offices and determine a more coherent message. This exchange of ideas was immensely valuable to the Party in crafting and organizing our 2005 state convention.

Also in March Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi created the House Democrats' Faith Working Group to work "with faith communities on common values such as fighting poverty, improving schools, speaking out against materialism and greed, providing better housing, and fighting for social and economic justice." This was another positive and well-received way for our Party to prove that the Republicans don't own religion.

In April, we held our state convention in Los Angeles, where I was grateful for the confidence and support I received in being re-elected as your Chair. One of the highlights of the convention was DNC Chair Howard Dean speaking at our dinner and also making an impromptu appearance to open a special screening of "Outfoxed." Talk about a crowd-pleaser! For the first time, we held several different town-hall type meetings and workshops on topics such as health care, education and messaging. This new format was well received and we hope to do something similar in 2006.

In May, "The City of Angels" and Antonio Villaraigosa made history when he was elected mayor, bringing a new excitement and his wealth of experience to California's largest city. Not since 1872 has Los Angeles had a Latino mayor, and never before has there been such an influx of new voters with such diversity, especially among African-Americans, Latinos and Asian Pacific Islanders. Reaching out to these voters has become one of our Party's top goals.

On June 13, Arnold deepened his line in the sand when he officially called for the unnecessary and wasteful special election. But his inability to work with the legislature and his refusal for compromise, as well as his lavish fundraising, worked against him. This governor's plan to polarize our state and push through his special interest agenda began a long slide, along with his ratings. Our California teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, correctional officers and all of Labor deserve an extra-big thanks for standing up to the governor and telling the public their story.

The summer months were also filled with events up and down the state and I had a wonderful experience visiting many of these, especially reaching out to the "Red" parts of our state. Through our efforts and the work of so many dedicated grass-roots activists, these areas are beginning to turn "Blue" - and it's another high priority to continue this throughout 2006 and beyond.

In September, Democrats celebrated two historic victories with the outright win in the primary of Councilman Ted Lieu in the 53rd Assembly District special election, winning the seat formerly held by the late Mike Gordon. And in San Jose, the highest ranking elected Vietnamese woman in our state, Madison Nguyen won her seat on the San Jose City Council.

In October, the Party met in Manhattan Beach for our Executive Board meeting, where the Party took its official positions on the propositions and the campaign season was in full swing. The Alliance for a Better California, along with California's many labor organizations, were terrific partners in the efforts to increase voter turnout by frequent mail, phone and door-to-door voter contact. The poll numbers leading up to the November 8 special election showed that our simple and direct message was getting through. All told, the CDP special election mail totaled more than 16 million pieces and our Promote and Protect the Vote operation assisted voters throughout the state on Election Day.

November 8 ushered in a sweeping victory for Democratic values, as all of Arnold's special interest propositions went down in defeat. Headlines such as "A Bruising Blow From the People" said it all. California voters sent a message that was loud and clear: protect our principles and the rights of our children under Proposition 98, the first amendment rights of our public employees, the rights of our teachers, the right to privacy of our teenage girls on choice, and the voters' rejection of a DeLay-like takeover of our legislature.

Teachers, nurses, firefighters, police and correctional officers, and all of Labor: who knew that these hard-working people could make such a difference in helping to "terminate" the governor's self-serving special interest agenda? But their voices, their passion and their refusal to back down in their beliefs, led to thousands more joining them every step of the way and ultimately paved the way for victory.

2005 also saw the culture of corruption among the Republican Party and the Bush administration finally come to light and Democrats like Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi have been front and center in making sure that the cronyism and greed continues to be exposed.

Earlier this month, the Democratic Party helped to kick off the bi-partisan Yellow Ribbon America campaign to collect toys and other items for California's deployed National Guard and Reservists and their families. This program has been a wonderful success with over 40,000 toys collected for our troops' families. We were proud to have been a part of it, however this war must end and our troops must come home.

I want to again acknowledge and give thanks to our entire CDP staff, to the thousands of volunteers who took time out from their families and jobs to protect California's future, and to the grassroots activists for all their help throughout this past election season. I look forward to working together once more in 2006 when we will defeat Governor Schwarzenegger and bring California back to the people.

Wishing you and yours, Happy Holidays and all the best for the New Year.

Sincerely,

Senator Art Torres (Ret.)
Chairman, California Democratic Party