Democratic Club

By Mary Larson

LW Contributor

Since Democratic Club cannot meet in person to discuss issues, the group would like to highlight some issues that are of interest to the Democratic party both in Orange County and the rest of the United States.

The Democratic Party of Orange County passed a broad, comprehensive reform resolution that requires endorsed candidates to commit to introducing legislation for racial justice and equity. Orange County’s chief health officer resigned after facing push back from Orange County Board of Supervisor Chair Michelle Steel and others for her order to require face coverings for the public. The newly appointed chief health officer has reversed the mandated mask order, suggesting that masks are only recommended, but not mandatory.

The Republican National Committee has sought a preliminary injunction to block Gov. Newsom’s order calling for every registered voter in the state to receive a mail-in ballot for the November election. Democrats are mounting a new effort to push back against a well-funded campaign at both the state and national level that seeks to undermine public confidence in mail-in voting.

Also, at the federal level, two members of the House (one Republican and one Democrat) have introduced the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which they say would restore the original intent of the 1871 Civil Rights Act. More recently, Democrats in the House introduced a new Justice in Policing Act, the text of which can be found at https://judiciary.house.gov/uploadedfiles/justice_in_policing_ act_of_2020.pdf

When it comes to policing, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy identified three possible points of common ground with Democrats: raising the level of officer training by linking training standards to federal money, requiring more transparency about misconduct al- -legations so police officers can’t escape past problems by moving to another city, and making it easier to remove bad officers.

Leisure World’s representative in Congress, Harley Rouda, has been working tirelessly on all of the above issues. He has condemned rhetoric and actions of hate in our community from his first day in office and has recently written about Orange County’s history of white supremacy and anti-Semitism that cannot and should not be swept under the rug.

For more information about any or all of these issues, LW Democrats and their supporters are invited to subscribe to the club’s newsletter by emailing lwsbdemocraticclub@gmail.com or calling the editor at (562) 296-8521.