Friends of Victor Ruiz Fundraiser--August 11, 2006, 7pm

As previously noted Victor Ruiz has a fundraiser scheduled for Friday, August 11, 2006.  Victor Ruiz and Polly Low are the only candidates for Rosemead City Council endorsed by Save Our Community/YOR.

It is extremely important that folks who are tired of being ignored by the current majority on Rosemead City Council stand in support of these reform candidates.  Unlike their opponents, no one from Bentonville is going to write them checks for $10,000, $15,000, or even $30,000 at a time.  They need to rely upon the support of individuals such as yourselves.  I hope we can get another good turnout and give Mike Lewis another coronary.

The following information is from the flyer announcing the dinner

 

Place:  Double Tree Hotel, 888 Montebello Blvd, Rosemead, CA  (adjacent to the Montebello Town Center, "east" of San Gabriel Blvd and "south" of the Pomona Freeway).

Time:  Social hour--  6pm - 7pm.  Dinner--  7pm - 8pm.  Acknowledgements, speeches, etc--  8pm - ?

 

Co-sponsors:  State Senator Gloria Romero, Assembly Member Judy Chu, Rosemead Councilmen John Tran and John Nunez, and Monterey Park Councilman Mike Eng.

Table sponsorships

     Diamond:  $2000

     Platinum:  $1000

     Gold:         $ 800

     Individual:  $99.99

     SOC members:  $50

Make check payable to "Friends of Victor Ruiz," 9703 Olney St, Rosemead, CA  91770.  RSVP to VictorJRuiz@msn.com or call 626-448-3552.

Another good turnout!

I just got back from the fundraiser.  When I left, some folks were still out on the dance floor, shaking their okoles.  This definitely had the feel of a victory party, because we know that the momentum is on our side.  We know this because we've been spending the past week pounding the pavement and talking to Rosemead voters.

Going door-to-door, you get to talk to real people.  It's not like those phone calls from the phony Wal-Mart public opinion survey.  Nothing beats knocking on doors and showing the voters that SOC has a human face.  We are actual people who live in Rosemead.  No one needs to pay us to talk to voters. (Just like no one needs to pay me to write these posts, send in letters to the editor, and think strategically about what it's going to take for us to win this election).  The same can not be said for our opponents, who continue to feast at the teat of Wal-Mart and Mike Lewis.  This distinction is going to make all the difference in this upcoming election.

But, back to the fundraiser.  I forgot to take a headcount, but I'm thinking we had about 130 folks there tonight.  Dozens of others who could not attend sent checks to either Victor or Polly (or both-- Incidentally, for folk still interested in making a contribution, Victor's address is listed in the previous post.  Checks for Polly should go to "Polly Low for Rosemead," 1039 La Presa Ave., Rosemead, CA  91770).  All fundraiser attendees were treated to a tasty chicken dinner (practically no rubber at all!), and rousing speeches by Representative Hilda Solis, Assemblywoman Judy Chu, city council members Mike Eng, John Tran, and John Nunez, and, of course, by city council candidates Victor Ruiz and Polly Low.

Mike Lewis did not grace us with his presence.  Instead, Wal-Mart sent a store manager to drink Coors at the bar, watch the big screen tv, and keep an eye on the pro-reform crowd from SOC and its friends.  We invited him in, but he declined.  So sad to see a man drinking alone on a Friday night; hope his bosses paid him well.

I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by the turnout at these two fundraisers.  I guess who ever thought up the idea of these bigger-dollar events knew what he/she/they was doing.  It just goes to prove the truism that, if you want to have a big success, you need to have big dreams.  Shoot for the moon.  Go for broke.

We still won't have anywhere near as much money as our opponents.  But we all know that, after a certain point, spending more money in a campaign just pisses people off and creates a backlash.  So we don't need to go dollar-for-dollar against the Bentonville Behemoth.  In fact we don't WANT to go dollar-for-dollar with Wal-Mart.  We just need enough money to get our message out, and pay for the literature that our volunteers will carry to the doors of as many Rosemead voters as we can reach in the next 38 days.  We might even have some money left over for a couple of more mailers.

So, thank you all you who have attended one or both of these recent fundraisers.  Thanks to all of you who have contributed to these fundraisers even if you could not attend yourself.  But, remember the words of Will Rogers:  "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."  We've got the momentum.  We can feel the change in the air.  But we can't rest on our laurels.  We need to keep working hard, keep walking precincts, keep our willingness to phone bank, keep digging deep when we need to, and keep doing the things that need to be done when you're going toe-to-toe with The World's Greediest Corporation.