April Meeting

April 19, 2026 @ 2:30 pm
Peninsula Center Library Community Room

By Louis Vandenberg

President’s Report

By Tim Dixon

Finding Focus Amid the Chaos 

As we enter April, many of us are feeling a profound sense of exhaustion. It’s a weight that comes from a relentless cycle of news, where before we can even process one unprecedented action, another—often more concerning—is unleashed. From attempts to unilaterally implement voting restrictions via executive order to escalating tensions abroad, the sheer volume of “chaos” can feel designed to make us look away. 

But as members of the Palos Verdes Democrats, we know that looking away is exactly what we cannot afford to do. 

The Human Cost of Contradiction 

This exhaustion is compounded by the administration’s dangerous escalation in the Middle East. President Trump’s address on April 2 was a collection of contradictions and outright falsehoods. He characterized this month-long war as a “little journey” that is “nearing completion,” even as he simultaneously vowed to strike the region “extremely hard” for several more weeks. 

The President claimed that Iran’s military is “no longer a threat,” yet just moments before he spoke, air defenses were intercepting missiles over Dubai. Furthermore, he falsely claimed in his speech that this war did not cause the recent significant increase in gasoline prices, despite clear economic volatility linked to the conflict. 

Most gallingly, while the administration appears to be solely focused on creating chaos, it is completely ignoring the real challenges faced by American citizens. From skyrocketing gas and food prices to overall inflation and a net reduction in jobs, we are looking at an economy on the cusp of recession. Yet, the President continues to insist we have the “best economy ever.” This disconnect is not just misleading—it is a dereliction of duty. 

A Barrage of Executive Overreach 

Closer to home, we see a similar pattern of bypassing our democratic norms. As we prepare to celebrate Earth Day, the administration’s attempts to circumvent environmental laws to weaken the Endangered Species Act represent a direct assault on our planet’s future. 

Furthermore, by attempting to implement a “Voting Restrictions Act” via executive order after failing to pass it through Congress, the President is attempting to rewrite the rules of our democracy by fiat. 

Proof That Resistance Works 

Fortunately, our system of checks and balances—and our collective voice—is proving resilient. While the administration moves forward with vanity projects like a $400 million privately funded ballroom, the courts have stepped in to halt these efforts. Judicial intervention has also protected the Voice of America from being dismantled, and even appointees in the Supreme Court appeared unconvinced by unilateral attempts to eliminate birthright citizenship. 

Public pressure and relentless advocacy are making an impact. The recent firing of the Attorney General, alongside the dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, suggests an administration struggling to maintain its footing. Despite the near-universal support the President still receives from his party, these departures signal that chaos is not sustainable when met with a wall of public accountability. 

The Path Forward: From Protest to Power 

When national news feels like a flood, our local community is our high ground. I want to extend heartfelt thanks to all our members who took a stand on March 28. Whether you were at Torrance City Hall, in Downtown Los Angeles, or at the Trump golf course here in Rancho Palos Verdes, you were part of the largest single-day protest in American history, with over 8 million Americans taking to the streets. 

However, we must be clear-eyed about the challenge ahead. While our protests are historic and effective at signaling dissent, they are met with a wall of silence from a Republican Party that refuses to act as an equal branch of government. Their near-universal support of this “wannabe dictator” means that the most concrete weapon we have to protect our democracy is the upcoming midterm elections. 

The only way to provide a true, functional check on this administration is to win. Every meeting, every door knocked, and every voter registered is a step toward that goal. We process the exhaustion together—and then we turn it into the political power necessary to restore our Republic. 

Take Action Today 

Please look closely at the Activism Chair report in this newsletter. It lists specific opportunities to get involved and fight back every week. We cannot wait for the headlines to change; we must change them ourselves. 

Finally, mark your calendars and join us for our next major mobilization: the May Day protests on May 1. We will stand together as part of a nationwide “Workers Over Billionaires” day of action to demand an economy that serves the people, not just the powerful. 

Let’s keep our focus, support one another, and do the work. 

From the Activism Chair

By Caryl Schwartz, Activism Chair

As of 3/27/26, Democrats continued to overperform, even flipping State House seats in Florida and Arkansas that Democrats have not held for over a decade. Democrats have flipped 30 state legislative seats since Trump retook office. How many seats have Republicans flipped? ZERO! 

More good news: a federal judge blocked Trump's policy that would have allowed the detention of potentially over 100,000 refugees who had not yet obtained green cards after one year in the U.S. The court ruled the policy unlawfully reinterpreted immigration law, halting a broader DHS program aimed at expanding detention. 

We have too many Democrats running for Governor in the June 2nd jungle primary. Unfortunately, the low polling candidates refused to drop out prior to the ballots being printed. It's critical that we unite to support one candidate for the California Gubernatorial race; otherwise potentially two Republicans could face off in November.

