Can Sacramento Bee Add More Leaders From Front Lines to Influencer Series?

The Sacramento Bee and its sister news organizations launched their California Influencer Series on election day with a list of 60 prominent leaders and a commitment to a “long-lasting conversation between you and the leaders and influencers in our state.”

It’s a worthwhile and important effort.

The series, introduced by Lauren Gustus, the new regional editor who oversees the Sacramento Bee and four other McClatchy papers in California, is brilliantly designed to spur public debate – not to mention “clicks” to online articles that will generate ad revenues.

Take a look at the list of 60 influencers. While heavy with administrators and analyzers, it’s a thoughtful assemblage of California’s public voices.

I just wish the list could be expanded to 75 – and include more leaders who represent low-income workers and families struggling to get ahead or make ends meet.

Especially folks on the front lines fighting to secure quality child care, fix our child welfare system, expand health care, guarantee access to abortion and contraception for women of all income levels, create affordable housing, establish workplaces free from gender discrimination, and guarantee income security.

All of these issues will be front and center when Californians elect a new governor in November.

And because counties, cities and school districts deliver most of the services California residents depend upon, wouldn’t it be great if the influencer list included a sitting mayor, supervisor and school board member?

I started to make a list of folks I’d like to see added – like Jessica Bartholow from the Western Center on Law and Poverty or Noreen Farrell with Equal Rights Advocates and Stronger California, Mary Ignatius with Parent Voices, Kimberly Alvarenga with the California Domestic Workers Coalition, or Kellie Todd Griffin with the State of Black Women in California.

But I stopped, because the deliberation needed to augment the influencer list needs to match the research and review that went into its initial creation.

So how about it, Sacramento Bee: Can you add a few more influencers to the list?

California Could Elect Three Women to Statewide Constitutional Officers in November

Could three women serve in California’s statewide constitutional offices for the first time in the state’s history?

It’s possible – maybe even likely.

It will take several more days for the Secretary of State to finalize election results from the June 5 primary, but here – as of 11:38 am on June 6 – are the results that could lead to a history-making general election:

Lieutenant Governor – Two Democrats emerged as top vote-getters, with Democrat Eleni Kounalakis (23.4%) besting expected front-runner Ed Hernandez (20.8%) – setting up a fierce contest in November.

Treasurer – Democrat Fiona Ma had a strong finish with 43.2% of the vote, and will most likely defeat Republican Greg Conlon (22%) in the general election.

Controller – Incumbent Controller Betty Yee trounced her opponents with 60.9% of the vote, and should have no trouble dispensing with Republican Konstantinos Roditis (35%) in November.

According to the Center for American Women & Politics, only ten women have ever held statewide elective office in California, including two appointed to fill vacancies (see table).

While there have been many instances where two women served simultaneously in the state’s eight statewide executive offices, never before have three women served at the same time.

California voters have never elected a woman governor, insurance commissioner, or lieutenant governor, though Mona Pasquil was appointed lieutenant governor when John Garamendi vacated the position to serve in Congress.

Tracking Women Candidates at the Polls

Are you hoping 2018 will be another Year of the Political Woman? (And no doubt, you’re backing up that hope with your vote, campaign donations and maybe even a little phone banking!)

You can keep tabs on the record number of women candidates running for public office by checking the Election Watch page compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics. For decades, CAWP has been the go-to source for dependable data on women in politics at all levels of government.

Want a quick snapshot of how the nation’s 601 women candidates for Governor, House or US Senate are faring in the 2018 midterms?

Check out the Women Candidate Tracker. It’s a collaboration among Politico, CAWP and the Women in Public Service Project at The Wilson Center.

 

Mayor’s Task Force on Child Care: Blast from the Past!

Many years ago, I worked for Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin and staffed her Mayor’s Task Force on Child Care.

When I was conducting research for my recent child care op-ed in the Sacramento Bee, I came across the report that the Task Force produced.  Definitely a blast from the past!

Posting that report here as some of the recommendations are worth updating for 2018!

A special shout out to Council Member Angelique Ashby who is working to identify city-owned sites that could be used to open child care centers for city employees (and other residents, when spaces are available).  Another shout out to Council Member Eric Guerra who is planning a hearing on child care in Spring 2018.

Two recommendations to consider:

1) The City of Sacramento needs a Child Care Master Plan that identifies how different jurisdictions can help build the supply of quality, affordable child care. No group is currently taking the lead in forging this vision, and the City could play a major role in bringing people together.

2) The City of Sacramento should hire a Child Care Coordinator. The City previously had a Child Care Coordinator, and, until the position was cut, she provided the leadership, facilitation and persistence  to build the supply of child care.

 

 

 

Listen to the Trump Trauma Podcast! How Democrats are Reeling & Dealing

 

As a companion to my Sacramento Bee op-ed published on Sunday, How to combat ‘Trump Trauma’: What we’ve learned since the last women’s march, I produced a podcast to literally give voice to the Democrats I interviewed over the past several months.

My aim was to capture their stories of despair and resilience. To help all of us, me included, understand the stages of Trump Trauma – and what we need to do to move forward.

Some readers and listeners might say, “We’ve read this, we’ve heard this before.”

But I think there’s value, especially at this one-year marker of President Trump’s tenure, in encapsulating the cascade of emotions Democrats have experienced.

Reading 800 words – or listening to 18 minutes – can help us step back and reflect.

And maybe then, we can stop reeling – and start dealing – with Trump Trauma.

 

Podcast Music: United States Air Force Concert Band. Hail to the Chief. Department of Air Force. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.100010434/>.