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With the special election in the 30th State Senatorial District concluding on Tuesday, the campaign of Peace & Freedom Party candidate Ernesto Huerta is ramping up. Campaign volunteers are calling and texting voters, participating in caravan rallies, and placing signs at houses and apartments around Los Angeles County’s 30th State Senate District in the last stage of the campaign. 

While early voting is already happening, the election concludes on Tuesday March 2nd.  

Ernesto Huerta is the PFP’s candidate in the special election, in his campaign proposing socialist solutions to the problems inflicted upon the people by the billionaire class. Ernesto has spoken at campaign forums, has participated in online events, and has interacted at non-partisan political sites: This very active campaign is using every means available to reach voters during the pandemic.

Ernesto was pleased with his reception at a forum sponsored by Culver City High School students. A group of volunteers is currently texting young voters in the district and is getting good response.

A group of canvassers, carefully masked, has been focusing their attention on South Los Angeles.  Ernesto reports that “These canvassers have had great success in getting ordinary people to pledge their vote for me. Almost everyone we talked to has been extremely receptive to our five-point program and socialism in general. We are very open about being a socialist campaign and it has really worked in our favor. People were really excited to have the opportunity to vote socialist.”

On Saturday, February 6th, cities and towns across California and the US were driven in an action sponsored by the National Nurses Organizing Committee demanding a single-payer healthcare system. Naturally, Peace & Freedom Party members and voters came out in solidarity for the event.

Photographer from the Riverside Press-Enterprise (at right behind car) snaps a photo of Margie Akin of the Riverside County Peace and Freedom Party Central Committee as the San Bernardino caravan for Medicare For All prepares to get on the road.

 

PFP State Chair Kevin Akin prepares to join San Bernardino caravan for Medicare For All on February 6, 2021

Peace & Freedom Party’s co-sponsored Suds, Snacks & Socialism monthly forum series continues in online form via Zoom meeting this Saturday, March 6, to discuss Celebrating International Women’s Day. Our guest speakers include:

  • Urszula Wislanka, activist with News & Letters, California Coalition for Women Prisoners and Pelican Bay Hunger Strike Support Coalition, on The Living History of International Women's Day;
  • Kara Murray-Badal, election activist and member of Democratic Socialists of America, onb Getting out the Vote in the Georgia Senate Race; and
  • Karina Stenquist, host of podcast “Mondays Off” and DSA member, on Women in the Hospitality Industry.

The program will start promptly at 2:30pm PT and is expected to wrap up by 4:30pm. To join the forum, click here or write This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for login instructions.

This forum is co-sponsored by the Oakland Greens, the Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party and Bay Area System Change Not Climate Change. The forum is part of our ongoing Socialist Forum Series on the first Saturday of every month. Our purpose is informed political discussion, and the views expressed are those of the speakers only, not official positions of the Peace and Freedom Party or our fellow co-sponsors.

The Peace & Freedom Party endorsed a statewide day of action on Saturday, February 6th, organized by the California Nurses Association, demanding a single-payer “CalCare” health system. Over 20 car caravan actions took place in California cities, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Redding, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Bernardino, Hemet, and San Diego.

In San Diego, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Peace & Freedom Party hosted a caravan at Balboa Park with over 35 cars. Other organizations in attendance for San Diego’s day of action included Socialist Alternative, Democratic Socialists of America, and Movement for a People’s Party.

Cars in San Diego were decorated with signs that had slogans like, “Healthcare is a human right!” and “Put people over profits!” The caravan left Balboa Park and looped around Hillcrest and City Heights, drawing honks and cheers of support from the public.

Similar caravan demonstrations, some smaller and many larger, were held around the state. Peace and Freedom Party activists participated in rallies in Sacramento, San Francisco, Redding, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Bernardino, and other cities.

