What party do you belong to?

 What political party are you a member of and why?

Also, if Democrat, are you a progressive or genocide- complicit conservative and what makes you either?

(“Non-partisan office” does not make your party irrelevant. Voters deserve to know. )

Thank you.

Why I’m a Left Libertarian

I’ve been a registered Libertarian since I was a student at San Francisco State in 1996. But I’m a left libertarian, and that difference matters a lot.

Many people hear “libertarian” and picture someone who wants to cut the safety net and let corporations do whatever they want. That’s not me.

Left libertarians believe two things:

• Your life belongs to you. The government shouldn’t jail you for what you put in your body, spy on you, send you to fight its wars, or tell you whom you can love or marry.

• The Earth belongs to everyone. Nobody made the land, the water, or the air. Those who profit from holding more than their share owe something back to the rest of us.

Right-libertarians keep the first idea and drop the second. I hold both close to my heart. There is much more diversity of thought within the party than most people recognize.

When I registered in 1996, Congress was passing the Defense of Marriage Act with support from both parties. The Libertarian Party had been calling for an end to laws targeting gay people since the 1970s. Equal rights for LGBTQ people aren’t a side issue for me. They’re about the most basic freedom there is: living your own life as who you are.

As a Palestinian, I know what it means when governments take land by force, restrict where people can move, and use violence against ordinary people. I’ve watched both major parties send billions of dollars in weapons overseas, no matter who was in charge. I oppose that because I oppose state violence everywhere, not just when it’s convenient.

I also oppose the power government hands to the already powerful, like corporate bailouts, subsidies for big business, and housing rules that keep homes scarce and expensive.

There’s a practical reason, too. The two major parties write ballot access laws that make it hard for anyone else to compete. The Libertarian Party is the one alternative party that has consistently broken through those laws. In California, a party can keep its place on the ballot by keeping enough registered voters, so my registration isn’t just a statement. It helps keep a real third choice in front of every voter.

Freedom for people, fairness with the land, and no rigged rules for the powerful are the reasons I joined the LP. However, I am not running a campaign based on labels, I’m running one based on my values.

I’m a Democrat, and I consider myself a progressive.

I’m a Democrat because I believe government should work for people, not just those who have the most money or influence. I believe in strong public services, protecting our environment, access to healthcare (healthcare for all), housing as a human right, and making sure people have a real voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

I believe in organized labor and the right of working people to have a voice and a seat at the table. I believe in participatory budgeting because people should have a say in how public dollars are spent, and I believe every neighborhood deserves to have a voice. I also believe we should invest in our communities and in solutions that address the reasons people end up in the criminal justice system, rather than simply building more jails.

I’m progressive because I believe we should keep pushing for better communities and not be afraid to take on hard issues, even when they are difficult or uncomfortable. I signed the ceasefire statement because I believe in a peaceful resolution and an end to the killing of innocent people, regardless of who they are.

I don’t believe being progressive means simply accepting whatever position the Democratic Party takes. I believe it means thinking critically, speaking up when we disagree, and holding our elected officials accountable.

That’s what being progressive means to me.

Hi Blase,

I’ve been registered with the Democratic party since I was old enough to vote. However, like many Democratic voters of my generation, I didn’t consider what spectrum I stood within the party until 2016 when Bernie Sanders ran his first Presidential campaign. During that time I saw where our party was failing the working people of America and dedicated my own place within the party to advocating for necessary changes.

I consider myself a strongly Progressive Democrat.

The Progressive Democrats of America has their own platform that does differ from the larger Democratic Party. I would say that I supported all of the priorities laid out in this platform. www.pdamerica.org/about-pda/our-issues/ Thank you for your question. www.SernaForArcata.com

LOL; Well thanks, Blase! Aren’t you an inquisitive young chap! 

Arcata Mayor, Kimberly White and I received the endorsement of the Humboldt Progressive Democrats because we have nearly 40-year track records of advocating for working and underrepresented people, for unions and community groups filling the void where there USED TO BE social services and protections. 

Many of those services are now weaponized institutions of violence. The Centers for Disease Control is now PRODUCING Diseases, ICE, Homeland Security and other “law - enforcement” agencies are now taking citizens FROM their homelands and torturing them and their children in diseased detention centers, breaking national and international laws. Medicare is removed from the people who need it most to save money for war and murder of noncombatants in Iran, Venezuela, Lebanon and Palestine while we turn our back on The UAE genocide in Sudan.

Arcata City Council needs to think outside the box of normal eras. This is not a normal era. Arcata needs to find ways to subsidize the services our seniors, our children, our citizens have lost in this era of radical libertarian-themed de-regulation. Neither such laissez-faire economic policies nor Moderate-Democrat “going along to get along” will do.

Many Democrat candidates do not mention the threat of ICE in Humboldt or any of these political elephants in the living room for fear of losing voters and making waves. They go with the lie that “Cities can’t do anything about that.” This political scientist and history teacher knows that is exactly the fallacy that ICE, Musk, Bezos and Trump rely on to stoke the wreckage they are profiting from.

I won the endorsement of the Humboldt Progressive Democrats because of my track record of standing up for working class, persecuted and under-represented people and issues in solidarity with many government and non-profit actors as a creative agent for progress for Arcata and to all it connects.

Check my profile on the League of Women Voters: LWV.org/elections/vote411 

Think Glocally, Vote Bonpane.

Peace Y’all!