Urgent! Save election integrity in CA!

[Liberty Belle]

Progressive Democrats & Democracy for America activists in CA are both urging everyone to flood Sacramento with calls RIGHT NOW. Please help!

Don’t let California get another Kenneth Blackwell for Secretary of State!


PDLA Election Protection Action Alert!
**********************************************************
Call/email your assembly rep (http://www.assembly.ca.gov/) today & urge a NO vote on McPherson for Secretary of State.

Check out McPherson's transition team ... shades of Florida, 2000, & Ohio, 2004. Mr. Moderate Republican has taken a sharp turn to the right, recruiting GOP quarterbacks to call the plays on election day. Read on ...

Do we really want the guy who is raising $70,000,000 for Arnold's special election to be running our elections with McPherson? Do we want another guy whose firm represents Diebold to be overseeing electronic voting machines? Contact your assembly rep immediately.

Also, tell Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
(213-620-4646 or 916-319-2046) ([email protected]) that you expect the Dems to fight, not surrender California to slick GOP operatives bent on hijacking the Sec. of State's office. Why is Nunez, a fellow Democrat, reportedly supporting the line-up below?

* Steven Merksamer, former chief of staff to ex-Gov. George Deukmejian and a powerful Sacramento attorney whose firm represents Citizens to Save California, which is raising money to place Schwarzenegger initiatives on the ballot.*

Beth Miller Malek, who once served as chief assistant secretary of state and is an owner of Wilson-Miller Communications. Her partner, Marty Wilson, has been active in raising funds for Schwarzenegger.*

Adan Ortega Jr., a former chief deputy secretary of state who is described in a transition team press release as an employee of GCG Rose & Kindel. The firm's clients include Diebold Election Systems, which agreed to pay $2.6 million last year to settle a lawsuit claiming it sold the state faulty touch-screen voting machines.

In the words of one Sacramento politician, "They varnished the transition team with some quality people, but they also have some very partisan political activists that are connected to the governor's initiatives."

Don't let us lose our Sec. of State's office to slick GOP operatives raising millions for Arnold. Speak out, then ...

Share your phone call or email on [email protected].
(If a friend forwarded this email to you, please add your name to the PDLA list serve by clicking on pdla.org, then "Join PDLA")

Our assembly members are expected to vote on March 29th. Don't let them give away California.

Thank you,

Marcy Winograd
Chair PDLA (Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles)


All--Please keep kicking this thread so everyone can act on this "Red alert to keep California Blue"
-- Miriam Raftery, San Diego for Democracy

[LisaM]

1. Why does this guy's name ring a bell with me?

(I don't live in California, so maybe he is famous there.) Did he run for something else?

Is all of this payback because California wouldn't certify the electronic voting machines?

[Liberty Belle]

2. McPherson? He has the same last name, no relation that I know of,

to Sally McPherson, the infamous registrar of voters who refused to count Donna Frye's unbubbled ballots in San Diego's disputed mayoral race.

McPherson is a former Republican legislator and an ex-newspaperman, before he became a GOP stooge and apologist for Diebold.


Yes, this is all about ousting Kevin Shelley who they couldn't control and replacing him with a Republican SOS that would let Diebold have its way with California voters. If McPherson gets in, we're screwed.

[Gelliebeans]

3. I sent off an email

tonight as I was gone all day long to call before the offices closed. This McPherson scares me to death

If he is a friend of Diebold we will all will be up a creek----
besides anyone pushing Arnolds agenda is dangerous.

We need to stop these sneaky bastards immediately

[Capn Sunshine]

4. This deserves Immediate ACTION!!

Let's all email our respective lists!

[xxqqqzme]

5. VOTE IS TUESDAY

TELL THEM TO VOTE NO ON BRUCE MCPHERSON FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

Please immediately email the five Democrats on the 8-member Assembly Rules Committee. Urge them to vote NO on McPherson for CA Secretary of State. The vote is Tuesday. Monday is a holiday.

McPherson wants to bring in a 70-million plus Arnold fundraiser and a Diebold law firm rep to reorganize California's elections. Shades of Florida, 2000. Ohio, 2004. Bad news. Fight back.

McPherson's transition team includes Adan Ortega, Jr. "an employee" of a firm (GCG Rose & Kindel) that represents Diebold Election Systems. It also includes Steve Merskamer, a Sacramento attorney whose firm represents Citizens to Save California, a 70-million Arnold fundraiser to put Schwartznegger's initiatives on the ballot, including that which will redistrict California to benefit the GOP.

Send your personal message to the five Democrats on the 8-member Assembly Rules Committee. Urge them to vote NO on McPherson for CA Secretary of State. The vote is Tuesday. Monday is a holiday.


CALL AND FAX TOO!

Assembly member Cindy Montanez
916-319-2039 and/or 818-838-3939 (both voice)
916-319-2139 (fax)

Assembly member Joe Baca
916-319-2062 and/or 909-388-1413 (both voice)
916-319-2162 (fax)

Assembly member Mervyn M. Dymally
916-319-2052 and/or 310-223-1201 (both voice)

Assembly member Betty Karnette
916-319-2054 and 562-997-0794 (both voice)
916-319-2154 (fax)

Assembly member Joe Coto
916-319-2023 and/or 408-277-1220 (both voice)
916-319-2123 (fax)

[nicknameless]

6. You can email most of the Dems in the Assembly:

Here is the cut + paste list of current Dems' available email addresses. (Some of them don't provide email contact info on their websites.) You can paste all of them into your email address window:

[email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ;

Other members, like Noreen Evans, allow emails to be sent through their websites. Her info plus that of two others:
Noreen Evans: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a07/mailform.htm
Mike Gordon: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a53/mailform.htm
Pedro Nava: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a35/mailform.htm

[nicknameless]

7. Don't forget that the Assembly doesn't have to approve ANY repub!

Many Dems seem to be fretting over having to confirm an Arnold appointee. They think that they're going to have to settle for McPherson or worse. That's not true!

There is precedence for keeping the Undersecretary of State in office! This was done in previously -- 1987. Elizabeth Whitney remained in office, as the Dems in the Legislature would not confirm the Repub replacements offered by then-Governor Deukmejian.

I see no reason for the Dems to cave-in and approve McPherson. Current Undersecretary of State, Cathy Mitchell, can and should remain in office until a replacement can be chosen legitimately by the voters.

From Sacramento Bee
By Dan Walters -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, March 8, 2005

“… The McPherson situation most closely resembles what happened after Jesse Unruh, a legendary political figure who had become state treasurer in 1975, died in office in 1987. Elizabeth Whitney, who had been Unruh's chief deputy, took over the office and wound up running it for nearly two years as Republican Gov. George Deukmejian and a Democrat-controlled Legislature battled over a successor…”

Full story at: http://tinyurl.com/4p64g

The article portrays this strategy as ultimately painting the Repub candidate as a martyr (mainstream media opinion). But the circumstances under which Shelley was hounded out of office are entirely different and spearheaded by anti-democracy, right-wing thugs. At least given his chosen transition team, McPherson appears to be part of that coup movement.