July Mono County Democrats Updates
- monocountydemocrat
- Jul 29
- 9 min read
In this newsletter:
Fellow Mono County community members,
So much for a summer lull here in the Eastern Sierra. I started my last newsletter (June 2025) this way, and it has proven to be true. There has been a lot going on here, and that pattern will continue for a while.
I don’t know about you who are reading this, but I, for one, am just thrilled that we here in Mono County are getting so much attention!
One thing we do know is that it is clear that people are angry and want to do something to stop the egregious actions being taken by the Trump administration. I can assure you that there is a lot going on behind the scenes now that will become apparent soon. However, there are things you can do now to help. I will keep you updated about actions that are coming up that you can help with, depending on your interests and abilities. And there will be more happening as we get close to the election.
I want to conclude with a quote that was read to us by a State Park Ranger at Mono Lake when I was there with Heidi Hall: “The long fight to save wild beauty represents democracy at its best. It requires citizens to practice the hardest of virtues – self-restraint.” Edwin Way Teale, Circle of the Seasons: The Journal of a Naturalist's Year
We, as Democrats, have to look out for and protect that which is in the common good. We can do that if we work together!
-Joyce Kaufman
Mono County Democratic Central Committee Chair
Chair: Joyce P. Kaufman (June Lake) jpkaufman70@gmail.com
Vice chair: Urs Willimann (Bridgeport) willimann.urs@gmail.com
Comptroller: OJ Zeleny (Mammoth Lakes) ojz@mac.com
Recording Secretary, Rosemarie Willimann (Bridgeport) rawillimann@yahoo.com
Mono County Events
July 4th Parade in Mammoth Lakes
As we have done for many years, the Mono Dems marched in the July 4th parade in Mammoth behind a banner that says “We the People….”
For those of you who are a little weak on American history, those are the first few words of the “Preamble” to the Constitution of the United States. Our theme for the parade was “We the people” as a message of unity and democracy. We had signs representing the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. At a time when so many of our rights are coming under attack, the Mono Dems thought that this would be the appropriate time and place, on the anniversary of the founding of our country, to go back to the principles upon which this country started.
Our signs were shorthand for the various amendments.
For example, Amendment One: Freedom of Speech; Amendment
Two: The Right to Bear Arms; etc.
In addition, we gave out red, white, and blue beads, small American flags, and copies of the Bill of Rights to the crowd. Outside of a few MAGA hats and one or two thumbs down, mostly we were greeted with a lot of love and even got “thank yous” from those watching.
We concluded that this was a very worthwhile thing to do, and plan to do it again next year. Anyone who wants to march with us will be welcome, so mark your calendar for July 4, 2026!
Political Updates Across California District 3
Jaron, elected supervisor from Tuolumne County, is running for Senate District 4, the seat currently held by Democrat-turned-Republican Marie Alvarado-Gil.
Jaron is young (33) and very energetic, and he has started his campaign the right way, reaching out to voters, and especially young voters, early. He was in our area from June 26 through June 28, starting with a “bike night” and dinner, which especially energized the younger voters. Younger voters are critical to preserving our democratic freedoms and are part of the Coalition Mammoth group that has organized most of the rallies in our area.
One of his last stops was a meet-and-greet and fundraiser at Chris Buber’s house, where he was able to meet with a larger group of supporters.
His campaign has reached out to me/us since his visit to ask whether we could help support his effort, specifically to help with phone banking across the district.
The link to sign up is here. They will provide training.
Heidi is running for Kevin Kiley’s Congressional seat in CD 3. Heidi is an elected County Supervisor in Nevada County and has already started to hit the ground running with her campaign.
It is important to note that at the convention, Democratic State Party Chair Rusty Hicks specifically identified CD 3 as one of the four CA districts we are working to flip. That is a good sign – it means we have their attention. Heidi’s campaign has just released a major poll which supports the contention that the district is flappable, and an article in SFGate illustrates more about CD 3, Kevin Kiley and his relationship to Trump, and why it is possible for a Democrat to win here.
From the time she announced her candidacy, Heidi started to organize and begin the process of raising money. But, perhaps of greater importance, she has been visiting the ten counties in the district to introduce herself and to listen. She was just in our area; she was in Markleeville on Friday, July 25. Alpine County has a population of about 1,200, and she spent time there. The last time Kevin Kiley was supposed to do a Town Hall in Markleeville, he cancelled at the last minute.
On Saturday, July 26, Heidi spent the day with us here in Mono County. We spent the morning at Mono Lake, where not only was she able to see that spectacular place, but she also learned about the water issues that continue, and could see first-hand the impact if Trump-aligned Republicans were to go through with their threat to privatize what is now public federal lands. Kiley initially supported selling our public lands until he changed his position in the face of extreme public outrage from all sides.
Next, Heidi went to County Park to help celebrate Kootzaduka'a Day with the tribe, and heard about their ongoing quest for federal recognition, something that was promised by our last three Republican Congressmen, and which has not yet happened.
