January 2019 was an exciting, busy month, full of all sorts of important party activities.

The membership overwhelmingly reelected the executive board – President Gary Bland, Vice President Avi Karnik. Secretary Mary

Borevitz, and Treasurer Gary Hansen – and welcomed the other e-board members appointed by the officers to fill key roles, including Betty Ball, Heather Roberts, Barb Valenti, Ruth Pepper, Bill Jaynes, Jennie Brawner, Peggi Chute, Kathy Steel, and Tom Iarossi. Former board member Peg Mitchell was honored for her years of service to the club.

Several candidates from the November election came to thank us for our support and our unflagging efforts on their campaigns, including SMUSD Board of Governors member Stacy Carlson, San Marcos City Council member Maria Nunez, Palomar College board members Mark Evilsizer and Norma Miyamoto, Escondido City Council member Consuelo Martinez, state senate candidate and Palomar Pomerado Health board member Jeff Griffith, and state assembly candidate Alan Geraci.

Region 18 director Deborah Skurnik provided details about the ADEM to be held on January 27th.

Keynote speaker Jessica Hayes, chair of the San Diego Democratic Party Central Committee, reviewed the results of the election and pointed out that although we didn’t prevail in every race, Democrats overall had a pretty good election. Statewide, we flipped seven Congressional districts and came within a few thousand votes of flipping a long-held republican seat, regained Democratic supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature, established Democratic majorities on several of the city councils in San Diego County, elected a Democrat to the county board of supervisors, registered thousands of new voters, and saw unprecedented voter turnout in a midterm election.