North Bay Labor Council Endorses in 2020 General Election

STATE & FEDERAL ENDORSEMENTS

 The North Bay Labor Council has finalized its endorsements for the 2020 General Election.

Labor Councils are an arm of the AFL-CIO and the state Labor Federation. Together we take positions on state and federal races and the Labor Council makes its own endorsements in local races in the four counties we cover (Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino & Lake Counties).

First, and most obvious, we are supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President. We need to restore some sanity in the White House. Our democracy will not survive another 4 years of this administration. It's really that important. 

We’re lucky here in the North Bay in that we have relatively good and reliable representatives at the state and federal level. All of our incumbents were endorsed actually before the Primary and those endorsements carry through to the General. They include, Congressmen Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman; State Senator Bill Dodd; as well as Assemblymembers Jim Wood, Cecelia Aguiar-Curry and Marc Levine. Those endorsements are finalized at a different level. Labor Councils make recommendations and those recommendations are ratified at our Labor Federation “Pre-Primary” meeting which occurred earlier this year.

Endorsements of statewide races and propositions can be found at the California Labor Federation Website here. However, very important to us this year is NO ON PROPOSITION 22 and YES ON PROPOSITION 15. These two props are extremely vital to working people. Please read up on them and vote accordingly.  

We're also standing with our brothers & sister firefighters and taking a Yes on Proposition 19 postion. 

Click here to see our endorsement flier for all candidates and props. Local endorsements and measures are also listed below.  

 LOCAL ENDORSEMENTS

 All local decisions were ratified at the NBLC’s monthly meeting September 23rd.

 Candidates running for Supervisor, City Council and School Boards in Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino and Lake Counties were contacted to see if they were interested in competing for our endorsement.

• 205 candidates were contacted
• 115 candidates responded and received questionnaires
• 68 candidates returned questionnaires by the deadline and were interviewed
• 56 candidates were endorsed, including 4 early endorsements and 4 endorsements carried over from the primary where candidates are in a runoff
• 5 Local Measures were supported

In order to receive the North Bay Labor Council endorsement, a candidate must fill out a questionnaire, return it by the deadline, sit for an interview, and be recommended by the interview committee. Recommendations must be ratified by the Council Delegates. On rare occasions, we will make what’s known as an “early endorsement.” In order to be considered for an early endorsement (in most cases) the candidate must have been endorsed by us in the past, for the same seat they’re running for presently.

Measures were brought to us individually. Advocates presented before the delegates and a decision was made to support or not to support.

Candidates are evaluated on the basis of their stand on worker’s rights, their support for the middle class, their knowledge and support of issues such as Project Labor Agreements, Prevailing wage, Pensions, Paid Sick Leave, Minimum Wage as well as fairness and respect on the job. In addition, we look at a candidate’s positions on such things such as racial equality, immigrants’ rights and human rights. In recent years, the labor movement has expanded beyond simply wages and benefits. We look for candidates who also demonstrate a consciousness around environmental issues, climate change, and social justice issues. Those who support things like rent control, health care, and those who understand that racism is real and still something we all need to be dealing.

In the Labor Movement, you’ll often hear us say, “when one of us is injured, we’re all injured.” We believe all of these things matter for our communities to be healthy and whole. 

Most importantly, please please vote. We say this all the time, but it’s never been more true than it is this time. This is the most important election of our lifetime. Please show up, vote and don’t forget to vote down-ballot, local elections. This is where it all begins.

The deadline to register to vote in November is October 19th. If you’re not yet registered to vote, click here.

And remember, it may be the most important decision you ever make. Especially this time. 

Below are our choices of those who we believe will serve workers, the middle class and will help our communites be strong and healthy.  

Sonoma County

Santa Rosa City Council                                                        

Petaluma City Council – At Large

Rohnert Park City Council

Cotati City Council – At Large

Healdsburg City Council

Sonoma City Council – At Large

Windsor Town Council

Windsor Mayor

Sebastopol City Council

Cloverdale City Council – At Large

Santa Rosa City Schools Brd

Sonoma County Office of Education

Petaluma School Board – At Large

Santa Rosa Junior College Board – 2 seats open

Rohnert Park-Cotati School Board – At Large

West County School Board – At Large

Roseland School Board – At Large

Sonoma Valley School Board

Cloverdale School Board – At Large

Measures

Marin County

San Anselmo Town Council – At Large

Fairfax Town Council – At Large

San Rafael City Council – At Large

Tiburon City Council – At Large

Sausalito City Council – At Large

San Rafael Board of Education, Area 1 – Dual Endorsement

Marin Community College Board – At Large

Mendocino County

Board of Supervisors

 Ukiah City Council – At Large

Ukiah School Board

Lake County

Board of Supervisors

Lakeport City Council

Kelseyville Unified School District – At Large

*Incumbent