Close to 1,000 people took off Tues­ I. -1~. ',: I (..: f' day, November 7 to help reelect Gov. ,._~ ..; ,,'. m~ Brown in East . They in­ resident's ':1,..1,.o-"""y; ;', , ." l cluded 20 full time campaign workers and 60 UFW staff who helped out the VoL 1 No.'54 last five days of the campaign from La ,Nov~mber 20,1978 Paz, Coachella, Calexico, Oxnard and Santa Maria. As a result of their hard Office of the Pre$ident work, voter turnout in East Los United Farm Workers of Americil, AFL-CIO Angeles was 86% compared to 70% La Paz, Keene, 93531 statewide, the largest turnout since the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy ran in the California primary in 1968.

... 1 Election time get-out-the-vote ac­ CITIZENSHIP Gov. Brown's strategists had hoped tivities'" capped a massive canvassing PARTICIPATION that a wide margin of victory for the and voter registration campaign that DEPARTMENT governo~ would have a co~ttail e'ffect began last August. on the candidacies of Dymally and By October 9, the cutoff date for Major UFW Election Effort -Burke="=that-thelestohhe-Democrati registering to vote for the November 7 ~roduces Victories, Defeats ticket would be pulled to victory with election, 53,000 new voters-most of Gov. Brown. But that was not to be the them Democrats and Spanish speak­ A major statewide drive to elect case. UFW-backed candidates in the ing-had been registered in East Los UFW-endorsed State Treasurer Jess November 7 election campaign Angeles (see Newsletter, October 30, Unruh, a Democrat, easily won reelec­ resulted in many victories and some 1978). tion against Republican Don French by defeats, election results revealed. After the voter registration was com­ a lopsided 59% to 35 % margin. In a dramatic victory for the farm plete, campaign volunteers began can­ In another statewide election, workers, California voters reelected vassing in the Chicano neighborhoods, California Supreme Court Chief walking door-to-door Democratic Gov. with the to talk to Justice Rose Bird overcame a cam­ largest landslide vote in 30 years of registered voters and urge them to sup­ paign by conservative and agribusiness port Gov. Brown's reelection. They ~ state politics. At the same time, voters interests to win confirmation of her also rejected the reelection candidacy were aided by computer printed lists of appointment by Gov. Brown to the Spanish speaking voters in eastside of Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally and state high court. Newly appointed Democratic Congresswoman Yvonne neighborhoods. members of the Supreme Court must Brathwaite Burke's bid to become state The canvassing produced volunteers be confirmed by tne voters. Many attorney general. Dymally and Burke, in each precinct who helped phone growers, objecting to Bird's role in who are both Black, are longtime UFW their neighbors, check the polls on elec­ enacting the ALRA when she was head supporters. tion day to see who had not yet voted of the state Food and Agriculture and visit voters to get them to the polls. Gov. Brawn's reelection was crucial Agency, opposed her confirmation. Out of 440 precincts on the eastside of to the union's efforts to assure con­ Bird received 52% of the vote or Los Angeles, 100 were called through tinued progress for farm workers 3,113,940 yes votes . to 48% or by 120 volunteers who did phoning on under California's historic 2,903,834 no votes. election day. Agricultural Labor Relations Act, passed with the governor's help in Get-Out-The-Vote 1975. Gov. Brown's Republican Party 2,000 Volunteers Statewide opponent, state Attorney General Th~ Brown campaign in Spanish­ On the night before election day, we Evelle Younger, almost certainly speaking communities was directed by visited the East Los Angeles Brown would have backed the growers in at­ UFW Natio,nal Executive Board headquarters and addressed a rally tempting to weaken or destroy the law. Member Marshall Ganz, who took a with several hundred campaign Final statewide election figures gave leave of absence from his union duties volunteers who packed the office, most the 40 year old governor a 56070 to 36% to work for the governor. Assisting of them recruited from the local com­ victory with 3,935,205 votes to Brother Ganz and coordinating ac­ munity for work on get-out-the-vote. Younger's 2,490,796. tivities on the eastside of Los Angeles ...'- Every two years we meet good But the news was not as good in was National Executive Board member dedicated people during the election other state constitutional races. Jessica Govea, who also took a leave of campaigns, we said. Their work was Dymally was defeated by millionaire absence.',. important because in getting their record producer Republican Mike In all, 2,000 volunteers were friends and neighbors out to vote for Curb. Dymally received '43% of the recruited to help get-out-the-vote for Gov. Brown and other politicians vote or 2,895,304 votes to Curb's 52% Gov. Brown on election day. They dedicated to serving the interests of or 3,447,221 votes. covered 1,000 precincts throughout poor and minority people~ they not only Burke lost to conservative state California. help themselves, but they work for the future of their community. Senat9r . She "~ ,1', received 43 % of the vote or OwWednesday, November 8, Gov. 2,889,648 votes to Deukmejian's Brown visited the East Los Angeles 53% or 3,510,128 votes. headquarters to personally thank many of the volunteers for their work. About Burke, Dymally Defeats 300 campaign workers gathered for a post election reception. It was the first Burke's and Dymally's losses were place the governor went to say "thank real disappointments to the UFW and you" to people who served in his cam­ the entire labor movement. Both can­ paign. didates were staunch defenders of the farm workers and other working men Brother Ganz supervised three other operations in the state. and women. Although Curb is relative­ Photo by Susan Schumacher ly unknown in state politics, Deukme­ San Jose Brown volunteers spread jian's record as a state senator is one of Gov. Brown addressed the UFW's out in Spanish speaking