Be the Change -  A Call To Serve the Community This Holiday

As we are celebrating the holidays this is also a good time to help those who can't afford to put food on their table and those who are not able to spend it with their families and friends. 

Many of you have already come forward to donate to our food drive on behalf of the Monterey County Foodbank.  Your help is much appreciated.  Our headquarters are temporarily closed for the holidays (from 12/24 - 1/5), but you can still make a difference:

One way to do that is to participate in the virtual food drive of the Monterey County Food Bank.
For every one dollar you donate, the Food Banks is able to supply a family with $8 worth of food. That's what we call a return on your investment!

Another way is to follow the lead of First Lady Elect Michelle Obama who is calling on us to   send a care package to an American in uniform. You can do so right here.

Happy Holidays from all of us,

Vinz Koller
Chair
Monterey County Democratic Party

One of more than 4000 gatherings on Health Care Policy nationwide took place at at our Monterey Center for Change last week where fifty consumers and providers of healthcare services came together to discuss their frustrations with the state of our health care system and to suggest ways to move fix it.  What everyone agreed on: the system is broken and fixing it has to be one of the highest national priorities.  All the feedback was compiled and will be submitted to the Obama transition team.  Even if you missed the discussion, you can still submit your ideas to the change.gov website.

The New York Times reported about a similar event in Virginia. 

Stay tuned for future issue-based discussion forums at the Center for Change.

 
WILL YOU BE THE CHANGE CALIFORNIA NEEDS and run to be an Assembly District Delegate for the California Democratic Party?

Now is your opportunity to help direct the future of Democrats in California! Delegates approve the platform of the Party, elect Party officers and endorse candidates for congress, state legislature, and executive office.  This year we will be electing a new chair of the California Democratic Party.

To run for a delegate seat: The deadline to file for Assembly District delegate is noon on December 31, 2008. You can file right now or learn more about the Assembly Delegate election process by visiting www.cadem.org/adem

If you are unsure about how to run, or even why to run for delegate, the CDP will hold two webinars on Saturday, December 27 at 11am and Monday, December 29 at 7pm. During these webinars we'll give you a brief overview of the delegate election process and some general tips about running.  Space is limited during these webinars. Please RSVP to christopher@cadem.org to receive details about the call and how to log-on during the meeting.

To vote in the delegate elections:
The elections for the California Democratic Party's Assembly District Delegates for Assembly Districts 27 & 28 will be on January 11, 2009. At these meetings, registered Democrats will elect 12 delegates from each Assembly District to be members of the California Democratic Party State Central Committee.

Assembly District 27: (Assemblymember Bill Monning)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 234
10300 Merritt St., Catroville
Registration: 12:00 noon - 2:00 pm
Meeting: 2:00 pm
For more information contact the convenor: Vinz Koller, AD E-Board Representative for the 27th AD.

Assembly District 28: (Assemblymember Anna Caballero)
Teamster's Union Hall
931 East Market St., Salinas
Registration: 9:00-11:00 am
Meeting: 11:00 am
for more information, contact the convenor: Cesar Lara, AD E-Board Representative for the 28th AD.