Written by Sandra Marshall | 01 June 2009

On Saturday, June 27, members of the Progressive Caucus for the California Democratic Party will gather in San Luis Obispo for a “Solidarity Summit.” This will be the first gathering of the caucus since the Convention at which the election of the new board members took place. Karen Bernal was elected as Chair; her first act is to bring all officers and members together before the E-Board meeting in July.
All progressive Democrats who are interested in joining the Caucus are also invited to attend. The gathering will take place in the Ludwick Community Center located at 864 Santa Rosa St in San Luis Obispo from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.  An evening program/speaker may be announced.

When asked about the summit agenda, Bernal said, “From this gathering and others, the Progressive Caucus hopes to strengthen solidarity on the issues most important to us. There is much to discuss and work on together – from reviewing our Platform, to setting Caucus priorities, to nuts and bolts organizing – and that’s just a start. We all need to be on the same page from here on out, if we are going to be an effective mechanism for positive change within the Party. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us – we need you!”

Locally, Sandra Marshall, the meeting coordinator for the Progressive Democrats of San Luis Obispo County, is hoping this will ignite the local group. “We’ve had a hard time re-uniting since the election.  People are busy and unclear as how to be effective. The board members of the Progressive Caucus are some of the powerful influences in the course of the party. I hope that locals will come out and get involved. This is a chance to see real democracy in action and learn from the best because we can be the change that is needed in our county.”
For more information, San Luis Obispo Progressive Democrats can call 544-5135 or visit the website of the Progressive Caucus:  www.progressivecaucuscdp.org.

CDC Training in Grover Beach
On the following day, Sunday, June 28, the California Democratic Council (CDC) will hold its training for area grassroots activists from 8:00am-7:00pm at the Grover Beach Community Center, 1230 Trouville Ave., Grover Beach. The workshop is Free. Lunch and refreshments will be provided (requested donation of $10.00 will help cover food and materials). This is an excellent, comprehensive program. This intense training consists of a variety of workshops for club/party leaders and political activists who want to advance their leadership roles in the Democratic Party or are just getting started! Areas to be covered include: The California Democratic Party Structure, How to Run a Meeting, Club Finances, How to Stay Out of Jail, Fundraising Fundamentals and Guidelines, Fundraising Ideas & Projects, Increasing and Keeping Your Membership, Recruiting Candidates for Local Office, Technology and Clubs and The Progressive Challenge.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP by June 25, 2009. To regiser: http://www.cdc-ca.org/Training/.  DO NOT RSVP unless you can stay the entire day! Our speakers have committed their time for this workshop and travel from around the state. This is a long day of intense training, but to ensure future training, we would like you to respect our speaker’s time investment!