By Kathy Bradford —
On January 20th, our Presidency went from despot to democrat in less than half an hour. Since then, the administration has been busy implementing its policies through staffing, executive orders and official memorandums.
President Biden is reversing the isolationist, nativist actions of his predecessor. In the State Department, he has nominated career foreign policy experts in place of political favorites. In the first four days in office, he has re-engaged with World Health Organization, reversed the travel ban targeting primarily Muslim countries, and put an end to “harsh and extreme immigration enforcement”. He has also extended protection from deportation for Liberians; and stopped construction of the border wall by removing its emergency status and funding.
President Biden is taking climate change seriously too. He appointed former Secretary of State John Kerry as international climate envoy, and former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy as national climate advisor. His cabinet picks for EPA, Interior, State, HUD, Energy and Transportation all recognize climate change as an imperative. In his first days in office, he has revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, paused energy leasing in ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), and rejoined the Paris climate agreement. He has also signaled the importance of science in the administration and its decisions by making Science and Technology a cabinet post.
The new administration is providing the pandemic leadership that the prior administration shunned. In his first four days in office, President Biden has signed executive orders to boost economic relief to Americans. He has improved delivery of stimulus checks, and increased FEMA reimbursement to the states for National Guard support and PPE supplies. President Biden has requested that agencies extend eviction/foreclosure moratoriums; and has asked agencies to boost food aid, and the Education Dept. to extend the student-loan payback pause.
He has created the position of COVID-19 response coordinator and established a “COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force”. He is requiring masks/distancing on all federal property and by federal workers and has started to fill supply shortfalls in the COVID-19 fight with the Defense Production Act. In other measures he has established the “COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board,” expanded testing and improved the collection/analysis of COVID-related data. The new administration is going to provide guidance on safely reopening schools and has directed OSHA to supply guidance for keeping workers safe from COVID-19. The government now requires face masks at airports and on other modes of public transportation.
On the domestic front, he has launched an initiative to advance racial equity, and end the “1776 Commission,” an advisory committee established in September 2020 by then President Trump to support his view of “patriotic education;” and revoked the order that aims to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census. He has issued executive orders to combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and is requiring an ethics pledge for all executive-branch personnel. He is also restoring collective bargaining power for federal workers and is seeking to preserve and fortify DACA.
President Biden isn’t wasting any time – he’s using the executive branch to move actively to improve our lives and using the bully pulpit to influence Congress to follow his lead. As he said in his Inauguration speech, “So now, on this hallowed ground where just days ago violence sought to shake this Capitol’s very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible, to carry out the peaceful transfer of power as we have for more than two centuries. We look ahead in our uniquely American way – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the nation we know we can be and we must be.”
California Democratic Party (CADEM) Assembly District Delegate (ADD) Election is on-going, and the deadlines have changed.
Of the approximately 3000 delegates to the CA Dem Party, 1120 are elected ADDs (14 per Assembly District). The delegates serve 2-year terms, attending one state Democratic convention per year. They may join caucuses (Environmental, Women’s, Latin, Progressive, etc.); can be appointed to Committees (Rules, etc.); create party rules, platform planks, resolutions, endorsements; and elect Party officers.
Four slates are running in AD-66 — information is on the PV Dems Website: https://pvpdemocrats.org/2020/12/28/3-members-of-the-pv-democrats-running-for-delegates/. Three PV Dem club members who are on different slates presented their slates credentials at our last meeting. They are Tony Hale representing the Democrats for a Stronger Democratic Party slate; Timothy Beyer representing the People over Profits slate; and Jon Munoz representing the Aviators and Sneakers slate.
If you registered and have received a ballot, you will notice that there are two sides to the ballot form. On one side you can vote for up to 14 candidates and on the other side you must enter your voter ID number from the cover letter. Also note that you should vote for only one person with an asterisk by their name. They are candidates for the position of executive board member.
All ADEMs ballots RECEIVED by Wednesday, February 3 WILL BE COUNTED. This is a one-week extension beyond the current “postmarked by January 27 and arrive by January 30” deadline.
On Tuesday, February 9, final ADEM election results are expected to be posted to CADEM website. We will put a link to the results on our website shortly thereafter.
Leave a Reply