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By Tim Tutt - appearing in The Davis Enterprise.
I know what you’re thinking – Donald J. Trump is no longer President, the Pandemic seems to be mostly handled, we’re back as a country, and we can go back to paying very little attention to political things. I beg to differ.
I, like many, was shocked into action with the election of our 45th President, spending much volunteer time and significant sawbucks over the last four years to support progressive candidates and causes. I worked with and met many fine activists working with local chapters of the national organizations Sister District (SD CA-3) and Indivisible (Indivisible Yolo). In 2017, we helped dramatically change the Virginia legislature from 2/3 Republican to nearly even. In 2018, we helped with the “blue wave” that brought Democratic control of the House as well as flipping hundreds of state legislative seats. In 2019, we helped flip the Virginia legislature, resulting in a variety of progressive policies being enacted. In 2020, we helped defeat Donald Trump and helped get to razor-thin Democratic control of the Senate.
So though we’ve accomplished a lot we cannot yet just sit back and enjoy our lives. We cannot yet rest on our laurels. Think of the January attempted coup. Margins in the Senate are paper thin, margins in the House not much better. We must continue the effort to save our Democracy – our current position is still much too fragile and frightening.
What to do? Get involved in Sister District CA-3, Indivisible Yolo, and similar progressive groups. Phonebank, textbank, canvass (safely), write letters and postcards (SD CA-3 and IY have active groups doing all of this that will help to get you up to speed). We’re starting this month on the 2021 round of Virginia legislative elections, helping to preserve the gains there, with regular Saturday morning and Tuesday afternoon phonebanks (starting Saturday, 5/15). The midterm elections in 2022 will be absolutely crucial – we must, must retain control of the House and Senate. Donate what you can – early – to effective progressive and Democratic groups. To start go to sisterdistrictca3.org and/or indivisibleyolo.org and sign up for training and activities. Join us.
Tim Tutt is a member of the leadership team and a phonebank leader for Sister District CA-3. He is currently retired from a 40 year career in energy policy. He lived in Davis for 23 years starting in 1998, and recently moved to Oakland.