Letter from Chairwoman Maha Rizvi

Greetings RCYD,

Thank you for electing me to be the 2018-2019 Chairwoman of the Riverside County Young Democrats. I am honored to have your support and trust, and I look forward to seeing all of the great accomplishments we will achieve this year!

I want to thank Francisco for his steadfast dedication to the RCYD this past year. Under his leadership, we hosted the 1st Annual Cesar Chavez March, started our franchise model with regional commissioners to raise more young Democrats to leadership roles, and proudly established a membership base in the Desert; a place we previously were not able to touch. I also want to thank Hakan and Mayra Jackson for serving as our Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Their hard work and dedication enabled our club to thrive and rise to new heights. Further, I am grateful for the work of our previous executive board and look forward to what our club will achieve over the course of the next 12 months.

Democratic clubs across the country are reacting to the myriad of shameful policies being enacted by local, state, and national administrations. With today’s political climate, though, reacting is not enough. Riverside County Young Democrats must be PROACTIVE. We will do this by:

Aggressively Increasing Membership: As the 4th largest county in the State of California, I want our club to reflect that in numbers. It is my goal to regularly reach out to registered Democrats 35 and under with updates from our club. This way we can establish communication and an opportunity for us to recruit membership. I want us to be innovative in how we approach our membership outreach.

• Robust Candidate Support: I believe that, as a political organization, we should be a resource to our local candidates. By the end of my term, I want to create a resource packet with information that will be beneficial to our endorsed candidates.
• Actively Train and Elect Young Democrats: As an organization, I want to offer regular trainings or have information on trainings available to potential future candidates. In Riverside County, 70% of public officials are Republican. By offering candidate trainings, we can groom candidates to run for our local seats. This will have the added benefit of creating a pipeline for candidates for higher offices.
• Build Our Message: As we have seen across California, the need for a clear and strong message that will resonate with Millennial Democrats is crucial. We will create a bold message that will motivate our young Democrats to get to the polls.
• Reestablish Our Website: Our website has regrettably been down for the past year. Updating and revamping our official website is vital to successful digital outreach. We know that many members and future members rely on us to provide the necessary resources to be successful in social and political endeavors, and we have prioritized making our website a wealth of information for all.
• Taking Back Patriotism: For too long, the Republican Party has hijacked the ideal of patriotism. They have created and passed heartless un-American policies in the name of it. The Trump administration has been relentless in their campaign to pervert the term of patriotism; it is time we stand up and say, “Enough is enough!” Democrats are the party of patriotism, and, as each day passes, it becomes more clear that we are the true party of family values. American patriotism is not an ideal fueled by hate, fear, or exclusion. We will use our passion for preserving American values to fight for those who need us most.

Lastly, I want to take this time to introduce our Executive Board members!

• Vice Chair– Lisa Tran
• Secretary– Gracie Torres
• Political Director– Greg B. Hutchins
• Communication Director– Sarah Gray
• Event Coordinator– Francisco Ramos

We can only achieve this goal together! Please take this time to renew your commitment to RCYD and renew your membership. Our membership dues are $25 for regular members and $10 for students. For those who are over the age of 35, we offer an honorary membership for $25! If you are not a member, but would like to be, please contact us at rivcoyoungdems@gmail.com.

The midterms are just around the bend. We look forward to mobilizing with you, fellow Young Democrats. Hate is relentless, but so are we. Again, thank you for electing me to be your Chairwoman in such critical times. Now, let us get back to work!

Maha Rizvi

Chairwoman

Riverside County Young Democrats

July 10, 2018