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Opinion By Fran Sdao | February 21, 2017

Fran Sdao, Chair, Democratic Party of Orange County

What a great time to be a Democrat in Orange County! It is easy to lose sight of that when we read or watch what the President-Elect is saying. However, that is also exactly why it is a great time to be a Democrat here. The moment is ours.

Democrats turned out in record numbers to vote last November. For the first time in 80 years the Democratic candidate for President won in Orange County. Frustrated Democrats are now turning out in record numbers to Democratic club meetings, State Party delegate elections and to meetings/events in our communities. We must capture this energy and enthusiasm, and focus on protecting the values and principles of the Democratic Party as we prepare for the 2018 elections.

I am honored to have been chosen by unanimous consent to serve as Chair of the Democrat Party of Orange County. I am so grateful to have widespread support as I begin this term. I have been warned, and totally get the joke, that the chairs job is that of herding cats.

Challenging as that sounds, that is what is best about the Democratic Party. We are a widely diverse and inclusive Party that represents the changing demographics of Orange County. We are deeply passionate activists committed to making our communities better places for all children, families, and neighbors. We organize and campaign to elect candidates who will advance our platform and promote the values and programs that generations of Democrats have worked to achieve.

We may not always be heading down the road on the same path, but we are guided by the same goals: quality child care, preschool and K-12 public education, access to higher education, good jobs with living wages, decent affordable housing, accessible quality health care, equal rights, clean air and water, and care for our veterans and seniors.

During the next several weeks, we will develop our strategic plans that will take us to the 2018 elections. These plans will be created around three key areas: communication, collaboration and candidates.

There are now more than 525,000 registered Democrats in Orange County. We need to communicate with them and actively engage them in the 2018 elections. Democrats are busy people doing great things everyday in our communities and we need to spread that word. I hope to engage our Party leaders and members through discussion groups, forums, workshops and events. We have a loud voice, lets use it.

We can accomplish so much more by working together. We have partners with whom we must build and strengthen relationships to better focus on common goals. By collaborating with each other within the Party structure, as well as with our partners, good public policy and successful elections will be possible.

Lastly, we must focus on developing our future leaders. This past election has motivated an impassioned group of bright young people with progressive ideals to get involved in their communities and in our Party. We must embrace them as we look to develop and support candidates for seats on school boards, city councils, state offices and Congress. I encourage all Orange County Democrats to seek appointments and positions within their communities. Build your experience and knowledge. Get prepared for leadership.

As President Obama said, If something needs fixing, lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If youre disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself. Show up. Dive in. Persevere.

Lets get the Party started.

Fran Sdao, Chair, Democratic Party of Orange County

Opinions expressed in editorials belong to the authors and not Voice of OC.

Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue or others please contact Voice of OCInvolvement Editor Theresa Sears atTSears@voiceofoc.org

For a different view on this issue, consider:

Whitaker: Republicans Path Toward Prosperity For Orange County

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Sdao: It's a Great Time to Be a Democrat in Orange County - VoiceofOC

Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

Looking behind a poll that shows gasp! a Democrat leading in Sixth District Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) The April 18 race to replace U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell, is a non-partisan special election, but is being conducted in a heavily Republican congressional district. There are 18 candidates, including five Democrats and 11 Republicans. The Clout ... and more »

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Looking behind a poll that shows gasp! a Democrat leading in Sixth District - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

(1 of ) Schoolhouse Beach

RANDI ROSSMANN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 21, 2017, 9:29AM

| Updated 6 hours ago.

Sitting on a Schoolhouse Beach rock in the pouring rain and howling wind Monday afternoon, five friends were close enough to breaking waves to feel the spray as they watched the stormy sea crash against the shore.

Then white water from a particularly large wave broke over the rock, sweeping the five Solano County residents into the water. Only four got out.

Victoria Alvarez, 19, of Fairfield apparently drowned.

When the three males and one female made it to the beach, they realized Alvarez was missing. One ran across the street to a nearby home and borrowed a phone to call 911, then ran back, Sonoma County sheriffs Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

The 1:35 p.m. call launched a water rescue response to the beach north of Bodega Bay. A state parks lifeguard arrived within five minutes, joined by another state lifeguard and two Bodega Bay firefighters with water rescue training. Wearing wetsuits and carrying long rescue boards, they went into the water to search for Alvarez. Within 15 minutes of the call she was found, floating facedown and unconscious.

The Sonoma County sheriffs helicopter lifted her to shore, and she was taken by ambulance to Sonoma West Medical Center in Sebastopol where she was pronounced dead.

The survivors were taken to a ranger station at Salmon Creek Beach, where they dried their clothes and answered questions. The group told park rangers they had headed for the coast, picked that beach to stop, saw the rocks and decided to get close, supervising state parks peace officer/lifeguard Tim Murphy said.

They were pretty traumatized, he said.

Their actions were a classic recipe for disaster, said Murphy, a veteran lifeguard who said warnings are issued regularly about the danger.