communities Political Endorsement Conference on Ju­ opposition to farm workers, labor and ly 30 in San Jose and asked the farm covering three assembly districts. consumer interests. workers for their support. About 280 volunteers helped get-out- the-vote on election day in over 100 UFW-endorsed Congressional can­ Richard Alatorre overcame a campaign voter precincts. didates who won were Robert Matsui by Republican John Feliz, a Los In , Brown volunteers (Democrat, Sacramento), Angeles City police officer who has worked with Chicano and Black voters Assemblyman Vic Fazio (Democrat, received money from grower groups. in two assembly districts. Again, 280 Yolo, Sacramento, Solano Counties), Brother Alatorre was reelected in his volunteers worked in 100 precincts. Congressman John Burton (Democrat, Northeast Los Angeles district 60010 to San Francisco), Congressman Philip In Oakland, 500 Brown campaign 40010. He was a coauthor of the farm Burton (Democrat, San Francisco), labor law. volunteers talked to Black and Chicano Congressman George Miller voters in 270 precincts in a massive get­ And Assemblyman , the (Democrat, Contra Costa County), out-the-vote effort. first UFW member to be elected to Congressman Fortney Stark public office, scored an 81010 to 19010 (Democrat, Alameda and Contra landslide victory against his Other Races Coast Counties), and Congressman Republican opponent. Torres, who Don Edwards (Democrat, Alameda In general, farm worker-backed can­ represents the heart of the East Los and Santa Clara Counties). didates for the U .~. Congress and the Angeles barrio in Sacramento, was the state Assembly and Senate did well. Although in geheral union­ UFW's legislative director in 1972 and They included candidates endorsed by supported state Senate candidates did 1973. the UFW's Second Political Endorse­ well, we were disappointed with the Other union-endorsed Assembly ment Conference last July 30 in San defeat of Senator John Dunlap, candidates who won their races are Jose and by action of the National Ex­ coauthor of the Farm Labor law who Assemblyman Tom Bates (Democrat, ecutive Board. supported the farm workers during the Alameda and Contra Costa Coun­ Of 21 UFW-endorsed candidates for Propositon 14 campaign in 1976. ties), Assemblyman Bill Lockyer the U.S. House of Representatives (the Dunlap was defeated in his bid for (Democrat, Alameda County), lower house of Congress), 17 won elec­ reelection to his Napa, Sacramento, Assemblyman Art Agnos tion or reelection. Solano, Sonoma Counties district by (Democrat, San Francisco), grower-backed Republican pesticide Assemblyman Willie Brown The union backed eight candidates salesman James W. Neilsen. (Democrat, San Francisco), Assembly for state Senate and six of them emerg­ Speaker Leo McCarthy (Democrat, ed victorious. And the farm workers The union also backed San Francisco and San Mateo Coun­ endorsed 34 candidates for the state Assemblyman Joe Montoya, who was ties), Assemblyman and Majority Assembly; 22 were chosen by the elected to the state Senate in a district Leader Howard Derman (Democrat, voters. that includes Monterey Park, El Monte and La Puente on the eastside of Los West Los Angeles), Assemblyman Mel One disappointment occurred in Angeles. Montoya will be the third Levine (Democrat, Santa Monica), Kern County where Democrat Bob Chicano in the state Senate. Assemblyman Herschel Rosenthal Sogge lost the 18th Congressional (Democrat Los Angeles), District seat left vacant earlier this year Other state Senate candidates en­ dorsed by the UFW who were vic­ Assemblyman Michael Roos with the death of Republican Con­ (Democrat, Wilshire District, Silver gressman Bill Ketchum. Sogge was torious were Senator Alan Robbins (Democrat, San Fernando Valley), Lake), Assemblywoman Teresa soundly defeated by Republican Senator A!an Sieroty (Democrat, West H~ghes (Democrat, Huntington Park), Assemblyman Bill Thomas. Final Los Angeles), Senator Alex Garcia Assemblyman Curtis Tucker results were disappointing with (Democrat, East Los Angeles), (Democrat, Inglewood), Assemblyman Thomas receiving 59010 or 84,437 votes Senator-elect Diane Watson Vincent Thomas (Democrat, San to Sogge's 41010 or 58,245 votes. (Democrat, South Central Los Pedro), Sally Tanner (Democrat, El From October 5 to 9, the farm Angeles), and Senator James Mills Monte, La Puente), Assemblyman workers conducted a massive voter (Democrat, San Diego). Bruce Young (Democrat, Norwalk), registration campaign in Kern and Assemblyman Dennis Mangers parts of Tulare Counties. Over 6,000 A real victory for the farm workers (Democrat, Orange County), was the reelection of San Diego new voters were registered (4,718 Assemblyman Peter Chacon Democrats) and most of them were Assemblyman Larry Kapilojj, a (Democrat, San Diego), Assemblyman members of minority groups. Dozens Democrat who emerged victorious in a John Vasconcellso (Democrat, San difficult battle with his Republican op­ of farm workers' union members and Jose), Assemblywoman Leona Egeland ponent. The farm workers in San supporters walked precincts for Sogge (Democrat, Santa Clara County), and Diego County worked hard to help get­ and helped get-out-the-vote for the Assemblyman Gary Hart (Democrat, Democratic candidate. out-the-vote for Kapilojj during the Santa Barbara). last days of the campaign. Republican Thomas ran on an anti­ All 80 Assembly seats are up before UFW and anti-Mexican platform. His Alatorre, Torres Easily Reelected the voters every two years. Democrats television ads featured Thomas telling continued to hold a wide majority of voters how he opposes "Cesar Chavez Two of the union's strongest sup­ seats in both the state Senate and and the farm workers' union and il­ porters in the legislature were reelected Assembly. legal~liens receiving welfare." by--hu-ge- margins_ Assemblyman _ p~esident's Non-Profit Organization y BULK RATE ~ewsletter U.S. POSTAGE PAID Keene, Calif. 93531 Office of the President United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO Permit No. I La Paz, Keene, California 93531

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