On the Eve of the National Election

Late afternoon view from the Monument Peak summit, Cleveland National Forest.

By Cody Petterson

It's hard to believe, but we're finally on the eve of the 2020 general election. The San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action have been heavily involved throughout the current election cycle.

We were at the center of the Democratic primary in communities across our region, and nearly all of our endorsed candidates advanced to the general election, including Joe LaCava, Stephen Whitburn, Marni Von Wilpert, Raul Campillo, Toni Atkins, Chris Ward, Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, Steve Padilla, Mike Levin, and Terra Lawson-Remer.

While the pandemic has prevented us from hitting the pavement with the same intensity as previous years and previous cycles, our members have continued to phonebank, text, drop literature, and host virtual fundraisers. Our club's endorsements have likewise played prominent roles in campaigns across the county, including the campaigns of our most recently endorsed candidates, Teresa Acosta, Mark Gracyk, Mark West, and Samm Hurst.

Our club and its members have an enormous stake in the outcome of the presidential election, but our stake in these local contests is just as profound. The future of land use, climate action, habitat conservation and restoration, biodiversity, equity, and shared prosperity and opportunity in our region depends on these elections. The race for County District 3, in particular, will decide the majority on our Board of Supervisors and dramatically impact our club's priorities.

We encourage you to support our endorsed candidates on Nov. 3rd and commit with us to holding our elected officials accountable to the environment, and to our children and grandchildren, in the coming term. We hope you and your families are healthy and thriving, and we hope to see you at our next virtual club meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 18th. And we look forward to the day when the COVID pandemic is behind us and we can once again meet in person and embrace.

Onward.

Photo by Tommy Hough