January Meeting

January 18, 2026 @ 2:30 pm
Peninsula Center Library Community Room

By Louis Vandenberg

Betty Yee, a highly respected public servant with decades of leadership in California government, is an announced candidate for Governor of the State of California. She is widely recognized for her tenure as California State Controller and as a Member of the California State Board of Equalization, where she built a reputation for integrity, fiscal responsibility, and principled governance. 

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Golden Gate University, Yee has held some of the state’s most demanding leadership roles, including Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party, Chief Deputy Director of the California State Budget under Governor Gray Davis, and Chief Deputy to Board of Equalization Chair Carole Migden. She was later appointed to the Board herself when Migden was elected to the California State Senate. 

The daughter of immigrants who came to San Francisco from Guangdong Province, China, in 1956, Betty Yee brings a deeply personal understanding of opportunity, perseverance, and public service. When she speaks to the Palos Verdes Democrats, she will share her life story, her record of public service, and her bold vision for California’s future as Governor. 

Yee will address the extraordinary challenges—and opportunities—facing California today: governing the most diverse and complex state in the nation, home to the fifth-largest economy in the world, while protecting its people, values, and environment. She will also confront the damage done by the aggressive and chaotic mis-leadership of Donald Trump, including attacks on sanctuary jurisdictions, unconstitutional ICE practices, threats to birthright citizenship, misuse of the National Guard, mass deportations, and systematic efforts to dismantle California’s landmark clean air, water quality, renewable energy, and public health protections. 

This is a unique opportunity to hear directly from, and interact with, a proven leader who understands California’s institutions, its people, and its global significance—and who is prepared to lead the state forward with competence, courage, and compassion.  

Following the presentation and conversation with California gubernatorial candidate Betty Yee, the Palos Verdes Democrats are proud to welcome a second extraordinary, featured speaker—Terry Tamminen, ranked #1 by The Guardian on its global list of the “Top 50 People Who Can Save Planet Earth.” 

Tamminen currently serves as President and CEO of AltaSea, a groundbreaking nonprofit “blue economy” hub based at the Port of Los Angeles. The blue economy represents the next frontier of sustainable economic development—focused on oceans, fisheries, coastal resources, and marine technology—complementing the green economy, which addresses land-based energy, transportation, agriculture, and forestry. Together, these approaches confront climate change not only through mitigation and adaptation, but by creating real, durable economic opportunity. 

A true pioneer in climate and environmental leadership, Terry Tamminen brings unparalleled experience to this work. In 2003, he was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, later serving as Cabinet Secretary and Chief Policy Advisor. He co-founded the R20 Regions of Climate Action (now the Catalytic Finance Foundation), a global public-private partnership advancing climate solutions at scale. Through this work, Catalytic Finance Solutions has advised major institutions including the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Pegasus Capital Advisors, and the UN Green Climate Fund. 

Tamminen is also an accomplished author. His books include Watercolors: How JJ the Whale Saved Us and Cracking the Carbon Code: The Keys to Sustainable Profits in the New Economy, works that bridge environmental urgency with economic realism. 

Under Tamminen’s leadership, AltaSea has moved boldly from vision to execution. It has created a major research, development, and commercialization ecosystem—an urban, ocean-based innovation campus—by rehabilitating historic waterfront warehouses into its Center for Innovation at Berth 58. This unique facility brings together researchers and institutions that rarely share physical space, including teams affiliated with University of Southern California, University of California Los Angeles, and California Institute of Technology, alongside renowned ocean explorer Robert Ballard. AltaSea functions as a unified waterfront platform where cutting-edge research, applied science, and commercialization happen side by side. 

One of AltaSea’s most significant initiatives is its leadership in seaweed and kelp aquaculture research, including a USC-linked sustainable seaweed lab supported by ARPA-E’s MARINER program. This work focuses on scaling seaweed for use in feedstocks, biochemicals, alternative feeds, and climate-positive supply chains—placing Los Angeles Harbor at the center of a fast-emerging global industry rather than leaving such innovation confined to academia. 

Equally important, AltaSea places workforce development and job creation at the heart of its mission. Its ecosystem is designed so that training, internships, and employment occur in the same place—creating direct pathways from education to paid work. Rather than acting as a single incubator, AltaSea convenes multiple accelerators, research groups, and industry alliances, helping transform fragmented innovation into a cohesive, investable, and employable regional cluster. 

On January 18, 2026, Terry Tamminen will join the Palos Verdes Democrats in person to share his remarkable story, the real-world accomplishments of AltaSea, and a powerful, achievable vision of sustainable prosperity—one in which economic growth, climate responsibility, and ocean stewardship advance together. 

