WOW! A lot has happened since the November 2016 election!
People who had never been involved in politics before asked themselves “what can I do?” and showed up in droves to answer that question, including to our club, the existing clubs in the San Fernando Valley (“SFV”) and Greater Los Angeles area, and by creating their own clubs and organizations. So, “what did we do?” A whole lot, here are some highlights……
*Knocked on doors, made phone calls, and wrote postcards into Congressional districts to help California, and ultimately the House, flip seats in 2018 from red to blue, especially in nearby CD-25, which put Katie Hill in office.
*While we were at it, we did the same in Assembly District 38 to help Christy Smith take the seat away from the Republicans who held it for decades, and give Democrats a super majority in the State Legislature.
*Wrote letters every month for a total of 2,970 for Swing Left/ Vote Forward into “super states” that are important to the Presidential, Senate, and Congressional 2020 elections, asking “likely to vote Democrat” residents to register to vote, sometimes accompanied with the actual registration form in their state.
*Began building ties with the new groups such as Swing Left and Indivisible to support each other and coordinate efforts.
*Held the first Candidate Forum for the 7 Democratic candidates who were running for the LA City Council District (“CD”) 12 seat.
*Worked with other area Democratic clubs to aid primary winner Loraine Lundquist’s bid to defeat the long-held Republican CD12 seat. Although that bid was not successful in the special election, the foundation was laid to improve the chances in the March 2020 primary. We canvassed, made phone calls, and helped raise money and volunteers for her campaign by co-sponsoring both a Unity Picnic and a private fundraiser. She came within 800 votes of winning, but the movement will continue.
*Educated our members on LA County’s new vote system, that was in place for the March 3, 2020 primary.
*Pushed for ballot proposition reform in California, to curtail the “dark money” that influences how citizens vote on ballot measures. Our comprehensive resolution was approved by both the California State Party and the LA County Party in early 2019, and we’ve been working with legislators and groups such as the California Clean Money Campaign in a push to enact legislation that aligns with the resolution.
*Donated money and books to immigrants (in conjunction with SFV Indivisible for those detained in Adelanto, and in coordination with This Is About Humanity for those stuck at the border).
*Asked for donations to make Ziploc gallon bags of necessities for our local homeless population, which were distributed in our members’ neighborhoods during the holidays.
*In July 2020, 2021 and 2022 made donations to ValleyFoodBank.org, to help out our SFV food banks in this time of need.
*Wrote 720 postcards, and phone banked with the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley to defeat the attempted recall of Governor Newsom in September 2021.
*Since 2019, wrote 4600+ Swing Left/ Vote Forward letters to swing districts across the country, to encourage those who have not been voting and are deemed "likely to vote Democrat" to vote!
“What else are we working on right now?”…..
*Volunteering with LACDP to register new voters twice a year in DTLA at the Convention Center’s Naturalization Ceremony.
*Meeting with legislators and groups in an attempt to get a Citizens' Review Panel for ballot propositions.
So who are we?
Based in Southern California's San Fernando Valley, Valley Grassroots for Democracy was formed in 2005 from groups who had supported Howard Dean and John Kerry by traveling all over the country. We became a Democratic Club on September 10, 2005, and were charted by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (“LACDP”) on September 13, 2005. We have several club members who are elected members to LACDP and 8 others who are elected delegates to the California Democratic Party (“CDP”) and attend and vote at the annual State Convention.
We are affiliated with the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DPSFV), which is a PAC and an umbrella organization over 29 Democratic clubs that are, either partly or wholly, in the San Fernando Valley. This means we also have close ties to Democratic clubs in Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Pacific Palisades, and the Conejo Valley. Our members serve on various DPSFV committees such as Recall, Campaign, and Legislative, which is another way we support Democratic candidates and issues that are central to the party.
We have become one of the largest and most active Democratic clubs in the Valley with over 110 dues-paying members. Over 750 people receive our weekly email updates.
We support a Progressive agenda of clean money, healthcare for all, election integrity, fiscal responsibility, and civil rights. And we support candidates who support those ideals. We're all in this together, and we invite all Progressives in the Valley to work with us!
Our Mission Statement
Valley Grassroots For Democracy works to educate the San Fernando Valley community in Democratic Party politics; elect Democrats to local, State and National offices; and spread progressive values in our community.