Central Valley Progressive Political Action Committee

Making the Central Valley thrive for everyone.

Recent Posts

  • From the May 2021 Community Alliance newspaper

    From the May 2021 Community Alliance newspaper

    Tale of Two Cities: The Continuing Saga
    By Mike Rhodes

    These two maps tell the story of last year’s presidential election in Fresno. Map #1, from the Fresno County Registrar of Voters’ office, shows the November 2020 election results in the City of Fresno for the race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  If you click on these maps they will become larger.

    This map, from the Fresno County Clerks office, shows voter turnout patterns in the City of Fresno. This illustrates the Tale of Two Cities we often talk about. High voter turnout in the Northern part of the City and lower voter turnout in Southwest and Southeast Fresno. Conservatives in North Fresno consequently have more political power than residence in South Fresno. This is particularly true in city wide races, like a mayoral race.

    The map shows Biden winning decisively in south Fresno and continuing to win until you reach the Bluffs and northeast Fresno. South of Bullard Avenue is solidly Biden territory. Biden won Fresno County 52.9% versus 45.07 for Trump. So much for Fresno being a conservative backwater.

    Looking at Map #2, you see high turnout in the precincts that voted for Trump and lower turnout the farther south you go. This presents progressives with a dilemma in citywide races, like the mayoral race. How do we get more people in the southern part of the city to vote? If elections were held on a level playing field, where an equal number of people voted in the north and south, poor and working people would win every election.

    Of course, there are other factors that influence voter turnout, such as the amount of money builders and developers give to candidates who represent their interests. That illustrates the need for campaign finance reform.

    What about the 3,000-plus people (people of color, poor and working class) in the Fresno County Jail on Election Day. They can’t get out to vote, and few of them applied for a mail-in ballot at the jail before they were arrested. Did you know that two-thirds of people in jail have not been convicted of a crime? They are there because they are too poor to come up with bail and are awaiting trial.

    To view the Fresno County results in the presidential election, visit votefresno.com and click on “Election Results.”

    The maps were prepared by the Central Valley Progressive PAC (CVPPAC), which exists to build a progressive movement that can elect candidates for local office who support social, economic and environmental justice. Learn more at www.cvppac.org.

    The CVPPAC’s June 12 meeting will feature a power structure analysis of Fresno County. From there, a strategic plan will be developed to win political power in this community.

    *****

    Mike Rhodes is a writer for the Community Alliance newspaper and author of the book Dispatches from the War Zone, about homelessness in Fresno. Contact him at mikerhodes@comcast.net.

  • From the April 2021 CVPPAC 1/2 page in the Community Alliance newspaper

  • Climate Equity: How We Win Video Now Online

    How are youth in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley approaching the issue of climate change? How do they deal with climate equity? In this video they tell us, in their own words, what they are doing about one of the biggest threats to their future. The Zoom event was held on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. The Community Alliance newspaper in Fresno California sponsored this Climate Equity panel and Kevin Hall was the host.

    See the complete uncut (1 hour and 29 minute) video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lus_HN5QXw

    If you are interested in a shorter version (58 minutes) I produced a radio show for KFCF 88.1 FM that features the primary speakers: https://fresnoalliance.com/…/Climate-Equity-panel-April…

    I hope you have enjoyed this discussion on Climate Equity: How We Win, which was sponsored by the Community Alliance newspaper. Kevin Hall, a programer on KFCF, was the host. To subscribe to the Community Alliance newspaper go to: https://fresnoalliance.com/subscribe/

  • From the March 2021 CVPPAC 1/2 page in the Community Alliance newspaper

  • March for our Future

  • The origins of the Central Valley Progressive PAC

    This article is from the May 2004 Community Alliance newspaper and identifies the beginning of the CVPPAC.  Here is the article:

    Let’s Make Democracy Work

    By Mike Rhodes

    This photo is from Howard Watkins and was taken at the first or second meeting.

    A progressive Political Action Committee (PAC) is forming in Fresno. The goal of the PAC will be to get progressive candidates elected to City Council, Board of Supervisors, and School Board positions. The candidates supported by this PAC will support issues like:

    • A living wage for all workers
    • Clean air
    • Affordable housing
    • Adequate public transportation and bike paths
    • Police accountability
    • Stop the privatization of government services
    • Food security
    • Health care for all
    • Improved Public Education

    Many people in Fresno are tired of the builders and developers running local government and even determining which candidates have the money to run viable campaigns. The progressive PAC will change that by raising money, sup­porting voter registration, and get out the vote campaigns.

    Did you know that only 26% of the eligible voters bothered to vote in the last election? Did you know that builders and developers contributed ½ of the money to political candidates in that election? Here is how we are going to take back our local government: The progressive PAC could take automatic deductions of $10 a month from 1,000 members. That $120,000 a year would allow the PAC to provide funding for several candidates in the 2006 elections.

    Think of the progressive PAC as a three legged stool. The first leg is the money. The second leg on this stool is having a good candidates to run. The way things are right now, progressives don’t want to run for political office because there is no support system for them as candidates. Having a progressive PAC in place will encourage good candidates to run. The third leg is the get out the vote campaign. The Republicans run this town right now because they are able to get 15% of the eligible voters to the voting booth. A targeted voter registration and get out the vote campaign in poor and working class neighborhoods will dramatically increase voter participation. Combine the get out the vote cam­paign with a viable candidate who can articulate a progressive agenda and we will win by a landslide. Politics in Fresno will never be the same. We will have elected officials who are elected by and held accountable to the progressive community.

    While all of the details of the PAC have not been worked out yet, it is anticipated that members of the PAC will vote, after a public candidate forum, on who to support. There will be a democratic decision making process developed that encourages community participation. If you would like to be a part of this historic movement to reclaim our local government you are encouraged to become in­volved in the organization.

    The first public meeting of the Progressive PAC will be held on Saturday, May 1 at 2 PM – Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N. Van Ness, south of McKinley. For more information call (559) 978-4502 or email MikeRhodes@Comcast.net.