We also heard surrogates for Kamala Harris and Alberto Torrico, who are running for Attorney General, and Tom Torlakson, who is running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Additionally, we talked to Assemblymen Hector De La Torre and Dave Jones, who are running for Insurance Commissioner.

Lieutenant Governor:

• Hon. Janice Hahn

Secretary of State:

• Hon. Debra Bowen

Attorney General:

• Mr. Chris Kelly
• Hon. Ted Lieu
• Hon. Pedro Nava

Insurance Commissioner:

• Hon. Hector De La Torre

State Treasurer:

• Hon. Bill Lockyer

State Superintendent of Public Instruction:

• Mr. Larry Aceves

State Board of Equalization:

• Hon. Betty Yee

• Governor – No Endorsement
• Lieutenant Governor – Hon. Janice Hahn
• Secretary of State – Hon. Debra Bowen
• Attorney General – Hon. Kamala Harris
• State Controller – Hon. John Chiang
• Insurance Commissioner – Hon. Dave Jones
• State Treasurer – Hon. Bill Lockyer
• State Superintendent of Public Instruction – No Endorsement
• State Board of Equalization – Hon. Betty Yee
• United States Senate – Hon. Barbara Boxer

Cal Dems will vote for these candidates at the California Young Democrats’ endorsement meeting on February 27 (if applicable) and promote them during campus GOTV efforts.

• AB 656 would place a 9.9% “severance” fee on oil companies, which drill in our lands and profit from our resources. Currently, California is the only oil-producing state without such a fee. AB 656 would raise $1 billion, all of which would be reserved for higher education.

• The California Democracy Act would end minority rule in the state legislature by removing the two-thirds requirement for budgets and taxes. It would allow the majority to govern in accordance with democratic principles, and end the current gridlock in Sacramento.

• The military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy currently mandates the discharge of openly gay service members. DADT is both a national security problem and a moral problem. Under it, the military has expelled thousands of capable soldiers during wartime. Moreover, DADT condones homophobia and denigrates service members who risk their lives for their county.

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), already passed by the Senate, would bring meaningful and long-overdue reform to our health care system. It would move our nation closer to universal coverage, insuring 31 million Americans and reducing up to 45,000 unnecessary deaths per year. It would also institute consumer protections, and shield Americans from abusive practices like rescission, discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and annual or lifetime caps. PPACA would both expand coverage and lower costs, while actually reducing the deficit by more than a trillion dollars.

All four proposals have been added to Cal Berkeley Democrats’ platform. Cal Dems will work to support them over the coming months and beyond.

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The Cal Berkeley Democrats is the official arm of the Democratic Party at UC Berkeley.

On December 7, Cal Dems Robbie Bruens and Nik Dixit spoke at a health care forum hosted by the Fem Dems at Mills College. Thanks to the Fem Dems for arranging the fantastic event!

Photos are below, and videos can be found here.

Not Pictured: Max Lord, Anna Trejo

On Saturday, December 5, a group of nine Cal Dems volunteered their time to go work the concession stand at the Men’s Basketball Game vs. Iowa State. To be honest, at first I wasn’t looking forward to spending 6 hours of my Saturday evening selling hot dogs, but hey, for 10% of the revenues, I figured it was worth it. But at the end of day not only did we make $176, it was a lot of fun! Granted, there was the occasional “difficult” customer, but overall we had a great time! To top it off, we got to eat $8 worth of food!

Cal Dems is definitely going to do this again, and when we do, I hope to see a bunch more of you join us! If we get enough people, we might even be able to work two stands and make twice the money!

Last Thursday, Cal Dems participated in its annual Great Debate versus the Berkeley College Republicans! The topic was national health reform, and it was a blast for all involved.

The event could not have happened without the hard work of many other individuals and organizations.

First, thanks to the Undergraduate Political Science Association, which put the debate together. They make this happen every year, and we apprericate their work.

Secondly, thanks to Professor Hassner for moderating. Very few professors are willing to sacrifice their evenings, and he acted with all the fairness and impartiality we could have hoped for.

Last, but not least, thanks to the Berkeley College Republicans for debating alongside us. As said on Thursday, we may have a friendly rivalry, but it’s always a pleasure to discuss our views and have a civil debate of ideas.

Over the next few days, we’ll have media coming in from the event. We’ll get some pictures on Flickr,* a video on YouTube, and some policy posts on our blog. Stay tuned!

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P.S. For in-depth policy analysis of BCR’s proposals, read this post. For more Cal Dems has done on health care, visit our Health Care Action Center!

* Update: Photos are up!

Join the Cal Dems on Tuesday, November 17th from 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. in West Pauley Ballroom in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Union Building for an event that’s sure to please – State Senator Mark Leno on The Future of LGBT California. Senator Leno represents San Francisco and authored the Harvey Milk Day Bill legislation, amongst many other shining accomplishments. So do join us! Bring your friends and wear your Cal Dems shirts!

This year’s CYD Lake Tahoe Retreat was incredible! Cal Dems was the largest college contingency at the retreat this year with over 40 members (and we made sure everyone knew it with every chant of “Go Bears!”). We had a blast getting to know each other and meeting other Young Dems from chapters around the state. Additionally, we met many candidates for statewide office and attended great leadership trainings on fundraising, health care reform, and many other topics.

We were humbled to be recognized at Tahoe as one of the top ten clubs in the state for voter registration, and to have our President, Claire Viall, recognized for all the wonderful things our club has been involved in this year, such as voter registration, health care reform advocacy, and LGBT issues. Thanks to all the Cal Dems who attended for making it so much fun for every one of us!

To help you lobby your representatives and advocate for health reform, Cal Dems has launched a Health Care Action Center!

Visit it at calberkeleydemocrats.com/healthcare to:

• Get the facts with our Health Care Fact Sheet
• Watch our video, “Expectations in Care”
• Read our op-ed, “Health Reform and Young People”
• Sign our petition for a public option
• Call your member of Congress

…and more!

Please visit calberkeleydemocrats.com/healthcare, and tell your friends to do the same. We’re the closest to reform that we’ve been in decades, and we must keep up the pressure.