We are the Democratic Club.

As stated in our club constitution we exist to “promote the interests of the Democratic Party… toward the end of electing Democratic candidates to all public offices.”

Notice that it doesn’t say “some” public offices. It says “all” public offices.

Further, we are chartered by the L.A. County Democratic Party. As such, we are restricted to endorsing only candidates who are registered Democrats.

While it’s true that in the past we have had forums where we invited non-Democrats to speak, we were not in the position of endorsing any candidates who were not registered Democrats. Given the realities of our purpose and the mandate of our charter, it makes sense to our members to concentrate the limited time we have in a meeting on the individuals we can actually endorse.

I also find it interesting that someone who’s not a member of our club feels he has the right to comment negatively on our own inner workings.

We are a club, with members who pay dues. We respond to the wishes of our members. I don’t see articles in the news making comments on internal decisions of other clubs, homeowners associations and similar groups that meet in Culver City.

Mr. Elmont doesn’t make comments on why those groups will or won’t invite School Board candidates to their meetings.

Further, calling our club “insular” just shows that anyone can have an opinion. But that doesn’t make the opinion justified or even widely held.

The Culver City Democratic Club has hundreds of members. Each month we have meetings, which are open to the public, on topics of interest to all residents of Culver City, free, and announced in the local papers. For each election through our newsletter we usually contact approximately 7000 households in Culver City.

We also register voters and work on political campaigns for candidates and issues we support. We do all this, and more, through an all-volunteer, local, grassroots membership. I don’t think there is any other local organization, based in Culver City, focused on Culver City, which can honestly claim to do more.

Finally, and most importantly, Mr. Elmont seems to confuse the idea of a non-partisan election with being non-partisan.

As a lifelong Democrat, I believe that it is impossible to avoid bringing one’s political beliefs into all aspects of your life, consciously or unconsciously. There is a reason someone registers as a Democrat, a Republican, or as something else. I wouldn’t expect a Republican to make the same choices as a Democrat, regardless of whether the election that put her in that position was a partisan or non-partisan election. Being non-partisan is a virtue only if you don’t feel any political party shares your values.

Mr. Elmont is correct that, once elected, a School Board member must represent Culver City as a whole. But this has nothing to do with whether the election is partisan or non-partisan.

Each of our State Assembly members, State Senators, Members of Congress and U.S. Senators represents his or her districts or state even though all were elected in partisan elections.

I would hope that if a Democrat is elected to any office, he or she will make decisions based on core Democratic values like fairness, honest government, and public accountability.

It is because Democrats have shared values that we seek to elect Democratic candidates so that our vision of how to govern will be reflected in our government.

I invite any candidate who shares our Democratic values, and is willing to commit to them as a registered Democrat, to seek the endorsement and support of our club. I also welcome anyone who would like to take an active role in promoting Democratic ideals to join our club.

Greg Valtierra is President of the Culver City Democratic Club. He may be reached at www.president@ccdemclub.org or 310.204.1338.

A Reason to Join?
Written by Brian Pogue