By Charlie Riley
Our club has a huge opportunity at this moment in time. Like most of you reading this, I have been reflecting (obsessing) on the current election both nationally and locally. It is critical we recognize three things.
- The AADC has had a tremendous impact on the 2024 election cycle locally.
- We have the ingredients for making a long-term change in our community, both for Democrats and for like-minded friends and neighbors.
- Whether or not we win the key national, state, and local races, in a short 2 years we need to be ready.
Together, we have had tremendous impact on the 2024 election cycle, without even knowing the final tally on wins and losses. We brought neighbors and friends together. We have had volunteers canvassing for months for both national and state candidates, we helped nine local candidates with volunteers, financial support, and expertise. We have provided everything from yard signs for Harris/Walz, to local campaign signs, banners, mailings, and postcard parties. We have created sophisticated phone lists, text messaging campaigns, mailing campaigns, a real office to work in, you name it.
Today we have the ingredients for making a long-term change for our local community, for Democrats, and for like-minded Placer residents. If we continue to organize, we can have a lasting voice due to the groups of volunteers that are now working partners in our efforts. For many of us “liberals,” we have too often felt we had to keep a low profile to get along in what feels like a red community. The loud voices made us hesitant to speak up, even politely. But this is a false narrative. We are not alone. There are thousands and thousands of us in the Auburn area.
Whether we win the key national, state, and local races or not, in a short 2 years we need to be ready. The other side will be coming back at our values with a vengeance, pushing agendas and promoting wrong-minded policies in areas ranging from women’s reproductive rights, to climate, wildfire, the homeless, libraries and schools, gun control, the environment, and more.
This is the time to wrap our arms around the great people and the great resources now in place from our election efforts Now is the time to make a commitment grow the club to a critical mass. We can have a strong, positive public voice in the Auburn area. I would urge we work together to increase our group from one hundred fifty members to over five hundred. We have the voice to make Auburn more friendly to like minded Democrats, and in the process to grow Auburn into a better community for everyone living here.