The 2018 Organize Win Legislate Sacramento Board Elections will be held on Tuesday, January 9 @ 6 pm at SacTown Union Brewery.
Address: 1210 66th St B, Sacramento, CA 95819
Per the OWLS bylaws, elections for all nine board positions are held every January at the monthly general meeting. The duties of each officer are outlined in those same bylaws, which can be found here.
Each dues-paying member of OWLS in good standing who has attended at least one previous OWLS meeting is entitled to one vote. The positions are:
Chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Political Vice-Chair
Field Vice-Chair
Communications Vice-Chair
Fundraising Vice-Chair
Training Vice-Chair
Outreach Vice-Chair
OWLS encourages those interested in running for the board to submit a candidate statement to owldemssacramento@gmail.com. Candidate statements will be posted on this webpage within two days of receipt. Please keep candidate statements under 400 words or they will be cut off.
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
Statements are not required and may not reflect all candidates who will be running for the board.
CHAIR
Liah Burnley
Climate change is real. Health care is a human right. Equal pay for women is common sense. Elections should not be bought. Immigrants are makers not takers. Yet, our Republican congress and ignorant President refuse to comprehend these simple facts.
Nevertheless, we fought back. In 2017, we witnessed the power of our activism when swaths of progressive candidates won elections and a Democrat secured a deep-red Senate seat in Alabama—proving that our government is by the people, for the people. From its inception, OWLS has distinguished itself as a key player in the grassroots movement. Indeed, OWLS gave me courage when I felt fear after the 2016 elections.
My interest in serving as Chair stems from my involvement in OWLS and my professional work. I have been an active member of many OWLS issue committees, from day one, and as Chair of the Racial and Social Justice Committee, I organized voter registration, educational forums, and wrote support letters for legislation. Currently, I work in policy and am professionally trained in organizing, advocacy, and coalition
building. As an attorney, I have substantive experience litigating in federal courts on issues including freedom of speech and religion, governmental immunities, due process, equal protection, and more. As a college athlete and coach, I’ve learned a thing or two about winning. Here is what we need to prevail in 2018:
*Strategic Playbook. Rather than burning our energy on one-off tactics, I will work with the board to develop a strategic roadmap so that all of our efforts twine together to accomplish our goals.
*Powerful Defense. I will work with the issue committees to mobilize around a progressive agenda, hold our representatives accountable, make our policy demands clear, and ensuring all voices are heard.
*Strong Offence. We can transform the Blue Wave into a Tsunami by getting more democrats than ever on the ballots in 2018. We must identify potential candidates and encourage them to run every level, from school board to congress.
*Teamwork. Our future relies on our continued grassroots power. I will promote an active and involved membership by strengthening our issue committees.
Let’s face it— the upcoming months present significant challenges. We must win incumbent races and pick up traditionally conservative seats all while continuing the resistance. But together we will take on Trump by Organizing, Winning and Legislating! I hope that you vote for me as OWLS Chair.
COMMUNICATIONS VICE-CHAIR
Liz Anderson
Organize Win Legislate was the political organization that kept me engaged through the treacherous year of 2017. The organization taught me about grassroots politics and government and offered unique leadership opportunity. Very quickly, my passion for STEM outreach and corporate responsibility bled into politics. I knew that I needed to get involved differently because our current administration is ignoring the facts and research around the future of my career industry including cyber security, misinformation, artificial intelligence, and the social impact from the rapid growth of innovative technologies. As Chair of the Science, Technology, and Environment Committee (STE), OWLS allowed me to focus on my passions while contributing my professional expertise for the better of the community.
As Communications Vice-Chair, my priority will be to keep OWLS engagement far and wide. I will get started with these top issues:
*Email correspondence. One of the biggest problem OWLS faces is communication and engagement outside of Facebook. Regular email correspondence will help OWLS engage members who do not frequent social media. After appointed, I will send out a regularly scheduled email with updates and information about our issue committees, accomplishments, collaborations, and upcoming events.
*Revamp the website. With my skills as an application developer, I will transform the OWLS website into a tool to stay engaged with the fast paced political atmosphere that is inevitable for 2018. Clear content is top priority. The website will contain direct access to updated information on endorsements, legislation, and candidates. The goal is to have our website act as a resume for OWLS, presenting how we directly make impact on legislation and candidates.
*Create a Communications Committee. When I was appointed Chair of the Science, Technology, and Environment Committee (STE), OWLS members helped us take the committees ideas to completion by giving me full control of communications and outreach for STE’s events under the OWLS official account. This made it easier to keep the ball rolling, information accurate, and everyone engaged. The Communications Committee will be formed to discuss communication strategy along with guidelines to be followed on social media for the Issue Committee Chairs.
I hope that I have your vote for Communications Vice-Chair! Please contact me or join the first Communications Committee meeting to discuss how to make OWLS Communications better for the next year.
OUTREACH VICE-CHAIR
Scarlette Bustos