Tom Steyer Visit Sparks New Hope for Tulare County

This morning a group of local Democratic activists met with Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor in Visalia to discuss furthering social justice in our area. The philanthropists are dedicated to economic, environmental and democratic justice and see the Central Valley as fertile ground to break the hold of uncaring selfish interests in the region. Tom ran Farallon Capital for 26 years until selling it in 2012 and is reputedly a billionaire. The pair were also in Tulare County to open a community bank along the lines of the one they have opened in Oakland. The model is to provide startup capital for small businesses and consumers at lowest possible interest rates and to drive unscrupulous gougers out of the business of preying on the most vulnerable in society.



Tom and Kat spent most of their time listening to the concerns of the local activists. For example, Maria Herrera spoke of antiquated and contaminated water works. She reported that some localities and county governments intentionally refuse to take advantage of available state funding, hoping that water shortages will drive poor communities of color out of their homes.

Abigail Solis and Tom Chamberlin spoke of the progress made in voter registration, and Tom made an appeal for office space and support to accelerate this effort. Congressional candidate Louie Campos emphasized the need to retain a focus on the Democratic Party and its candidates being the champion of the issues that truly affect people: clean air, good water, jobs and education. Joe Altschule talked about identifying people's self interest with their voting behavior. Jose Verduzco and I brought up the need for a four-year university in the area as an economic opportunity engine. Kathleen Dowling spoke of the serious social problems caused by economic hardship. Mike Maldonado, Joanna Zagarra and others expressed their eagerness to contribute in any way they could to bring success to a greater involvement and representation of the majority in the county. Central Committee Chairperson Ruth McKee was instrumental in setting up the meeting. Al Aguilar, Susanne Gundy and Alex Gutierrez contributed to the discussion as well.

A major focus on personalized approaches to voter registration, motivation and turnout is certain to be one outgrowth of the meeting. Doug Kessler explained how such an effort has achieved great success in Fresno. For the first time, there is real hope that the hard work of grassroots activists in the area may at long last be augmented by the kind of financial resources that could make a real difference.