The outcome of the presidential election was not what we wanted, nor was it what we worked so hard for over all these months. Unfortunately, it was what many of us feared. I hold on to these words as I struggle to find the strength to move forward in our common mission as feminists to protect our rights over our bodies, our healthcare, our rights to love who we want to love, our rights to affordable housing, and a supported public education system for our children.
Under our president-elect’s draconian policies, I now fear for the rights of my transgender son. I fear for my friend who has lived here as a productive member of our community for 35 years and who now may be facing deportation to a country, she has little ties to. I know many of you share my worries and concerns, but what I have learned is to turn my fear into action, and that’s what I encourage you all to do. If you are not a member already, please join Santa Barbara Women’s Political committee as we buckle up for the next four years. We need your participation now more than ever. Join Here
“The light of America’s promise will always burn bright. As long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting”
Vice President Kamala Harris, November 6, 2024
I want to acknowledge all of our endorsed candidates who ran for office and those who won their seats. I want to thank the Elections and Appointments Committee for the time they spent on the endorsement process. I want to thank our members who spent countless hours canvassing, phone banking, writing postcards and donating money to our feminist candidates. Your passion and commitment are so inspiring!
I hope you took a day to mourn, to grieve, to engage in self-care, but now I invite you to join us next week, November 12 at the Santa Barbara Club as we gather together for what we had hoped would be a celebratory Cosmopolitics 2024. LA Times columnist Robin Abcarian will be our featured speaker. Her topic, appropriately, will be “The Craziest U.S. Election Ever.”
And after that, let’s vow to keep fighting for a future in which women are a positive political force for good creating a better society for all.
All my best,
Paula Lopez Ochoa, SBWPC President