May Mono County Democrats Updates
- monocountydemocrat
- May 20
- 6 min read
In this newsletter:
Fellow Mono County community members,
Now that the weather is (sort of) getting warmer and it is possible to part on city streets again, the Mono Dems are starting to plan an in-person get-together. We would like this to be as inclusive as possible, and all like-minded people will be invited. We plan to invite Kevin Kiley as well, although we anticipate he will not attend. I will keep you posted as the plans for this event unfold.
Our Mono Dems meetings take place the second Monday of the month at 5:00 on Zoom. Our next meeting will be Monday, June 9. We have been pleased that so many people have wanted to attend our meetings to learn more about what we are doing, and we are always happy to welcome guests.
Please get in touch with me (jpkaufman70@gmail.com) or any of our officers listed below if you would like to join, and we will get you the Zoom link.
As challenging as these political times are, they are also exciting, as more and more of us realize that we want to do more than whine and complain and take some action. And there is, and will be, plenty to do.
Remember that you are not alone.
-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 will be marching in the July 4th parade in Mammoth. This year, we will not have a car, truck, or a float of any kind, but will be marching behind a banner that says “We the People….”
"We the People" are the first few words of the “Preamble” to the Constitution of the United States. We chose the theme of “We the People” for the parade as a message of unity and democracy. We will be making signs representing the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
According to the National Archives, the Bill of Rights “spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. And it specifies that ‘the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.’”
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 will all be shorthand for the various amendments. For example, Amendment One: Freedom of Speech; Amendment Two: The Right to Bear Arms; etc. In addition to carrying signs, as always, we will be handing out red, white, and blue beads to the crowd, and also small paper versions of the Bill of Rights. We hope that these send a message as to what is important to us - ALL of us.
If you are interested in marching with us, please send an email to jpkaufman70@gmail.com no later than Friday, June 13.
We hope to meet for a sign painting party prior to the event, and this will give us time to plan that. If you don’t want to join us for sign painting and would like to march, that is not a problem. Show up, anyway! We would love a large turnout.
Let’s show Mammoth, Mono County, and everyone who is there what we stand for!
Hands Off - and Hands on in Mammoth Lakes and Bishop
A new group in town, Coalition Mammoth, organized the Hands-Off Rally in Mammoth on April 5th, and a second one in Mammoth on April 19th. The Mono Dems are happy to support this group and look forward to more collaborations.
There will be another Hands Off rally on June 14th across the nation, and we will share local information as soon as we have it.
Stay tuned!
Political Updates Across California District 3
This is another relatively new group that came to both Bishop and Mammoth to highlight what they are doing. This is the California arm of the League of Conservation Voters, and they have recently hired a young woman named Renna Hickey to work directly with the Sierra counties and CD 3.
They have created a new political action committee called the Sierra Protection Pac, which will be able to raise money to help down-ballot candidates such as County Supervisor, Town Council, School Board, etc.
Chris Bubser hosted a brunch at her house on Saturday morning, May 10, to introduce Renna and some of her colleagues to us, and so that we could meet her and learn more about what her group and the PAC are doing. Contact Chris at chris@chrisbubser.com if you would like more information.
We were joined at our monthly meeting on March 12 by Jaron Brandon, County Supervisor in Tuolumne County and candidate for Senate District 4, Marie Alvarado-Gil’s (MAG) seat. Some of you remember that MAG ran for Senate as a Democrat and then she switched parties to Republican. She was also embroiled in a scandal, with her then-chief-of-staff suing her for sexual harassment.
Although the election is not until 2026, with the primary in June 2026, Jaron is already gearing up by reaching out to Central Committees in the district and speaking to other groups. Jaron is young (33) and very energetic, and is already in his second term as a supervisor.
He was mentored by our own Chris Bubser, Stacy Corliss, and Bob Gardner, so he feels very positive about us. Although the Mono Dems are not quite ready to endorse anyone yet, we were very impressed by him. Those of us who will be at the state party convention (Chris, Lou, Dou,g and I) will meet up with him again then.
Kevin Kiley continues to highlight all he has done as a representative, although most of it is about him and not what he has done for us.
If anything he says or does outrages you, and there is so much to be outraged about, please contact his office and let him know how you feel. His office will check to make sure you are in the district, so if you leave a voicemail, be sure to leave information about where you live. Even if you talk to someone, it will probably be a less-than-satisfying encounter, but Congressional offices do keep track of calls and e-mails.
Ways to reach Kevin:
E-mail his office at https://kiley.house.gov/. Don’t expect a response, but it is important to let him know what you think about his positions.
Call his local office or his DC office.
Phone numbers for his Rocklin office are: 916-724-2575 and toll-free 888-406-3855.
Phone number for his DC office is 202-225-2523.
Write a Letter to the Editor in The Sheet, The Mammoth Times, and/or the Inyo Register.
I just had a letter published in the Sheet about Kevin Kiley’s comments about how Californians need a choice in what car they drive. The point I made in my LTE was that Kiley believes in choice in cars, but not when it comes to reproductive rights. That stuff just writes itself!
If you want to do more, the CD 3 Regional Organizing Council (ROC), which we are part of, has a number of committees that need help. There is a committee for messaging, voter registration, research (which I head), and others that all focus on ways we can develop and get out a consistent message that will help us not only get rid of Kiley, but replace him with a candidate who is more attuned to and consistent with the values of all of his constituents in CD 3.
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.
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