This month, the people of California and across the nation spoke loud and clear – they want a change.
Not just federally, but within the Democratic party, with a historic win of a young gun, Zohran Mamdani, winning the mayor’s race in New York against Democratic political insider and former governor Andrew Cuomo.
This election in many ways felt like the change of the guard – from Mayor-elect Mamdani and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez to Gavin Newsom, defying all odds from being told to sit out in 2024 to becoming the Democratic sweetheart barrelling his way to a 2028 race. Equally telling is Congresswoman Pelosi being told to step aside by a newer political rising star in the Democratic Party, State Senator Scott Weiner.
Republicans are also experiencing their own internal shake-up. News stations, for the first time, are positively covering Republican firebrand Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for her break from the party on many issues – taking a more populist stance. Political purist Representative Thomas Massie is working to force the vote on releasing the Epstein files, voting against administration policies and more. Trump is inappropriately but unfortunately not suprisingly bashing them – telling them to fall in line.
This call for change could not come at a better time in our nation, because what we have been doing is not working. We have been promised for decades that we can seek the American Dream of our parents – where we can work hard, buy a home and raise a family. For many, this has not manifested for residents and voters ages 18-45.
For this age group – we have been in the political pinball game for our entire voting history. We have seen the challenges, we have been made promises and we have experienced administration after administration sell us problems without solutions. This last election, we set the bar really low – we just wanted cheaper groceries.
With all this heavy on my mind, I did some research on Mayor-elect Mamdani and I was pleasantly surprised to agree with many things on his political platform. Housing is too expensive? Agreed. Make groceries affordable? Absolutely. Low-cost childcare? Count me in. The list goes on. His campaign promises are issues I think we can agree on and strive for – but can it be done? That is another story.
I genuinely hope he is successful. Should he be successful, New York can and will be a model for the rest of the nation. Many new voters, ages 18-25, have a positive view of socialism over capitalism, and this is a very real opportunity to see that political theory in action. Each generation deserves their own shot at making their world a better place.
One of my favorite political quotes is an excerpt from Justice Louis Brandeis’s 1932 dissent, which states, “It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system… that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments.”
With these new gains, the Democratic Party has the next couple of years to make its case to the American people on why they should reclaim the White House, Congress and beyond. All eyes are on New York, California, Virginia, Oregon and more as we see the battle of ideas unfold.
As Newsom makes his case on why he should govern the whole country as president, he also has an opportunity to show the nation how to actually solve problems here at home.
His presidential aspirations are a win-win for any California resident because it means the next couple of years will be Newsom trying to bring the rest of the country on board. I welcome this new era in his career, because solving our state’s problems means improving the state that I love. It is a perfect case study, since his party has virtually been in power in California for 40 years.
California, he boasts, is the fourth largest economy in the world – making these next couple of years critical to show the world how it is done. This means focusing on lifting peopleout of poverty, balancing ourbudget, creatingmore jobs, affordability and more.
At the end of the day, political parties, politicians and special interests really cannot hide from results. They either make our lives better or they don’t. They either lower grocery prices or they don’t. The nation is watching as we give these new ideas their time in the spotlight.
It is indicative of all of us to be intellectually honest with how policies are working at a local, state and federal level to genuinely see what works and what doesn’t. We must all become political scientists and not shield ourselves from the opportunity to learn and do better. The constant search to improve is a pillar of democracy.
After the passage of Prop 50, local politics and elections are more important than ever before in California. We can now serve as our own mini laboratories of democracy, where every city council meeting, every community advisory board has value and gives people a voice. I truly believe solutions come from the ground up, not the top down. It is in every church food bank, every non-profit, every community rolling up their sleeves and fighting for their people.
And, I will roll up my sleeves and gladly work alongside anyone who simply wants to solve problems and make all our lives better – here in Foslom and beyond.
Stephanie F. Herrera is a Folsom resident and contributes commentary to Folsom Times. She has over 15 years of service in local, state and federal public policy sectors
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