This is a great opportunity to hear directly from one of the world’s most influential climate leaders—and to engage with ideas that are already reshaping our future effort to save planet earth. 

President’s Report

By Tim Dixon

For more than a decade, Democrats have fought to make health care more affordable and accessible for families across California and the nation. Programs like the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medi-Cal, and Covered California have driven the uninsured rate to historic lows, providing peace of mind to millions of working individuals, seniors, and children. That progress is now under direct threat. 

Trump and the Republican budget priorities - embodied in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”  to cut Medicaid funding while congressional Republicans simultaneously allowed expanded ACA premium subsidies to expire. These decisions will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance, including hundreds of thousands of Californians. 

And we must be clear about why: Trump and Republicans chose to take health care away from working families to pay for massive tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. This was not an accident. It was the goal. 

Medicaid, known in California as Medi-Cal, covers more than one-third of Californians, including children, people with disabilities, seniors in long-term care, pregnant women, and low-income workers. The Republican budget reduces federal Medicaid funding and shifts costs to states, forcing impossible choices: cut eligibility, reduce services, or bury people in paperwork until they lose coverage. Even California cannot fully offset federal cuts of this magnitude. Analysts estimate that over time, more than a million Californians could lose Medi-Cal coverage. 

For families across Los Angeles County and the South Bay, this means delayed care, skipped medications, unmanaged chronic illness, and worse outcomes - especially for children and seniors. 

This is personal to me. Four years ago, I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. To eradicate the disease, I needed major surgery followed by radiation treatment. The cost of that care ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, I had health insurance provided by my employer, and today I am enrolled in Medicare and am among the very small percentage of people who have retiree health insurance.  Because of that coverage, I could focus on surviving - not on whether my wife and I would go bankrupt. Without insurance, the outcome could have been devastating. We might have lost everything or I might have delayed care and not survived. That is what Trump and Republicans are asking millions of Americans to risk so the wealthiest among us can pay less in taxes. 

At the same time, Medicaid is under attack, and Republicans allowed enhanced ACA subsidies to expire. These subsidies made Covered California plans affordable for middle-class families, early retirees, gig workers, and small-business owners. Now premiums are set to jump, often 25 percent, 50 percent, or more. Families already struggling with housing and childcare costs will be priced out of coverage. This is not about people refusing insurance. It is about people being pushed out so that millionaires and billionaires can receive enormous tax cuts. Together, Medicaid cuts and subsidy expirations create a health care cliff. Nationally, 15 to 16 million people could lose insurance over the next decade. California will bear a disproportionate share of this fiscal burden. 

Hospitals and clinics will see more uninsured patients, more uncompensated care, and growing financial strain, costs that ultimately fall on communities and taxpayers. Preventive care is cheaper than emergency care. Insuring people costs less than treating advanced illness in crisis settings. This was never about fiscal responsibility. It was about prioritizing tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires over the health and security of working families.  

Elections have consequences. Trump and the Republicans have made their priorities clear. Democrats must be just as clear in response: health care is a right, and we will fight to protect it. 

This health care crisis is just one part of the cruel and dangerous Trump and Republican agenda. We at Palos Verdes Democrats must do everything in our power to fight back. I pledge to do everything I can to see that Democrats win in the midterm elections this year. I call on each of you, as members of Palos Verdes Democrats, to resolve to do what you can to fight back - whether it is volunteering to phone bank, canvass, assist with voter registration, or make a small donation. Please talk to friends and family members about what is at stake. None of us can do everything, but each of us can do something to ensure that Democrats prevail and that we have a check on the radical Trump and Republican agenda. I believe that if each of us does our part, no matter how small, we will win this November! 

From the Activism Chair

By Caryl Schwartz

Good news for 2025: Democrats flipped 21% of all GOP-held legislative seats that were on the ballot. Trump’s request that Indiana Republicans gerrymander Indianapolis was thwarted.

Goals for 2026:

• Democratic majority in the Senate

• Take back the House

Voter outreach will be critical in 2026, with new voter suppression laws and gerrymandered districts in Republican-controlled states.

Below is an optimistic, informative interview with constitutional law professor Joyce Vance:
https://writersblocpresents.com/main/joyce-vance/

Local Elections Matter:

Torrance: General Municipal Election June 2, 2026

City Mayor, Councilmembers for Districts 1, 3, 5

City Clerk and City Treasurer.

