Local 721 Members Play Deciding Role in Race for Congress

Our efforts help put Laura on top yesterday with nearly 38% of the vote.  In May, SEIU Local 721 members interviewed the candidates and strongly felt Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, a former staffer to the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, would best represent us in Congress. 

Together, with other SEIU Locals and the CountyFed, we were able to win this competitive primary.  Laura will face two minor candidates in an August 21strun-off election.  We look forward to helping Laura win again on Election Day and continuing to work with State Senator Jenny Oropeza who came in second place.

Our victory was possible because we spoke with one strong voice for the candidate who best represented our values and pledged to stand with up for working families and the services we provide in the community. We walked door-to-door and phone banked to get out the vote. Many of us even took time off of work and volunteered on weekends to do our part. “Ruby was taking people to the polls by the van-full,” said Local 721 member Cynthia Molette of her union sister Ruby Dye.

Ruby’s efforts helped pave the way to victory in this very low turn-out election. Laura Richardson gained 37% of the vote, Jenny Oropeza: 31%, and Valerie McDonald: 9%. Because Laura didn’t get 50% of the vote in the primary voters will have to go back to the polls to affirm their support for her in an August 21 run-off election. We look forward to helping Laura with this next key vote to make sure she is our newest representative in Congress.