Local Democrat activist pens column critical of Lemoore Councilmember Holly Blair

Salvador Cazarez
Salvador Cazarez

Democrats’ ambitions to take back the U.S. House has never been higher. Separation of children from asylum seekers at the border has put a new focus on reining in Trump and shifting the majority in Congress. That math and the path to achieving it run through our three Central Valley districts held by GOP incumbents.

Now is the time for my party to come together and get out every vote possible if we want to win. So, imagine my surprise at two recent developments that put those hopes in jeopardy. They illustrate a division that we cannot afford heading to November 6. This conflict can stop a “blue wave” in its tracks. 

Last month I read the comments of a Central Valley voter, identified as a Democrat, who endorsed Republican David Valadao. “He knows the people,” Holly Blair told a reporter looking closely at the local contests for Congress. (Blair recently resigned as the chairperson of the Kings County Democratic Central Committee).

Earlier this spring, Blair was one of those who complained to the state Democratic party about the election of new officers of the California Democratic Council (CDC).

In February three hundred California Democrats came out to vote for new officers of the CDC. They elected me, as well as 14 other Democrats from diverse backgrounds throughout our state by a 3 to 1 margin, a clear mandate to lead.

We immediately got to work to right the ship of an organization that was taking on water. We restored the Web-hosting program that dozens of Democratic clubs rely on. We repaired a hole in CDC finances caused by past fraud. We are putting the historic organization that trains club leaders to get out the vote back on course. 

However, in May the state party’s Credentials Review Commission (CRC) latched onto a complaint from Blair to nullify that election. This is the action that should be dismissed by the party, not the will of three hundred Democratic voters. 

Why in the world would Democrats put the allegation of someone who supports a Republican ahead of our own party’s grassroots leaders? Why would the state party weigh in at all, given state party bylaws that clearly protect the independence of the CDC? 

Interference in the workings of independent organizations harms all Democrats. It threatens confusion and disunity when we can least afford it. 

This year is when we most need to rekindle and reward solidarity in the ranks of Democrats, not the voices of those who defect to opponents.

The Democratic clubs and grassroots leaders trained and supported by the CDC are key to getting out every vote this fall. It’s time our service and work to build for Democratic victories was recognized both within and beyond the ranks of our party.

The author, Sal Cazarez, is currently the secretary of the California Democratic Council (CDC), the independent organization founded in 1952 that trains local Democratic activists and club leaders. Active in LGBT politics, he lives in Visalia.

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