John--

I’m going to say it - our leaders are phenomenal.

Over the past 2 months, We Are California leaders have been on the phones and out in their communities talking to voters about the type of California we can create-- a California where the wealthy pay their fair share, where all our families are taken care of, where housing is affordable and safe, and where our air and water are clean. 

In these 8 weeks, We Are California leaders have contacted over 10,000 voters, collected over 8,000 community surveys, and recruited nearly 400 volunteers.

Today, I wanted to introduce you to some of the incredible leaders that are part of our people-powered movement.

Left to right: Brooke Ervin of Community Coalition, Juan Carlos Hernandez of InnerCity Struggle, and Ms. Demita Burgess of COPE. Art by artist-in-residence Angelica Frausto (@NerdyBrownKid).

Meet Brooke, the Volunteer Manager at Community Coalition in South LA. She describes the community where she works as strong. As a formerly incarcerated woman, Brooke finds that organizing gives her a deep sense of purpose. Her work is driven by her incarcerated sisters and her family. She recalls watching her grandfather, who was a sharecropper in the South, organize meetings to help his community: “If they can make it out of that, we can make it out of this -- and I mean “we” because there’s power when we come together.”

Meet Juan Carlos, the Integrated Voter Engagement Coordinator at InnerCity Struggle in Eastside Los Angeles. They describe the community where they work as resilient and believe that talking to voters is important because they get to connect with people who don’t usually have time to discuss politics. To Juan Carlos, the We are California movement means being part of something bigger: “This is how we build the infrastructure for our communities to survive...How beautiful is it that there are so many like-minded people from different parts of the state that are all working towards the same thing?”

Meet Ms. Demita, a veteran canvasser and Civic Engagement Coordinator at COPE in Riverside and San Bernardino. She describes her community as “needing and wanting to be engaged.” Ms. Demita has been doing civic engagement work since 2010 and truly enjoys connecting with people: “We’re in this together and when we come together we have a greater chance of success for wonderful and victorious outcomes.”

It is leaders like Brooke, Juan Carlos, and Ms. Demita who drive our movement. Help us work with even more community leaders by donating to support our work. Any contribution-- $3, $5, or $10-- would help us reach more voters so that we can create a California for all.

Together,

Victor Suarez, We Are California