Community Organizing / Issues / Party Organizing Highlights

By Deana M. Igelsrud

Working as a Community Organizer, I have used my background to bring people together (citizens & labor) to work in a variety of ways. Together we have formed campaigns, testified at hearings, passed resolutions and helped shape policies around the issues of: Eliminating Poverty, Promoting Marriage Equality, Ensuring Healthcare for All and Ending the Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq.

Most recently, I have worked to fix California's budget crisis. I served as the Political Director of Californians For Democracy, and worked directly with Professor George Lakoff to organize and run the campaign to pass our state budget with a simple majority. In addition, I have helped organize several events, election headquarters and "in-depth" trainings on ballot initiatives.

PARTY ORGANIZING HIGHLIGHTS:

For the last eight years I have pushed for change not only outside the Democratic Party, but inside the party as well.

I have authored and/or co-sponsored a number of state party resolutions including: Opposing the $700 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout, Supporting the Repeal of Prop. 8, and Calling for an Immediate End to the War in Afghanistan. I've even mounted and won a floor fight at the California Democratic Party's Executive Board that called on "candidates to not concede elections in close races until all the votes have been counted."

Similarly, when "elimination of poverty" was left out of the state party's platform in 2005; I gained support for the effort by speaking before the African American, Women's, Children's, Disabilities, Progressive and Rural Caucuses at the State Party's annual convention, and garnered support from both candidates for governor (at the time) Phil Angelides and Steve Westley, to successfully get it added as its own plank in the platform.

In 2007, I was elected to serve on the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party (CDP) and was appointed to its Legislative Action Committee. There I helped co-author the state party's "long overdue" policy for vetting legislation.

From 2008-2010, I not only pushed to get the policy to vett legislation passed, I was successful in getting the CDP to permanently adopt the practice, helping to permanently enshrine this tool for activists and legislators to work together on important issues facing Californians. For the first time in more than a decade, the state party had the ability to take positions on important pieces of state and national legislation; including support for H.R. 676 (The United States National Health Insurance Act) which would provide affordable national health insurance to all Americans.

In September of 2010, I was appointed to serve as the Legislative Co-Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee, and I would like to continue serving you there.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME - DEANA IGELSRUD - JUNE 5th:

When voting for the seven Democrats you want to represent you as "Member County Central Committee" on the June 5th ballot, please let me - Deana Igelsrud - be one of them...