November Mono County Democrats Updates

monocountydemocrat
Nov 24
6 min read

In this newsletter:

Fellow Mono County community members,

Well, the election is over, and Proposition 50, the redistricting proposition, passed in California with about 64% “yes” votes. Here in Mono County, it passed by a margin of about 59% yes to 41% no, not too shabby. In neighboring Inyo, the vote was 52% no to about 48% yes – so there clearly is work to do there. Turnout here in Mono County was relatively low, about 55%, with younger voters turning out in lower numbers than older voters, which is the pattern we would expect and will need to think about going into 2026, when we will need every voter to turn out.

Deepest thanks to those of you who helped with the get-out-the-vote effort on Prop 50 by phone banking and/or canvassing. This was a major effort that involved literally thousands of volunteers across the State of California, and I know from phone banking, we had people from outside California who helped out because they thought it was so important. And those efforts paid off!

It is clear that people are angry and want to do something to stop the egregious actions being taken by the Trump administration. With Prop 50 behind us, the question many are asking is what comes next? Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to that question yet. There was so much momentum behind getting Prop 50 passed that it eclipsed all other issues. So, the efforts that were underway to unseat Kevin Kiley in CD 3 all came to a grinding halt, at least for now.

There are already discussions within the CD 3 Regional Organizing Council (ROC) about next steps, including broadening from what was just CD 3 to a Sierra Regional Organizing Council that can work to ensure that even in “safe” districts, Democrats are elected. And of course, there are other races going on at all levels, from the state to local contests. We have seen the damage that a school board can do when it tries to ban books or take over a curriculum. So, we still have work to do. Right now, however, I am not clear on what form the next set of actions will take – but stay tuned, and I will let you know. We will continue to need your help!

Even though Prop 50 is behind us, there is still work to do. 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

Post Prop 50

What do the Prop 50 results mean for Mono County?

As a result of the passage of Prop 50, Inyo and Mono Counties will become part of the new Congressional District 5, a seat currently held by Republican Tom McClintock. It will now be Republican +20, and is a district that went for Trump by a margin of 59% to 38%.

According to the terms of Prop 50, the new district will be in place until after the 2030 census, when the drawing of lines will once again return to the purview of the non-partisan independent redistricting commission. The latest rumor is that Kevin Kiley is thinking of running in that district to primary McClintock, probably since the new CD 3 will be heavily Democratic. But that is just a rumor for now.

Kiley has been running to the middle lately. If you saw or heard him on CNN, MSNBC, “The Daily,” or any other outlet, he certainly sounds more moderate and reasonable than his votes or his previous positions have been. No doubt whether he stays in the new CD 3 or decides to primary McClintock, he has calculated that moving to the middle is the smart political move. And Kiley is nothing if not a smart politician! In fact, after being in office since 2022, Lynn Boulton told us that he has just put forward legislation in support of federal recognition for the Kootzaduka’a tribe, something which our previous members of Congress (Paul Cook and Jay Obernolte) have promised but not succeeded at doing.

There is one Democrat who has stepped up to run in the new CD 5 so far. His name is Michael Masuda, and he plans to join us at our monthly meeting on December 8. Our meetings are open to the public, and please get in touch with me if you would like to join the meeting, and I will send you the relevant information.

More election information

The next step in the election process will be the primary election, which will be held on June 2.

As you probably know, California has what is known as a “jungle primary,” where all the candidates are on the same ballot and the top-two vote getters, regardless of party, are on the ballot in November. Before the primary, the California Democratic Party (CDP or CADEM) holds an endorsing convention where the candidates for various offices try to get the endorsement of 50% of the delegates.

When we had the Senate race in 2024, the four candidates running for that office each made statements to the delegates who then voted, but none got the required 50% so there was no officially endorsed candidate.

As an FYI, the Mono Dems have four delegates who can attend the convention in February; prior to the convention, we can decide whether we want to endorse a candidate running for any office, although we do not have to. What is important to remember is that if there is a candidate endorsed by the State Party at the convention, then s/he becomes the candidate we, the Mono Dems, officially endorse.

Because candidates are seeking the endorsement of County Committees like ours, we have had a steady stream of candidates who have reached out to us to speak at our monthly meetings. It is always nice to know that candidates recognize the Mono Dems and want to talk with us.

Our last meeting featured Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, who is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Right now, we have three candidates tentatively scheduled to join the December 8 meeting, including Michael Masuda. At that meeting, we will probably be joined by Ben Allen, who is planning to run for Insurance Commissioner, and Nichelle Henderson, who also plans to run for Superintendent of Public Instruction in addition to Masuda. Another candidate for that position, Josh Newman, also joined us at a previous meeting.

Once I confirm with the participants in December, I will include each of them on the agenda with the time that they will be joining us. Let me know if you would like to attend our meeting, and I will send you the agenda and Zoom link.

I will certainly let you all know if we decide to endorse a candidate for any position, and if so, who. Similarly, following the February CDP endorsing convention, I will let you know if the State Party has made an endorsement for any position from Governor down the line.

In other news

One of the topics of discussion at our November meeting was thinking about ways in which the Mono Dems can work more closely with the leaders of Coalition Mammoth. That has been the group spearheading many of the No Kings and other rallies, which have been quite successful at energizing our community. It is led by a group of young women who came together to support environmental and social justice issues outside the formal political party structure. And while the Mono Dems and Coalition Mammoth have similar goals and values, we really have not collaborated as much as we could or should.

As a result of that discussion, I reached out to Emily Markstein, one of the founders of Coalition Mammoth, to invite her and some of her colleagues to join us at our January meeting. That followed a conversation that Chris Bubser and I had had with Emily about finding ways to work together. The meeting in January will be an important next step.

Coalition Mammoth will be hosting a Family Dinner on December 4th, 2025. All are welcome! It will be a great way to bring our community together.