After attending the 8/9 L.A. Kossacks meetup in Los Angeles, I wish to extend my sincere thanks to navajo, Meteor Blades, Vyan, susans, Shockwave, and everyone else who played a part in making the meetup a success. I am excited to be a small part of efforts to build Kossack groups in greater Los Angeles, and in all 435 congressional districts.
Vyan's comments on the personal touch; Meteor Blades' references to old-fashioned, low-budget, face-to-face organizing; navajo's mention of a potential future OC group; and La Gitane's suggestion of adopting redder areas reminded me of this story about field organizing to gain a CA Assembly seat (AD-65) in 2012 over an OC GOP incumbent who had won the 2012 primary with an 18 point margin.
http://www.voiceofoc.org/...
If we vote, we win. Sometimes asking is all it takes.
Many of us live in areas that are solidly supportive of the Democratic Party. There is plenty to do here anyway, but don't forget there is also a lot of other electoral territory in SoCal where your help might mean the difference between a Democrat and a Republican.
Some potential areas in need of assistance below the fold:
Areas that may need our help:
Assembly districts 32,36,40,44, and 65 should all be considered competitive or potentially so. Senate districts 14 and 34, ditto. Congressional districts 21, 26, 31, 36, and 52, ditto. I have excluded districts which are either safe, or out of reach for 2014, as well as districts that are clearly not in SoCal. This is not intended to imply that organizing in other districts, or around issues rather than elections, is not also valuable and necessary, simply that it will probably not directly affect the partisan results of the November election.
Each of these districts is in SoCal, and may be convenient as a stretch volunteer location, depending on your relative location.
North:
AD-36 is the Antelope Valley, mostly within north L.A. County
AD-32, SD-14, and CD-21 are a bit further north, and in the southern Central Valley, starting about 30 miles north of L.A. County
South:
AD-65, and SD-34 are in north Orange County
CD-52 is a bit further south, in San Diego county.
East:
AD-40, and CD-31 are mostly in the Inland Empire, starting just east of L.A. County
CD-36 is a bit further east, in Riverside county, starting about 50 miles east of L.A. county. This is typically referred to as the Palm Springs district.
West:
AD-44, and CD-26 are mostly in Ventura County, just west of L.A. County
If you are interested in detailed analysis of how competitive these races are, and why, or if interested in district maps, please reference the following analysis by DKE regular kurykh, from whose excellent diaries I have cribbed much of the foregoing info:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Tue Aug 12, 2014 at 11:12 AM PT: Links to the campaign website of the Democratic party candidate in each district mentioned are provided below:
AD-32: Rudy Salas D-Bakersfield http://rudysalas.com/...
AD-36: Steve Fox D-Palmdale http://foxforassembly.com/
AD-40: Katy Henry D (open seat) http://www.katyhenry2014.com/
AD-44: Jacqui Irwin D (open seat) http://www.jacquiirwin.com/...
AD-65: Sharon Quirk-Silva D-Fullerton http://www.sharonquirksilva.com/
SD-14: Luis Chavez D (challenger) http://www.luischavez2014.com/
SD-34: Jose Solorio D (open seat) http://www.solorioforsenate.com/
CD-21: Amanda Renteria D (challenger) http://www.amandarenteria.com/
CD-26: Julia Brownley D-Oak Park http://juliabrownley.com/
CD-31: Pete Aguilar D (open seat) http://www.peteaguilar.com/
CD-36: Raul Ruiz D-Palm Desert http://www.drraulruiz.com/
CD-52: Scott Peters D-San Diego http://www.scottpeters.com/