>>>This Sunday from 5-7 pm there is a fundraising event for Efren Carrillo at 5626 Vine Hill Road, Sebastopol.
Hey, I thought, that's my neck of the woods! So I googled the address...whoa! Fancy place!
...What is Efren telling us by saddling up to such wealth?
Not to express support for Carrillo here, but just to comment on the point made: To denigrate a candidate because he's trying to raise money from rich people seems nonsense, IMHO. It's a great idea to limit yourself to taking small contributions, but sorry, we probably won't even hear about your candidacy or your virtue. People try to do fundraisers in gorgeous houses because more people are likely to want to see that gorgeous house than somebody's two-bedroom apartment, and if admission is only $50 (not a huge contribution by current standards) you need a lot of people and a lot of good munchies.
When our theatre was back east, we were in constant fundraising mode, and I was very happy to have a couple of board members who'd give $5,000 and throw parties for us, despite the fact that we were on different sides of the political spectrum. It allowed us to do a lot of good work. When we started feeling that support might disappear if we continued doing the work we were doing, well, we left.
Indeed, Carrillo should be judged by his votes & his actions, but I think it's unrealistic to diss someone for "saddling up to wealth." That's part of the game, and I could wish it were otherwise, but it won't be, ever.
-Conrad