One of the pivotal moments in recent San Diego politics occurred when weekly protests started taking place outside Congressman Darrell Issa’s Vista office.
The crowd size varied widely, but people still showed up every week. The Congressman tried to use his influence to shut down the protests: he failed, thanks to the ACLU. I think the weekly crowds deserve credit for Issa’s decision not to run for re-election.
Counterprotesters showed up: a friendly rivalry emerged. More to the point, a real effort was made to keep things civil. The San Diego County Sheriff’s office did their best to put a thumb on the scale; the tickets they wrote were contested one at a time in court.
Most importantly, networks of activists emerged from the regular protests. The electoral contest to replace Issa has inspired a door-to-door effort respected nationwide. Other campaigns in the region have drawn on the reservoir of enthusiam to bolster their campaigns. And the once-unthinkable dominion of Duncan Hunter came to be questioned.
So it only seems appropriate those activists have chosen to return to their origins to begin their get out the vote efforts on election day.
Indivisible 49 will hold one more rally outside the district office of Rep. Darrell Issa. Leaders of the coalition that hosted 65 weekly protests, and helped push Issa to retire, will honor nearly two years of volunteer effort and stand with Democrat Mike Levin to replace Issa in Washington.
Prominent activist Alyssa Milano, who has endorsed and donated to Levin, will join the rally. Immediately after the rally, volunteers will deploy to various locations in CA49 and canvass to get out the vote until polls close at 8 PM.
How sweet it is.
A half-dozen high schools and colleges in the region have students signed up to participate in walkouts at schools across the nation on Nov. 6 to make sure young people get to the polls in record numbers.
Attendees at Otay Ranch, Olympian, Eastlake, University City, Westview, Rancho Bernardo and Temecula Valley High Schools, along with Palomar College will be leaving classes on Tuesday.
They’ve set their sights on making sure Tuesday’s midterm election sends “a bold message to politicians and the country,” the youth-led Future Coalition—an alliance that includes March For Our Lives and National School Walkout.
On Election Day at 10am local time, a call-to-action explains
“…students in high schools and colleges across the country will walk out of class and march to the polls to cheer each other on as those eligible cast their votes. By bringing together young people across communities, issues, and organizations, we will ensure young people show up to the polls in record numbers and send a bold message to politicians and the country that young people are unified in our demand for change. Even if students aren’t old enough to vote, they are still encouraged to lead and participate in the walkout to help make our message heard.”
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Doug Porter
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I did not know about the “friendly rivalry” between protesters and counter protesters at Issa’s office. That is heartwarming. So, too, the rally, and the students’ organized walk out vote. Thank you for this positive post and all you have done for this election, Doug Porter.