She ended with a meet-and-greet in Mammoth, where about 25 people had the opportunity to listen to her positions on a range of issues, and to ask questions about things that are important here in our area: immigration, protecting public lands, housing and homelessness, the rising cost of fire insurance, etc. What was perhaps most impressive was that she had thought about many of these things and had ideas about what she could/would do as our member of Congress to address them, and, in those cases, where she had not thought about the issue, she listened. In fact, she listened to what we had to say and to our concerns, a response we have not yet gotten from Kevin Kiley during the time he has been serving in this position. (he was first elected in 2022).
One thing to remember as you think about Heidi and kicking out Kiley is that we really need to focus on a candidate who will represent US! Kevin Kiley has shown us that he is not that person. Heidi is reaching out to us early in her candidacy, which is a good sign. As we all know, Kevin Kiley has never done a town hall in this area, and does not seem to know or care what we think. Heidi is already making an effort to get to know all of CD 3, including those of us in the more sparsely populated areas.
Remember that the primary will be in June 2026 (about ten months away), and the top two finishers will compete in the general election in November. We know that Kiley has already started raising funds, and if you are on his mailing list (and let me suggest you sign up so you can see the way he describes himself and his positions), you can see the ways in which he spins his positions so that they seem positive or at least reasonable and moderate. It does not take much to realize that this is spin; further, if you tried to reach his office, you know he does not respond to constituents’ concerns, especially if you are a member of the “other” party.
While Kiley runs away from us, Heidi is reaching out to us. Who do you want to represent you?
Betty Yee is one of the candidates for Governor of California. She has been serving as Comptroller for the State of California and has a very good understanding of the budget and finances. She is one of many candidates for the office, and because of her personal ties to Chris, she reached out to us so she can come to Inyo and Mono to learn more about what our concerns are.
This is NOT a fundraiser, but is a “listening tour.” She will be at Chris’s house for a discussion and dialogue on the afternoon of September 13.
In other candidate news...
Josh Newman, Candidate for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, attended our July meeting. I was not there, but I understand that there was a very good discussion about the state of education in California.
Upcoming: We have two potential candidates for other offices who will be joining us for our August meeting (August 11 at 5:00 on Zoom). First up, at around 5:05, will be Janelle Kellman, who is running for the position of Lt. Governor. She will be followed at around 5:30 by Tyler Vandenburg, who recently declared that he, too, plans to run for Congress against Kevin Kiley.
Ways to get involved
Continued protests
With thanks to the energy provided by the young women who head up Coalition Mammoth, there have been a number of successful rallies here in Mammoth. Perhaps the largest was “No Kings,” which was part of a nationwide protest day on June 14, which is not only Flag Day but also Donald Trump's birthday. There were about 550 people in Mammoth, lining both sides of 203. It was impressive and an indicator of the amount of anger people have toward what is going on under this administration. There have been other rallies as well, and please check your e-mail and our Mono Dems social media pages, where we post these upcoming events.
Get involved with the California State Democratic Party (CADEM)
CADEM is rolling out a series of trainings for people who want to get more involved. This is the information to sign up for any of the trainings, which are free:
Sessions are online, free and open to anyone who shares our mission.
And this is just the beginning!
Tuesday, July 29th: Digital Organizing
Tuesday, August 26th: Rural Organizing
Tuesday, September 16th: Messaging to Swing Voters
Tuesday, October 21st: Using the New and Improved PDI
Tuesday, November 18th: Volunteer Recruitment and Engagement
Tuesday, December 16th: TBA
We’ll also be rolling out a full series of events in the months ahead, including town halls, phonebanks, canvasses, and house parties to build grassroots power across California.
Sign up here to stay updated on how you can be involved every step of the way.
Phone banking
CADEM is sponsoring phone banks that will reach out to newly registered Democrats in the four targeted districts. They will be held once a month on Thursdays from 6:00 – 7:30. In addition to our district, they are focused on flipping the seats currently held by Young Kim in Orange County, Ken Calvert in the Palm Springs area, and David Valadao, in the Central Valley. All of these are seen as flippable.
If you want to help, click here to join. Training is provided before calling.
There will be more opportunities to get involved as we get closer to the election.
Until then, most of our organizing here in CD 3 comes from the ROC, the Regional Organizing Council, headed by Sue Hilderbrand from the State Party. If you want to learn more about what you can do to help now, I urge you to check out the ROC Orientation, which is on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00. You can register here.
Not only will this give you more information about the ROC and what we are doing, but it also has a number of ways you can get involved depending on your time and interests. If nothing else, it offers great insight into what is going on behind the scenes.
There will be more to do as we get closer to the election, so stay tuned! And get in touch with me if you are interested in helping with any of our efforts. As I said, it’s going to be busy this summer, but I think if we continue to work together, we can flip the district, find leaders who want to better represent the wants and needs of all of CD3, and help restore some sanity to at least our little part of the world.