Candidate Responses

To the CVPPAC Questionnaire

Below are the responses from candidates to the CVPPAC questionnaire sent to them in August 2023. CVPPAC members will evaluate these candidates at the endorsement meeting scheduled for Saturday, September 9 starting at 2 p.m. at Pete and Carmen’s Salsa Academy, 4774 N Blackstone.

You can read the the questionnaires below. These are .pdf’s of the candidates responses . Simply place your cursor over the content, click and you can scroll through the document.

After the questionnaires you will find the CVPPAC endorsement process.

September 5, 2023

The CVPPAC Endorsement Process

The CVPPAC endorses candidates for local, regional and statewide office. When an election is coming up, the members of the CVPPAC, at a regular monthly meeting, will identify which races we are interested in.

When we have candidates who have been identified by the Registrar as certified to run we will send them a questionnaire. That questionnaire will consist of two parts:

Part A: Basic information about the candidate’s campaign. Who is the campaign manager? Who are the top five contributors? Who is the treasurer? This information will give us insight into whether the candidate is viable. Part A will be sent to all candidates.

Part B: Will include several yes/no questions to help us figure out the candidate’s core progressive values. There will be other questions that give the candidate up to 200 words to go into more detail about positions on issues of concern to the progressive community. Part B will be sent to all candidates, but the questions will change, depending on the race. In other words, if you are running for the Fresno City Council, your questions will be different than someone running for a school board seat.

We also include a cover letter that explains our endorsement process.

The CVPPAC will give candidates a reasonable amount of time in which to return the questionnaire but will only consider candidates who have returned the questionnaire on time.

All questionnaires that we receive will be posted at www.cvppac.org, and members will be notified when they are available. We will give members as much time as possible to read candidates’ answers to the questionnaires. An endorsement meeting will be held, and all current CVPPAC members will be invited.  You must be a member for over 60 days in order to attend and vote at the endorsement meeting.  No proxy votes are allowed.

Membership status will be checked at the door, and current members can bring their dues current and vote at the meeting. Sometimes candidates come to a meeting to give a brief presentation and that is allowed. If the candidate is also a member, she/he can stay for the meeting but must step out when we are discussing the race they are in. Campaign staff, if they are CVPPAC members, are also allowed in the meeting but must step out when we are discussing and voting on their candidate’s race. Candidates and staff, if they are CVPPAC members, can vote.

The CVPPAC executive board will provide some analysis on the viability of the candidate(s) running in each race. Is it a Democratic or Republican district? Is the candidate articulate and does she/he have a good grasp of the issues? Someone on the executive board will write or give a brief narrative about each candidate.

There will be an open discussion about each race and the candidates we are considering. To get a CVPPAC endorsement, a candidate needs to get a 2/3 vote from the members present at the meeting.

CVPPAC members will use a scale from 1 to 10 to help rate the candidates. Each candidate will be rated on viability, commitment to progressive principles, fund-raising capabilities and the importance of the race. The higher the number (when they are totaled) will help members determine which candidate to endorse and how much money (if any) to contribute to that candidate’s campaign. The way this rating system will be implemented is still under discussion.

After all the candidates have been selected, the meeting will then discuss how much we will contribute to their campaigns. The factors that determine will determine contributions are as follows:

How much money do we have in our bank account?
The importance of the race.
How progressive is the candidate?
The viability of the candidate.
How much can we legally give this candidate?

After the endorsement process, the CVPPAC treasurer will get checks to the candidates as soon as possible. Members will be encouraged to support CVPPAC-endorsed candidates by walking precincts, phone banking or making an additional financial contribution.

Here is a sample of our cover letter and Parts A and B of the questionnaire:

On behalf of the Central Valley Progressive Political Action  Committee, I want to thank you for running for local office. Our democracy requires the dedication of individuals willing to devote their time, money and energy to serving as elected officials. The CVPPAC promotes voter awareness of candidates and supports candidates for local office who our members believe will make the best difference in the quality of life for all residents in our community.

If you want to be considered for endorsement by the CVPPAC, you will need to complete the attached candidate questionnaire and e-mail it to mikerhodes@comcast.net no later than 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. You will receive an e-mail confirmation of receipt of your completed questionnaire. The questionnaire needs to be completed with each question followed by your answer and must be sent as an attachment in a .docx or .pdf format. The responses will be uploaded to our Web site at www.cvppac.org and made available to our members.

Candidates endorsed by the CVPPAC will be publicized in the Community Alliance newspaper, Facebook, several local listservs and the local news media.

Members and others are urged to volunteer for our endorsed candidates and to contribute financially to those candidates. The CVPPAC also provides direct financial support to many of our endorsed candidates.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to e-mail or call me.

Thank you.

Mike Rhodes
Central Valley Progressive PAC
559-978-4502
mikerhodes@comcast.net
www.cvppac.org

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Central Valley Progressive Political Action Committee 

Endorsement Questionnaire for the March 5, 2019,
Fresno Board of Supervisors Candidates

Name ___________________________________________________________District #2

Name of Campaign Committee _______________________________________________ 

Address _______________________________ City ____________________ Zip _______

E-mail____________________________ Web site________________________________

Phone_____________________Campaign manager ______________________________ 

Treasurer___________________________________________________________

Who are your five largest financial contributors and how much did they give you? ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Please answer YES or NO to the following three questions:

Climate change is an environmental crisis that must be addressed by decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels and increasing solar, wind and other alternative energy sources.

Yes_____

No______

I support President Trump’s immigration policies and believe his proposed wall at our southern border is needed.

Yes_____

No______

I believe in a woman’s right to reproductive freedom and will do what is in my power to keep abortion affordable and legal.

Yes_____

No______

Please limit your responses to the following four questions to no more than 200 words per question.

1. Tell us about your positions on the environmental problems facing Fresno County. For example, what actions should the Board of Supervisors take to be more proactive in addressing air-quality issues in the Central Valley? Do you support “fracking” regulations or a ban on “fracking” in Fresno County? etc.

2. What is your position on high-speed rail? What else could be done to improve accessible and affordable public transportation throughout the county?

3. Given the national debate on immigration, what steps, if any, should the Board of Supervisors take to support and defend our immigrant community? In particular, what should the Board do to defend our undocumented neighbors and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients?

4. What specifically do you plan to do to ensure Fresno County’s stock of affordable, safe and decent housing increases significantly?

Please return this questionnaire by e-mail (in either a .docx or .pdf format by Jan. 15, 2019, to mikerhodes@comcast.net.

Thank you so much for your time and energy in completing this questionnaire. Your answers will be distributed to our members prior to our endorsement meeting through the CVPPAC Web site.