Sacramento’s Katie Valenzuela Shows the Continued Power of Bernie’s Movement

After ugly crying at the results of the Biden coup last night, it was a tonic to breeze by a row of lawn signs on this perfect Sacramento spring day--all of which trumpeted candidates & issues that I voted for which seem to have prevailed in the March 3^rd election.

Perhaps not all “high propensity voters” had such a good morning.  I can’t remember a better one pertaining to the actual ballot I cast.  But it got me thinking how Bernie’s slogan “not me, us” is really true.  It’s not just that Bernie’s campaign is about us and not him, that part is obvious in everything about it.  It’s that it’s also about a lot more than who is elected president this fall. 

No matter what happens, Bernie’s spirited campaigns of 2016 and 2020 have changed the parameters of the possible through engaging, enrolling and educating a vast new generation of voters.  Some of them, like Sacramento environmental advocate Katie Valenzuela, may have been inspired by Bernie to run for office.  It’s too close to call yet but today Katie is ahead in the race for City Councilmember against two term incumbent and establishment corporate favorite Steven Hansen.  If she wins, I think there’s no question that Bernie’s coattails and organization will have played an uncoordinated role in her victory.

It made me wonder how many other Katie Valenzuelas ran across the country in the wake of Bernie yesterday or are on the ballot in the states slated to vote on the second “Super Tuesday.”  A reminder that every dollar we give, every call we make, every door we knock on for Bernie Sanders in the coming weeks and months ahead could help elect the new generation of leadership.