State parks lifeguards annually save people along the Sonoma Coast who get too close and are swept into the water. Two of the most common warnings are: If youre standing on sand wet from waves, youre too close to the water. And if the water looks too dangerous, it probably is.

Monday was treacherous, with high swells reaching 12 feet, pounding surf, winds blowing about 30 mph and heavy rainfall.

The surf was so bad on that beach that two of our rescue boards we use both got broken yesterday, Murphy said. That was an indication of how powerful it was out there. (Those boards) are made to take a beating.

Mondays tragedy punctuated the warnings. Murphy said the death was completely preventable, with just a little bit more caution and situational awareness.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.

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Woman's Sonoma Coast beach death 'completely preventable,' lifeguard says - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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SHANNON BROWN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | February 21, 2017, 1:29PM

| Updated 15 hours ago.

Santa Rosa celebrity chef and Food Network star Guy Fieri went back to his tiny Northern California hometown of Ferndale recently with a big thank you gift for one of his favorite teachers.

Fieri visited Fran Fischer, his 8th-grade teacher at Ferndale Elementary School as part of the California Lottery's Thank A Teacher program, which takes California natives back to their roots to showcase the public school system.

In a video posted by the California Lottery, Fieri tells the story of how Fischer got him involved in a program called National History Day, which encourages students around the country to conduct original research on historical topics of interest. Winning the contest with a paper on the origins of the pretzel, he says, made him see how much of an impact Fischer had on students.

During his visit, Fieri not only thanked his teacher with a big hug, but gave her a cruise to anywhere in the world.

You helped me see the world in such a big way. I want you to see the world in a really great way, Fieri told her, as she began to cry.

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For a few days now there have been reports that Americas intelligence community might be conducting a silent campaign to keep the Trump White House from governing. The resignation of Michael Flynn brought this into focus. The story goes that these individuals wanted him gone to protect Obamas nuclear deal with Iran; Flynn was a staunch opponent to the agreement. Guy wrote about this alleged plot, while Lt. Col Tony Shaffer, a former CIA analyst, said that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhoadesall Obama officialswere directly involved with the leaks of the transcripts between Flynn and the Russian ambassador that sunk him. On the other hand, Flynn did mislead the vice president, which is why he was shown the exit, but the contents of the discussions, which is highly sensitive information, show that there probably were no legal infractions.

Now, Bryan Dean Wright, a former CIA operative and self-identified Democrat, is calling out his former colleagues for what he sees as an attempt to hamstring the Trump administration with these leaks. Moreover, it could lead to our institutions being irreparably harmed, especially if Trump loses re-election in 2020. Wright noted that his liberal colleagues would dance in the street, while the more conservative ones, embittered at Trumps first 100 days of his first term being sabotaged, will be lusting for blood and hamstring the incoming Democratic administration with leaks of their own. He noted the wall between spies and government workers, the awesome responsibility they have, the power that they wield when it coms to obtaining highly sensitive information, and people who were rightfully fired for going off the reservation investigating cheating spouses and ex-boyfriends. In all, the theme is clear: do you jobs, let the system work, and allow the democratic process to getrid of presidents who the public feels isn't doing a good job:

Said an intelligence officer: I know what's best for foreign policy and national security And I'm going to act on that.

Some of us might applaud this man, including a few of my fellow Democrats. In their minds, this is a case of Mr. Smith Goes to Langley to do battle against a corrupt President Trump.

One small problem. The intelligence officer quoted above was actually Aldrich Ames, a CIA traitor whose crime of treason in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the compromise of more than 100 assets. Many were tortured and executed as a result.

Ames flawed logic is eerily similar to that of his present-day colleagues who are engaged in a shadow war with their commander in chief. They, too, have decided that their superior judgment is more important than following the law.

[]

When youre trained as a spy, youre taught how to handle these kinds of situations. Upon learning the information, it gets tightly compartmented (restricted) and sent to the Department of Justice or Congress for investigation. If the evidence is found to be credible, the constitution makes clear what happens next: impeachment.

Thats how American democracy should work.And thats precisely how it has been working.

[]

I understand how this might feel appealing to deeply partisan Democrats. After all, I didnt want Trump to win either. But the solution to fighting this subpar president cannot be encouraging a network of spies to tip the scales back in our political favor. We must instead let the system continue to work, as it has, and make our case to the American people during future elections.

If you cant handle Trump, resign. Thats exactly what Edward Price did. Price starting working at the CIA in 2006 and was the spokesperson for the National Security Council:

That changed when I formally resigned last week. Despite working proudly for Republican and Democratic presidents, I reluctantly concluded that I cannot in good faith serve this administration as an intelligence professional.

Thats perfectly fine to do. If you cant work for an administration, you leave. You dont stick around to wage a silent war against the White House, nor do you hang around in the hopes that your opposition would lead to your firing, thereby becoming a martyr for the progressive cause like former Acting Attorney General Sally Yateswho was fired for instructing the entire DOJ not to defend the presidents executive order of immigration. The point that both of these former intelligence operatives are making is that theres a right way to leave when you reach a point where you cannot do your job: you resign and let the Constitution do its work in sorting out the mess.

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