Trump's war in Iran is a disaster. When you are surrounded by sycophants, it is difficult to receive accurate assessments. No matter how many precision bombs and how many billions the U.S. spends, Iran can use cheap drones to effectively wreak havoc on Middle Eastern oil infrastructure. Don't expect gas prices to go down anytime soon. Repairs could take years. The true beneficiary of the war is Russia, whose oil revenues are potentially doubling as U.S. weapons stocks become depleted. 

The war is already costing at least $1 billion a day, and administration officials have suggested they are going to ask Congress for more money. On March 10th, the Congressional Budget Office reported the U.S. has borrowed $1 trillion over the past five months - that's $50 billion a week on average, while Trump's tax cuts slash revenue. Remember when the GOP claimed they cared about the deficit. 

The SEC's top enforcement official resigned due to political interference in financial enforcement of cases involving Trump allies and donors. Investigations hindered include those involving Elon Musk and crypto figure Justin Sun. 

Trump's pressure shaped the latest major media transaction involving Warner Brothers. The result is CNN will be owned by Paramount Pictures, under Trump ally David Ellison. The Regime is ensuring that independent news outlets fall under loyal ownership. It is true in social media too. Musk owns X. In January, TikTok was sold to a consortium of investors including Oracle (Larry Ellison) and Abu Dhabi's MGX. The new ownership is more threatening to American Democracy than Chinese ByteDance. 

The Trump Regime is turning back the clock and shutting down clean energy projects, using taxpayer money to pay a French energy company up to $1 billion to abandon two U.S. offshore wind projects. This is after legal attempts FAILED to block the wind projects. Now the company is being directed to fossil fuel development. 

In DHS funding news: Mike Johnson, per Trump's request, rejected the Senate bill that carved out ICE and CBP but funded TSA and FEMA. 

Trump wants to use the DHS shutdown standoff as leverage to pass a strict voter ID bill. The legislation, pushed by lies of widespread voter fraud, would impose new documentation requirements on voters. 

On March 31st, Trump addressed his fears of Midterm election losses by issuing an Executive Order for a nationwide list of verified voters in each state and instructing the U.S. Postal Service to send ballots only to verified voters. 

The SAVE America Act Trump is trying to push through the House doesn't enhance election integrity; it's a voter suppression bill that will make it more difficult for qualified Americans to vote. It would require Americans to provide a birth certificate, a passport, or one of a limited number of documents to register or re-register to vote. It's estimated that over 21 million Americans don't have that kind of proof. 

Other voter suppression tactics involve U.S. Department of Education attempts to suppress college student voter turnout ahead of the 2026 midterms by launching an investigation into Tufts University and the National Student Clearinghouse. The plan is traced back to election deniers driving Trump's election "takeover" plans. 

Montana has a creative tactic to fight against Citizen's United SCOTUS 2010 ruling. Signatures are currently being gathered for a ballot measure in November's election that would strip corporations of the legal power to spend money on elections.

If it passes and survives court challenges it could potentially be replicated in other states. It would neutralize the need for Constitutional amendment to end corporate PACs and dark money influence in American politics.

We witnessed Trump ordering ICE agents to airports to manage security lines during DHS funding negotiations. This action expanded ICE into a general-purpose enforcement agency to project authority, blurring the lines between immigration policy and political objectives. I am concerned it's an attempt to normalize law enforcement at locations where they traditionally don't belong. 

We need to ask what local and state officials across the country are doing to prepare for the possibility of law enforcement (ICE) at the polls. Are there actionable plans to protect voting locations in minority, rural, and low-income communities against intimidation?

LACDP March Meeting Recap

By Jon Munoz

The LACDP meeting was held on Tuesday March 17th . It was held on ZOOM. The focus of the meeting was a lengthy Consent Calendar, which after speeches and votes put the runtime over 4 hours.

In statewide races there was no consensus on CA Governor, therefore there is no candidate running for Governor who has the LACDP endorsement.

Similarly, there was no consensus reached for Insurance Commissioner, a race that current 24th District Senator Ben Allen is running for.

Regarding the race to replace Ben Allen, Sion Roy received the LACDP endorsement for 24th District State Senator. Rep.

Ted Lieu was endorsed for his Congressional reelection run.

In city wide races, the most notable endorsement was for LA Mayor Karen Bass, running for reelection. Jeffrey Prang was endorsed for LA County Assessor in his reelection run. In South Bay news, no consensus was reached for AD 66 race, which includes current RPV Mayor City (and PV Dems member) Paul Seo. Endorsements were made in the 2 Torrance City Council races for Betty Lieu and Asam Sheikh for Districts 3 and 5, respectively.

The next LACDP meeting will be on April 21st.

Color Me a Democrat

By Fraser Perkins