‘We want to eradicate MAGA': SLO County Democratic leaders plan strategy for November
Some of the Central Coast’s most powerful Democratic politicians recently gathered in San Luis Obispo to talk party strategy.
The SLO County Democratic Party held a two-hour “What’s the Plan?” town hall on Saturday. The ticketed, Democrats-only event featured prominent Central Coast legislative and congressional leaders, including Congressman Salud Carbajal, Assemblymembers Dawn Addis and Gregg Hart, and state Sens. Monique Limón and John Laird.
“What we are here to do is kind of get the big picture,” said Tom Fulks, chair of the SLO County Democratic Party. “We’re all activists, we’re all here, we’re part of the Democratic Party because we care about our country, we care about our community, and we want to eradicate MAGA from every corner of our democracy.”
The five politicians answered questions from the crowd on the party’s policy platform in the wake of California’s Primary Election and looking ahead to the Nov. 3 General Election as Democrats prepare to compete in city council, school board and special district seats across San Luis Obispo County.
At Odd Fellows’ Chorro Lodge in SLO, more than 100 people gathered to listen to the conversation, as well as local Democratic lawmakers including SLO Mayor Erica Stewart, Grover Beach Mayor Kassi Dee, SLO County Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Dawn Ortiz-Legg and supervisor candidate Jim Dantona.
Under a string of blue lanterns, Limón, the leader of the California State Senate, said she remained focused on moving Democratic values forward — such as protecting the environment, increasing good-paying union jobs and upholding voting rights and access — all amid a challenging budget year.
“My job is to work with the leader of the Assembly and our governor in a very direct way to make sure that we get through these difficult times, not just that we are surviving these difficult times, but that we still find ways to thrive,” she said.
Addis said local legislators hold more power than ever before due to the newly formed Central Coast caucus, composed of lawmakers representing counties along the coast ranging from Santa Cruz all the way down to Ventura.
“It is the first time in history that we’ve had a formalized relationship across both houses, where we work together to bring legislation forward that we know is not just right for California, but is specifically right for the Central Coast to bring your voices to the Capitol,” she said.
At the federal level, Carbajal said Democrats have to hone in on the affordability crisis in California and across the country.
“This president, instead of focusing on the issue of cost of living, he’s focusing on vanity projects, an arch, a luxury ballroom, even his advocacy for an insurrection fund to pay his insurrectionists. He’s doing everything possible, but not focusing on the crisis at hand,” Carbajal said.
Central Coast Democrats push back oil pipeline effort
Despite hits to environmental regulation at the federal level, Democratic leaders at the event said they still had levers of power —and they must keep fighting — to prevent the Trump administration from harming the state’s coastline.
In March, California sued the administration for ordering Sable Corp., a Texas-based energy company, to restart an oil pipeline on the Central Coast. However, Sable was allowed to begin production again after the Trump administration invoked emergency powers under the Defense Production Act.
The pipeline was previously shut down after a massive oil spill in 2015.
Hart said the Trump administration was taking a “shoot and then aim” approach to relaunching the pipeline that transports oil from the Gaviota Coast through San Luis Obispo County to Kern County.
“The idea that they’re going to come in and basically destroy all California’s environmental regulations and ignore the law and pump oil through a damaged pipeline that was never properly repaired is absurd,” he said.
Carbajal agreed and said the administration was using the Defense Production Act to “reward their oil cronies,” by uplifting Sable to stomp on environmental safeguards.
“This is the type of administration we have, but come this November, we’re going to reverse all of this crap that they have started,” Carbajal said.
Local Democratic leaders back legislation to disrupt ICE
Addis said legislators are working on several bills to limit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mass deportation efforts, when lawmakers were asked about the economic impact of the federal agency.
The Assembly recently advanced 22 anti-ICE measures, including bills to prosecute people who impersonate immigration agents, require ICE to put its agency name on rental cars used during operations and prevent private prison companies running ICE detention facilities from receiving tax breaks.
Limón said there was no doubt the federal immigration enforcement agency was economically impacting the region, but she said the human impact of ICE’s actions “will be felt for generations to come.”
“As someone who has stood in front of an ICE detention center with families that have been victimized ... the impact to people is very deep,” she said. “The impact to communities is very deep. We have seen our school districts suffer in a great way.”
Carbajal urged the audience to vote more Democrats into office in the General Election to return checks and balances to the federal government.
“He’s trampling on our civil rights, sending his ICE, brutality and terror in our communities,” Carbajal said. “This is the administration we have, and we’re going to kick their ass come this November.”
