This is a bit of a catch up diary on the 2013 Vallejo City Council Race that I have been writing about over the last week. See below for links. Only two days to go before election day. I'm told over ten thousand absentee ballots have been submitted. And that this is unusual with over two thousand more than previous off year elections in Vallejo.
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JumpStart Vallejo is supporting Jess Malgapo, Tony Summers, Pippin Dew and Rozzana Verder-Aliga. These Democratic candidates are committed to making Vallejo a better place to live by forming a consensus-driven City Council that focuses on public safety, jobs and development.
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Jump the fold for a few updates on previous my diaries about this election and reflections on the situation on the ground here in Vallejo. For more information on the Vallejo race see:
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Introduction
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Meme Warfare
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Category Collapse Disorder
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Jump Start Vallejo (This Diary)
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Cartoons & Correspondence
Vallejo City Council Race 2013 - Election Results
Experienced Vallejo pundits that the absentee ballot vote determines the outcome of the election. And the strategy used by our campaign was to win the election on the outcome of the absentee vote. The campaign began with the Labor Day Breakfast celebrating Labor Day with kicking off our candidates. Notice our printed campaign materials ready to go out the door with those who attended the kick off.
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Labor Day Breakfast - Monday, September 2, 2013 - Campaign Kick Off
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Predicative and intelligent dialing is critical to get out the vote so phone banks were started up immediately operating out of a number of locations. Although the number of callers looks small the computerization of the process makes it much better that the paper list and manual calling method I used in the 2008 OFA campaign and a year before the 2012 OFA campaign.
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Starting one month ahead of the release of the absentee ballots our callers were making over 1000 calls a night.
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I would like to think that this is the reason there were two thousand extra absentee ballots received this year.
Questions for Anthony Summers
I now have two outstanding questions for Anthony. His delay in replying is two fold. I embedded the question in a long email. And, he as had to attend to two deaths in his congratulation and one in the community.
a. If Tony Summers' relationship with Silvoso is so remote, how does he pretend to know Silvoso's mind on the matter? -- by Steveningen
b. What would be the correct description of your church? Baptist, Pentecostal, Charismatic Pentecostal, Church of God, Assemblies of God, or something else? -- by Linkage
I reminded Anthony today, in person, about the outstanding question and he honestly answered that he had deferred it because of lack of time, and that it was a line item he overlooked in a longer email I sent him regarding a number of less pressing issues he was planning to answer when he had time.
Lakoff 101
Lakoff enters in to the discussion of Vallejo politics is based on two ideas he uses called Metonymy and Framing.
"Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept." - from Wikipedia.
"In the field of communication, framing defines how news media coverage shapes mass opinion. To be specific, framing effects refer to behavioral or attitudinal outcomes that are due to how a given piece of information is being framed in public discourse." - from Wikipedia.
As it pertains to the Vallejo Race the meme in question was introduced before 2011. So, the question becomes who introduced it. Who is patient zero? And why has it spread. And who is spreading for what purpose.
From what I have observed the meme, being used in Vallejo, is a stand in praise or token for persons of Faith, Labor in general,our candidates and anyone supporting them. This is much like a Metonymy but the meme is substituted rather than a part of the whole. In both cases the correct description or name is not used.
Welfare Queen is the classic example of the use of this in politics.
A welfare queen is a pejorative phrase used in the United States to refer to people who are accused of collecting excessive welfare payments through fraud or manipulation. Reporting on welfare fraud began during the early 1960s, appearing in general interest magazines such as Readers Digest. The term entered the American lexicon during Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign when he described a "welfare queen" from Chicago's South Side. - Wikipedia
I'm only beginning to understand the framing that the meme in question brings to mind in those persons that hear it. To those it is being used against it hurts. To those that have never heard it, it is off putting, and discourages civic conversation. To those using it it builds solidarity and discourages further conversation with those labeled with it.
Better Vallejo
Upon reflection and considering comments from Daily Kos user postretro I have inaccurately linked Better Vallejo with creating and spreading the meme. It would have been better if I said, I have observed some of the members the Better Vallejo group use the meme.
Better Vallejo is a service group and a social club biased in Vallejo that has contributed greatly to the Vallejo Community and Vallejo LBGT Community in a large number of ways. And, in its official capacity the club is actually committed to discouraging the use of such hurtful memes.
Reading List
Global Insanity: How Homo sapiens Lost Touch with Reality while Transforming the World by Donald C Mikulecky and James A Coffman. This book is a great starting place to understand the some of the major ideas introduced above and to understand the direction these diaries are moving in.
Regards,
Jonathan Gordon (linkage)
Vallejo Street Prophet
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of United Democrats of Southern Solano County, The Solano County Democratic Central Committee, California State Democratic Party, or the National Democratic Party.
Partial List of Endorsements for
Pippin Dew, Jess Malgapo, Rozzana Verder-Aliga, and Anthony Summers
Vallejo Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee
Solano County Democratic Central Committee
California Real Estate Political Action Committee (CREPAC)
Vallejo Police Officers
Vallejo Firefighters
Vallejo Education Association
Napa-Solano County Building and Construction Trades Council
Napa and Solano Counties Central Labor Council
Communications Workers of America Local 9404
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3
Glaziers Local 169
Cement Masons Local 400
Painters Union Local 376
Iron Workers Local 378
Iron Workers Local 118
Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 343
Sheet Metal Workers Local 104
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 180
Operating Engineers Local 3
Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 16
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 5
Carpenters Local 180
Teamsters Local 315
Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla
Mayor Osby Davis
Solano County Sheriff, Thomas A. Ferrara
Supervisor Erin Hannigan
Supervisor Jim Spering
Supervisor Skip Thomson
Supervisor John Vasquez
Solano County Superintendent of Schools, Jay Speck
Solano County District Attorney, Donald A. du Bain
Vallejo City Councilmember, Hermie Sunga
Vallejo Unified School Boardmember, Hazel Wilson
Vallejo Unified School Boardmember, Raymond Mommsen
Vallejo Unified School Boardmember, Rev. Dr. Tony Ubalde
Solano County Assessor-Recorder, Marc Tonnesen
Solano County Board of Education Boardmember, Larry Asera
Former Vallejo City Councilmember, Michael Wilson
Former Vallejo City Councilmember, Tom Bartee
Former Vallejo City Councilmember, Cris Villanueva
United Democrats of Southern Solano County President, Jonathan Gordon
From http://www.jumpstartvallejo.com/