DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the February 17, 2022 regular meeting.

WHEREAS, American women of every race, culture, class, faith, and ethnic background, representing 50.8% of the United States population, have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and

 WHEREAS, American women have played and continue to play a crucial economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of life in the Nation by constituting a significant portion of the paid and unpaid labor force working inside and outside of the home; and

WHEREAS, American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in our Nation; and 

WHEREAS, American women’s contributions were instrumental in the perseverance of the Nation during the Second World War (WWII), more recent wars/conflicts, the race for space and many other crises; and

WHEREAS, American women of every race, culture, class, faith, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and 

WHEREAS, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, the peace movement, and other movements, all of which strive to create a more fair and just society for all; and 

WHEREAS, the many women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs contribute in a major way to the health and success of our local communities, their economies, create jobs, and demonstrate effective leadership; and

WHEREAS, from local Special Districts to Sacramento to the White House, women are leading and making change in government; and

WHEREAS, Contra Costa Democrats celebrate the many women leaders who are elected or appointed throughout our county and nation, including our first woman Vice President in 2020, Kamala Harris and our first woman District Attorney in 2017, Diana Becton; along with the historic number of women who were elected in the most recent elections, we also recognize that women are still underrepresented in our legislatures, board rooms, and the judiciary; and

WHEREAS, the objectification of, violence against, and the exploitation of girls and women continues to be pervasive in the United States and across the world, while society continues to fail to educate young boys and men about boundaries and to hold them accountable; and

WHEREAS, lawmakers continue to infringe upon the rights of women to have autonomy over their bodies and access to the health care; and

WHEREAS, despite women’s contributions and proven talents and skills, the role of women in history is consistently overlooked and their qualifications undervalued and dismissed in literature, education, the study of American history, media coverage and government; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County proudly recognizes the month of March 2022 as Women’s History Month and stands in solidarity and fully supports the contributions of all women throughout history. 

Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, February 17, 2022

DPCCC membership approved this endorsement at the February 17, 2022 regular meeting.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB467

DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the January 20, 2022 regular meeting.

WHEREAS local print and digital journalism is disappearing at a record rate, with subscriptions to local news decreasing steadily since the spread of the internet and corporations buying local news outlets and then cutting budgets and staff; and

WHEREAS trust in journalists is at an all-time low nationally, while many local reporters retain the goodwill and trust of their communities; and

WHEREAS local print and digital journalism are essential to the continued welfare, transparency, and prosperity of government at every level and to ensuring our democracy continues to survive; 

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County commends Rep. Mark DeSaulnier for authoring H.R. 6068, the Saving Local News Act, and encourages Congress to pass this legislation to help ensure that local digital and print news continues to operate in a robust manner for years to come; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County shall communicate this resolution to Contra Costa County Democrats, the California Democratic Party, and members of Congress representing any part of Contra Costa County.

Submitted by Craig Cheslog, Associate Member, District 5

DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the January 20, 2022 regular meeting.

Whereas, Diana Becton is the first African American woman to serve as District Attorney (DA) in Contra Costa County; and

Whereas, Diana Becton, as a Judge for 22 years in Contra Costa County, has handled criminal, civil and environmental prosecutions and lawsuits, and has overseen cases in our juvenile justice system, prior to her election as District Attorney; and

Whereas, Diana Becton is a champion of criminal justice reform, partnering with The Vera Institute of Justice (VERA). The partnership allowed the DA’s Office to take a critical look at its own decision-making by joining an exclusive approach aimed at ending racial and implicit bias in the justice system; and

Whereas, Diana Becton established the DA’s Office first Human Trafficking Unit to develop a collaborative and comprehensive approach to combat exploitation of persons for sex or labor, coordinate victim services, and provide education to raise community awareness; and 

Whereas, Diana Becton joined Code For America’s initiative, to dismiss thousands of old marijuana convictions. Roughly 2400 individuals received relief and will no longer have felony and/or misdemeanor convictions on their record; and

Whereas, Diana Becton formed a Reimagine Youth Justice Task Force that will study and make recommendations on the most effective ways to invest in our justice involving youth through restorative, community-based solutions instead of investing in youth prisons which have proven to result in worse outcomes for our children and families; and

Whereas, under Diana Becton’s leadership, Contra Costa County was selected to participate in the California County Resentencing Pilot Program. The program builds on AB 2942, which allows a district attorney to review old sentences and determine if the sentence still serves the interest of justice and the community; and

Whereas, Diana Becton created a new process to improve investigations by the DA’s Office for officer-involved shootings and held the first-ever training for the Investigative Unit on officer-involved shootings; and

Whereas, Diana Becton successfully prosecuted and led to a Concord resident’s conviction for four felony charges related to posting antisemitic murder threats online and illegally possessing an assault weapon; and

Whereas, Diana Becton successfully prosecuted the case against a Sheriff’s Deputy. This was not only a crime, but  tarnished the badge, and harmed the reputation of all the good, hard-working police officers that work in Contra Costa County; and

Whereas, Diana Becton’s Office successfully held a local steel company accountable for dumping toxic waste in our community and was the local steel company was forced to pay a $4 million fine; and

Whereas, Diana Becton’s Office continues to file felony charges on those caught in relation to the organized retail theft incident at Walnut Creek, coordinating with law enforcement partners throughout the Bay Area to identify perpetrators of organized retail theft;

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County commends District Attorney Diana Becton’s leadership which upholds our democratic values in her work for criminal justice reform, equity and fairness for all Contra Costa County’s residents; and

Therefore, be it further resolved, that this commendation be distributed to Democratic elected leaders and Democratic Clubs in Contra Costa County.

Submitted by María Alegría, Elected Delegate, District 1