Bernie Sanders to visit Richmond, rally progressives
on October 10, 2014
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will headline a Richmond campaign event Oct. 16 to rally the city’s progressive base ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium, 403 Civic Center Plaza, and is free to the public.
Sanders, 73, is seen as a potential candidate for the 2016 presidential election, and is a longtime champion of progressive causes in Congress.
“I am very excited to be welcoming Senator Sanders to Richmond,” said Richmond Mayor and Green Party member Gayle McLaughlin, who said she invited Sanders. “It will be great to share with him the remarkable transformation we have undergone in Richmond and how big moneyed interests, like Chevron, are trying to stop us every step of the way.”
Sanders’ visit could help galvanize the Richmond Progressive Alliance’s campaign base during an election season when they are facing a well-funded, big-business opposition. Chevron Corp., which operates a massive refinery in the city, has poured $3 million into local races to both back its own favored candidates and attack local progressives, who have long been critical of the oil giant.
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Sanders settled in Vermont, where he was elected mayor of Burlington. He went on to win a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1991, and has served since 2007 in the United States Senate.
The event, titled “Fight for Justice,” will focus on addressing global warming, improving healthcare for veterans, expanding Medicare and reducing the influence of money in politics. Sanders will attend a private meeting at the RPA’s downtown headquarters prior to the public event at the auditorium.
Sanders is also expected to visit San Francisco at 7 p.m. Oct. 17, for a town meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Center at 1187 Franklin St.
The Richmond event is sponsored by the RPA and other community organizations.
For additional information, please contact Kay Willis: 510-221-7109
Photo: “Bernie Sanders – Caricature (Painting)” by DonkeyHotey is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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Kshama Sawant at the People’s Climate March in NYC challenged Bernie Sanders to reject the Democrats when he runs for president. I hope Mayor Gayle McLaughlin takes the same position as Sawant and puts the Green position of independence out front. . . . We need a progressive people’s party that is independent of the Democrats.
If Sanders joins the Democrats, it will be a dead end that leads to Clinton and her corporate agenda, and a laundering of progressive time, energy, and money into ultimately supporting Clinton’s neoliberalism.
Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant makes an ironclad case for Bernie Sanders (or any progressive) not to join the Democrats at minute 1:10:56 of the following panel preceding the People’s Climate March in NYC. The URL is below. Panelists included Sawant, Sanders, Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5YaqcPEUNc&feature=player_detailpage#t=4256
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