With over 100,000 members in all 50 states, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee is one of the fastest growing labor organizations in the U.S. While nurses and other healthcare workers are working longer hours and risking their physical and mental health to care for their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, major U.S. health insurance companies like CVS Health and Humana are reporting earnings that are double what they were a year prior. As hospitals and essential workers continue to experience shortages of equipment, corporate managers and middlemen will profit. It is no surprise, then, that nurses and other medical workers are fighting for universal public healthcare.

In a letter sent to key state lawmakers, the Peace & Freedom Party is asking legislators to introduce the PFP’s proposed 2021 legislation because smaller parties have “no representation” despite “receiving up to a million votes” in each recent election.

Noting the Peace and Freedom Party was formed more than 50 years ago and has run over 400 candidates in efforts to provide alternatives to the two larger parties,  Peace and Freedom  Party legislative liaison C.T. Weber charged that “election laws are made by those in power and structured to maintain a ‘two-party system.’”

Weber, in the letter to lawmakers, stated that “Peace and Freedom Party has been an early advocate for voting rights for those who are non-citizens, under 18 years of age, and in prison or parole for a felony conviction ... a proponent of decent housing for everyone: including homeless solutions and renters and homeowners protections from unjust evictions.”

The  Peace and Freedom Party said it is requesting “support [from] fair-minded legislators to introduce one or more of our proposals in bill form,” including political party representation in the California State Legislature; legislation to allow non-citizen parents and guardians the right to vote in school district elections; and matching the rental exemptions of Costa-Hawkins with those in AB 1482.

A summary of the proposed legislation follows. Click on the appropriate header for a PDF copy of the letter submitted. 

Ernesto Huerta has declared his candidacy in the March 2nd special election for State Senator in the 30th District, and the Peace and Freedom Party has endorsed him. The pandemic and the current economic disaster show how the two parties of the billionaires have left the working class in the lurch, failing us on nearly every issue. The Republicans have been quite justly criticized for their terrible leadership at the national level, but in California the Democrats are firmly in charge, and they too have failed to do what is needed.

Ernesto says “As California becomes the epicenter of a worldwide pandemic, it is clear that the state’s Democratic controlled legislature has failed to meet the needs of the people and prevent mass unemployment, a deadly health crisis, and a looming eviction crisis. We are running a third party socialist campaign to challenge the Democratic Party’s incompetence in California and their complete disregard for the working class throughout this pandemic. At a time of extreme need, California deserves a champion who is willing to fight for people-centered policies like Medicare for All, reparations, and the cancellation of rent and mortgages.”

Ernesto Huerta is running to push for socialist solutions to the problems inflicted upon us by the billionaires and their politicians. The 30th District includes most of downtown Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, Culver City, a portion of Inglewood, and Ladera Heights. The special election on March 2nd will fill the seat vacated when the previous senator was elected as a county supervisor.

Our election systems give a guise of democracy but bipartisan election laws, huge amounts of private money, and the corporate media deny representation for a great many of us. The President is not elected by the people of this country. Instead, the president is selected by a majority of an Electoral College which is tilted to favor states which have much smaller numbers of people where each elector represents fewer people.

Activism has always been a central feature of the Peace & Freedom Party, and we’re proud to say that this spirit has continued among its members from the party’s foundation to the present day – but the present day is of course dramatically different to most before it. So what are the best methods for action in the time of coronavirus? Below, PFP state chair John Reiger makes a few suggestions.

• Demonstrations
I’m a longtime believer in being physically present at demonstrations. To actually take the time to put your body on the line is a sign of real commitment, commitment to the cause and to your own values. So it pains me to say that this pandemic time is probably not the best time to be out in the streets with lots of other people. Do it if you must, but please try to be safe, and please try to look for other ways to forward the cause.

• Auto Caravans/Parades
Here is a great way to be out in the streets without exposing yourself or others to pandemic dangers. Many groups have scheduled car “caravans” to protest or celebrate their causes. Join one, or schedule one yourself.

Spread the word about the Peace and Freedom Party. Encourage your friends to register Peace and Freedom, join the supporting membership program, and get involved.

Here are some introductory handouts you can download and print for distribution. For a more extensive archive of our literature, click here.

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