Cross-posted at RonKayeLA.com.
It was beautiful — the moment of truth when we pushed the button and launched the Clean Sweep campaign to bring all of Los Angeles together to change the political culture, empower every segment of the community and elect better people for a greater city.
Some 200 people gathered Saturday in the heat at the Mayflower Club in North Hollywood to rally behind creating an alternative to failure at City Hall and apathy and defeatism among voters.
A lot of hard work lies ahead that will take the efforts of thousands of people but the enthusiasm Saturday among people who represent political views of the left, right and center, people came from all parts of the city, showed there is a base of committed passionate support for the broad agenda of Clean Sweep.
The diverse viewpoints of former Mayor Richard Riordan, South Central Farmers leader Tezozomoc, Laborers Union organizer Gerardo Almeida, Parent Revolution organizer Shirley, former mayoral candidate Walter Moore and Neighborhood Council activists all came together around the need for change and how to achieve it.
There was extensive advance coverage in the media and of the event in the LA Weekly, Daily News and LA Times provided coverage of the event along with several community papers, bloggers and KPCC.
We must move swiftly now to reach out to all parts of the city to get people involved and create opportunities for all candidates preparing to challenge for the even-numbered City Councl seats next March to hone their messages and connect with voters.
They, of course, will be running their own campaigns but Clean Sweep can mobilize volunteers for phone banks and precinct walking and to spread the word on the need for major reforms in how he city does business.
We have a long way to go and it will take the active participation of a lot of people concerned about the future of the city they love.
We need to reinvent LA’s political culture to be open and inclusive and elect people who will put the public interest first, people who are beholden for their election to the voters and not the special interests and their money.
All suggestions are welcome. You can write me at ron@ronkayela.com or go to lacleansweep.com and register to volunteer and become of something important that can make a difference.