Upcoming Meetings
Palos Verdes Democrats August Meeting
Join us for our hybrid (In-person and Zoom) August club meeting. Our meeting starts at 2:30 pm, but join us at 2 pm to chat with other Democrats.
Annual Meeting to review Supreme Court 2023-24 Decisions
with Judge Tom Long
- Judge Tom Long will join us in-person in the Peninsula Center Library to guide us through his annual review of key SCOTUS decisions during this past term.
- Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas Long was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2015
- Every August, since 2014, Judge Long has been sharing his commentary on the cases highlighted in the University of CA, Irvine School of Law Annual Supreme Court Term In Review panel discussion (which is in its 14th year)
August 2024 President’s Report
By Rob Wynne —
Our club enters the election season with great momentum. Special thanks to our board members stepping down from their positions on the board–immediate past president Connie Sullivan, board member and newsletter editor Nancie Silver, our former program chair Ann Nye, and Past President Kathy Bradford for their outstanding contributions. Connie and Kathy will remain on the board as Past President and Hospitality co-host, respectively. As president, I have three specific goals – to increase our membership by 25% and publicize our great events and benefits, and to invite more young people to speak at our meetings so we can hear from our next generation of leaders. Democrats, our time is now. November 5 will be a historic election. Either we move forward with democracy, or regress towards fascism. The Palos Verdes Democrats will do our best to support democracy and elect more Democrats to local, state and national offices.
2024 PV Democrats Annual Summer Picnic
By Allison Phillips and Reggie Jue —
On Sunday, July 21, 2024, the Palos Verdes Democrats held their annual picnic at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Rolling Hills Estates. This annual event has been a tradition since 2016, missing only the pandemic year of 2020. There was great enthusiasm and a sense of community, with everyone talking about President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race earlier that morning. In response, attendees expressed their strong support for Vice President Kamala Harris. Local news outlets, now hungry for a new angle on the news responded in force, with reporters from the Daily Breeze, Spectrum News, and Fox 11 Los Angeles news coming and interviewing attendees.
Over one hundred thirty attendees enjoyed dinner prepared by Truxton’s Restaurant while listening to Congressman Ted Lieu, Supervisor Janice Hahn, Senator Ben Allen, and Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi talk about national current events and how the presidential election will shape America’s future. They also emphasized the importance of local elections such as the school board race.
A Big “Thank You” to Ann Nye from the PV Democrats
By Connie Sullivan —
Six years ago Ann Nye agreed to assume the 2nd V.P. position on the Palos Verdes Democrats’ board. This position is responsible for organizing our monthly programs – selecting topics, finding good speakers, advising speakers as to what the club members would be interested in learning, coming up with good questions for the speakers, etc.
This is one of the most time-consuming and challenging jobs we have on the board. Ann fulfilled the requirements beyond any expectations we might have had. She certainly performed at a level much higher than anyone else had done in that job, including yours truly.
Ann has an inquisitive mind and is a life-long learner who came up with an awesome array of topics and impressive speakers. She always studied up on the speaker(s) and their topic(s) and developed a set of questions for each of them that dove deep into the subject matter. We all learned so much from each of the meetings she organized.
And she did this for an amazing six years! Most burn out after two years. I know I felt very lucky that she was agreeable to performing this function for the full two years of my term as president.
Ann has now stepped down and we want to recognize her accomplishments and wish her well in whatever she chooses to do next.
From the Activism Chair
By Caryl Schwartz —
I am thrilled and energized by the Joe Biden’s decision to step down and endorse Kamala. My optimism has returned and my fears of 934-page Project 2025 being implemented are receding. For those of you not familiar with Project 2025. I encourage you to read the attached links.
https://msmagazine.com/2024/02/08/project-2025-conservative-right-wing-trump-woke/
It’s critical that we educate voters to the threats that the current Republican Party and Project 2025 represent to Democracy.
The game plan to reach out to as many voters as possible to ensure a Democratic Trifecta. We need legislators in office that believe in “We the People. “
Now through Election Day, PV Dems is canvassing in CA 45 for Derek Tran and CA 47 for Dave Min.
To see the full From the Activism Chair post, please click here.
Please feel free to reach out to me for other resources. Let us know how you want to get involved by clicking on the button below and filling out our Volunteer Interest Form and we will keep you informed of opportunities to make a difference!
Thank you,
Caryl Schwartz
pvcaryl@verizon.net
PV Dem Activism Chair
Palos Verdes Democrats Makes Campaign Donations
As is the custom of the club during election years, the Board of Directors convenes a committee to make recommendations for our political donations. The committee consisted of Reggie Jue, Al Shadbourne, Caryl Schwartz and Carol Moeller. Our donations are made possible by membership dues that we collect, donations, and other fundraisinng activities.
- The total allocation for this cycle was $3700. That number reflects the current proposal in our budget for the fiscal year 2024/25. It also aligned with the $3000 initially approved at the last board meeting plus funds generously donated by visitors to last month’s summer picnic.
- While recognizing the importance of local races, the committee felt that the current menace on the national political stage warranted additional money allocations to key House, Senate and the Presidential races.
- To best leverage our scarce resources, we focused on key strategic races with recent polling close to the margin of error in either direction and where fundraising is not as robust.
Kamala Harris / Tim Walz Lawn Sign
By Reggie Jue —
As we did in 2020, the Palos Verdes Democrats is planning on purchasing lawn signs proclaiming support to the Harris/Walz campaign. These signs will be provided free of charge but with a request that the recipient make a donation in any amount to the Palos Verdes Democrats. All net proceeds from donations will be sent to local congressional races, key national senate races, and/or the Biden for President campaign prior to the November elections.
When the signs are available, we will post an announcement on our website home page, where a request can be made on-line.
August 2024–Color Me A Democrat
By Fraser Perkins —
Color Me A Democrat
Bombs Away with SCOTUS!
Let’s take a little civics stroll down Memory Lane and revisit some key decisions made by an increasingly conservative Supreme Court. But keep your eyes looking above – for bombs!
Here’s what I’m talking about…in abbreviated form.
Bomb 1: Bush v Gore 2000
Hanging chads > 61,000 undervotes > FL Supreme Court ordered a statewide recount > SCOTUS intervened > Recount Stopped > Bush won state by 537 votes > Bush won Florida’s 25 electoral votes > Bush squeaked into the presidency though he lost the popular vote…
Bomb 2 Citizens United 2010
Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit, challenged campaign spending limits > SCOTUS said yup, spending limits infringed on Freedom of Speech > limits lifted > massive increase in political spending by special groups > sources of political spending often opaque (dark money) > widening wealth gap > perception that democracy tilted in favor of the wealthy…
Bomb 3. Shelby County v Holder 2013
1965 Voting Rights Act Passed > certain political jurisdictions required to obtain “preclearance” before enacting voting rule changes > Shelby County, AL claimed preclearance unconstitutional > SCOTUS said yup Section IV of the VRA posed an undue burden and was no longer needed > preclearance lifted > within 24 hours Texas announced a strict photo id law > MS & AL quickly followed > a raft of restrictive voting measures passed in many states > Brennan Ctr for Justice held that these measures were an attempt to disenfranchise certain voters…
Bomb 4. Dobbs 2022
Dobbs > overturned Roe > removed right to privacy and bodily autonomy > states now have the right to limit abortions…
To see the full opinion piece, please click here.
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