Scheduled Special Elections for 2026:

Texas Congressional District 18:
The top two candidates, both Democrats, are in a runoff general election on January 31, 2026. The district has been without representation since March 2025, when Democrat Sylvester Turner died of cancer.

What’s especially troubling is that a new race for the seat will open on February 17, 2026, when early voting starts in the March primary in the newly gerrymandered 18th District.

Georgia Congressional District 14 for seat vacated by Margarie Taylor Greene:

Election March 10, 2026. Currently there are 21 candidates running, 19 Republicans and 1 Democrat Shawn Harris. Shawn Harris is a retired Army Brigadier General. Georgia state law requires all candidates to run on one ballot. If no candidate wins 50% of the votes the runoff election is April 7th . Early voting begins Monday, February 16th. To donate or volunteer:

https://www.shawnforgeorgia.com

New Jersey Congressional District 11:
Special election to fill the seat vacated by Mikie Sherrill when she was elected governor of New Jersey. The primary is scheduled for February 5, 2026, with the general election on April 16, 2026.

Ohio Senate special election:
To fill the seat vacated by JD Vance on November 3, 2026. Sherrod Brown is running, and I encourage Club members to support him in any way they can.
https://www.sherrodbrown.com/

Florida Senate special election:
To fill the remainder of Marco Rubio’s term on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 18, 2026.

Wisconsin State Supreme Court Election April 7, 2026:

I hope you will join me to phone bank for Chris Taylor, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge and former Democratic State Representative.  

Judicial elections are officially nonpartisan, but candidates are aligned with the state's political ideological divides and right wing extremists are backing his opponent.

The Oxford Dictionary word of the year is “rage bait.”

We have a Carnie-in-Chief who instinctively understands how to exploit fear and fan culture wars on right-wing media.

Trump wants to control more of the media narrative and is injecting himself into the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger. Trump family businesses are already intertwined with Middle East sovereign wealth funds, along with Larry Ellison, that will neuter CNN and CBS.

Trump’s self-dealing is best exemplified by his pardon of billionaire Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Binance was used as a platform to send money to terrorist organizations, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and ISIS, and was criminally prosecuted for that activity.

Zhao enriched the Trump family’s crypto venture by supplying the technology to put World Liberty Fund on the platform. The Emirates entrusted two billion dollars to a currency that had been on the market for only five weeks.

Trump’s vanity ballroom is subsidized by corporate America vying for favors. No president has so blatantly enriched himself and his cronies at the expense of taxpayers.

Trump pretends he is concerned about cocaine entering the U.S., ordering strikes on small vessels and killing poor fishermen in the Caribbean. Yet right-wing former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of bringing hundreds of tons of cocaine into our country, has been pardoned by the president.

What do we do? Work to win elections in 2026.

Call to Action

Take Action to Protect Democracy

By Caryl Schwartz

Torrance

FREE Bus to Metro Board Meeting to Support C (K) Line Extension to Torrance: Thursday, January 22, 2026 @07:30 AM bus returns 3 PM

Location: Torrance Transit Center• 465 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503 US https://actionnetwork.org/events/free-bus-to-la-metro-for-c-line-to-torrance-2025

Organizations Fighting Voter Suppression:

Democracy Docket: https://www.democracydocket.com/about-us/

Fair Fight: https://www.fairfight.com/

Democracy Forward:  https://democracyforward.org/

Common Cause:   https://www.commoncause.org

Other Organizations:

Defending Our Neighbors:  https://defendingourneighbors.org/

Sherrod Brown for Ohio Senate https://www.sherrodbrown.com/

LA Regional Food Bank https://www.lafoodbank.org/find-food/pantry-locator/

Immigrant Assistance

• You can download a printable sheet that outlines what to do if ICE comes to the door here. These can also be ordered as “red cards”.  

• Here’s a sheet that explains how to identify ICE vehicles and what to do if you see them.   

• Here are more ways to help immigrants. 

• South Bay for All – Raising rental aid for immigrant neighbors and helping them run their businesses safely from home. Instagram | southbayforall@gmail.com 

• Gardena Guardians – Standing in solidarity with Gardena's immigrant community, providing resources and advocacy. Instagram 

• HILL – Supporting day laborers and immigrant families. Instagram | hillresponseteam@gmail.com 

• Harbor Area Peace Patrols – A collective of concerned Harbor residents patrolling neighborhoods to defend neighbors from ICE/DHS, sharing Know Your Rights information. Instagram 

• CHIRLA – A California leader advocating for immigrant rights since 1986, building a just society inclusive of immigrants. Website Please donate to our CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights - Los Angeles) fundraiser. Money raised will help this highly-regarded non-profit to help inform immigrants of their legal rights. We have raised just over half of our $5,000 goal. 

• CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) – Mobilizing the faith community to stand with workers and families for dignity and justice. Website 

• Immigrant Defenders Law Center – A social justice law firm defending immigrant communities from injustices in the immigration system. Website 

• Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) – Training advocates, shaping policy, and empowering immigrants through civic engagement and Know Your Rights tools. Website 

For additional Activism options and opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me @pvcaryl@verizon.net. 

Thank-you,
Caryl Schwartz
Activism Chair

ICE is Out of Control

By Kathy Christie

Club Representatives for CADEM Pre-Endorsing Conferences

By Tim Dixon

LACDP November Meeting Recap

By Jon Munoz

The LACDP meeting was held on Tuesday November 18 th . The meeting was held at LiUNA! Laborers Local 1309 headquarters. A great deal of time was spent celebrating the win of Prop 50 in the special election. State Senator Lena Gonzalez was a special guest. She emphasized that the Prop. 50 win was great but was just the first step to ensure midterms would be successful. Continuous engagement, phone banking, and canvassing starting early next year were emphasized as key components of engagement.

Regarding the special election, several key statistics were provided. In LA County 74% voted yes on Prop. 50. Overall voter turnout in LA County was 44% of registered voters with, most notably, Latino turnout at 30% (Latinos make up 40% of LA registered voters). Other notable stats were that there were 2 thousand canvassers in LA County, 60 thousand door knocks and tally of 18 % yes votes at the door.

In the resolutions report all four resolutions put forth were approved at the LACDP meeting:

• Resolution in support of Municipal Bank of Los Angeles

• Condemnation of HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr.

• The Trump Administration’s Assault on the “Endangerment Finding”

• Release the Epstein/Maxwell Files

Later it was noted that the Roosevelt Awards - where PV Dems Board member and Activism Chair Caryl Schwartz was honored as AD66 Democrat of the year - was an enormous success. The event was sold out with people, unfortunately, being turned away at the door. In the Labor report it was announced that the Labor Committee was looking to have one member for each Assembly District. The Chairman’s Holiday party was announced – December 12 th /6 to 10 PM/Bonaventure Brewing Company in the Bonaventure Hotel.

In the Legislative report a recap was given for 2025:

• State Bills - LACDP Legislative Committee supported thirty-four of the 35 State Bills and opposed one the Committee took positions on

• 18 of those bills were signed by Governor Newsom

  • AB-49, AB-246, AB-247, AB-325, AB-495, AB-566, AB-604, AB-648, AB-1138, AB-1314, AB-1362, AB-1390, SB-42, SB-48, SB-258, SB-280, SB-627, SB-805

• 2 were rejected.

  • SB-7 & SB-11

• 1 resolution that LACDP Legislative Committee supported from the CA Assembly – ACA8- went to CA Secretary of State and became Prop. 50.

• 8 resolutions made it to the Second House

• 4 never left House of Origin

• Federal Bills – LACDP Legislative Committee supported 15 Bills and opposed twenty-one bills of the 36 Federal Bills the Committee took up.

• In the House 15 Bills LACDP Legislative Committee took up stayed in the House

  • SUPPORT: H CON RES-38, HR-1111, HR-2208, HR-2209, HR-2210, HR-2211, HR-4661, HR-4992, H RES-581

  • OPPOSE: HR-25, HR-32, HR-129/HR-221, HR-722, HR-899

• In the Senate 13 Bills LACDP Legislative Committee took stayed in the Senate

  • SUPPORT: SJ RES-59, S-2300, S-2630, S-2631, S-2632, S-2633

  • OPPOSE: S CON RES-7, S-6, S-128, S-158, S-1148, S-1099, S-1206

• President signed 2 bills.

  • OPPOSE: HR-1 (One Big Ugly Bill), S-5 (Laken Riley Act)

Lastly, the STAND Committee debuted T shirts which were on sale at the meeting and will be online. The next LACDP meeting will take place on Tuesday January 13th.

Bylaws Update

By Jeannie Hahn

The changes to our bylaws; to update and streamline the nominating process, clarify succession rules in the event of a board vacancy, and formalize procedures for virtual meetings were approved. During the November meeting, Parliamentarian Connie Sullivan proposed the changes. Following protocol, the bylaw changes were ratified by the membership. 

Thoughts About Coming Poetic Justice

By Adrian Tatum

Color Me a Democrat

By Fraser Perkins