Statement from Jessica Yas Barker, President of the Board

San Fernando Valley Young Democrats

For Immediate Release
October 23, 2017

Contact: [email protected]

Like many of you, my Board and I have read the flood of stories about sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace that have resulted from the #MeToo campaign on social media. While it is jarring to see women who we encounter in everyday life- many of them friends and colleagues- share their experiences, this most recent outcry has caused even more pause and self-reflection as it has come from our very own California political community.  

6/5/2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]

San Fernando Valley Young Democrats Express Disappointment in Valley Assemblymembers Bocanegra and Dababneh for Failing to Support AB 378

Last week, AB 378, which sought to extend California’s trailblazing cap-and-trade program, failed in the California State Assembly by just three votes. The members of the San Fernando Valley Young Democrats express our deep disappointment and consternation that Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) opposed the bill and that Assemblymember Matthew Dababneh (D-Encino) failed to submit a vote. As young community activists, we feel a special duty to hold our elected officials accountable and to speak out when faced with the prospect of irreversible environmental degradation for our generation and generations to come. 

We are especially disappointed because AB 378 was designed to guide extra funding to socio-economically disadvantaged communities, like much of Assemblymember Bocanegra’s district, that disproportionately bear the impact of environmental damage.

At a time when the United States federal government is withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord and denying fundamental climate science, California should and must be leading the way in fighting global climate change. Unfortunately, last week’s vote on AB 378 undermined California’s role in that fight and represented another big win for the fossil fuel industry which funds the campaigns of too many legislators of both parties, including Assemblymembers Dababneh and Bocanegra. 

We call upon Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra and Assemblymember Matthew Dababneh to stand up for future generations, the most vulnerable among us, and our planet, rather than serving the interests of their powerful fossil fuel industry contributors. We expect better from California Democrats, and the residents of the San Fernando Valley deserve better from their elected representatives.

We call upon our members to contact the Assemblymembers to share their disappointment and to insist that that their future votes are in line with protecting our environment.  Dababneh (District 45) Tel: (818) 904-3840; Bocanegra (District 39) Tel:(818) 365-2464. 
 

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