Category: Politics

(From press release) Dillan Horton, a candidate for Davis City Council’s District 2, is proud to announce that he has received endorsement from the Collective PAC, a political action committee aiming to build Black political power. The Collective PAC endorses federal, state, and municipal candidates across the nation that will elevate Black representation in federal, state, and local governments. It is no coincidence that Dillan also received endorsements from Black community leaders across Davis, including former organizer of Parents of African American Children – Davis Dzokerayi Mukome, former President of DJUSD Board of Trustees Cindy Pickett, Chief Emeritus of UC Davis Police Calvin Handy, founder and director of the Culture C.O-O.P Sandy Holman, former member of the Davis Human Relations Commission Rev. Tim Malone, and many others. Their endorsements demonstrate Dillan’s commitment and strength in reforming city government and fighting for racial justice.

As potentially the first Black Councilmember in Davis, Dillan will not only bring needed representation to the City Council, but also fight for equal opportunity for all Davisites. He will make it easier to start Black-owned, other minority-owned & women-owned small businesses, along with expanding the availability of quality-affordable housing in Davis, particularly expanding workforce housing. In addition, Dillan’s successful experience in criminal justice reform has equipped him to tackle implicit racial biases in policing, such as reforming traffic enforcement, where Black Davisites report persistent racial bias.

By Alan Hirsch 

I am one of the hundreds of Davis volunteers from Indivisible Yolo and Sister District called to get involved in this election. I share this as in a few days the experience of this moment will be forgotten in the joy or anguish of Tuesday’s election results. 

We drove from Davis to Reno to canvass homes for Harris the last week of October. Our group of five is door knocking on a prescreened list of likely Democratic voters. The Nevada Democratic Party assigns us neighborhoods, and we use an app on our cell phones. On our first day we ran into other groups canvasing the same turfs. Many homes already had Harris literature under their door mats. Our first day of canvassing was Monday, not a weekend. 

We look at the canvassing history of voters in the app. This history shows 10 or even 25 knocks, texts, and call attempts since beginning in July.  Almost all contacts indicate "not home."  A few are marked as voted so we don’t knock. Less than ¼ of the people answer the door (curse the ring doorbells) and of those who answer about ½ have voted already. We make sure everyone has a plan to vote, a where and when and know the hours the early polling places are open. 

Washoe County NV, which is 1/25 the population of Bay Area, is attracting many volunteers.   

We wonder what our efforts will mean. Will our hours here make a difference? 

I see just one piece of Trump literature, a door hanger, cut out in shape of the state of California. It reads "Don't let Harris turn the US into California.” “California” is now a GOP shorthand meme for lawless dystopian hell hole. Socialist, even Communist.

We knock on doors alone to cover more ground but share our stories when we gather for meals.

In 6 person-hours of canvasing on our first day I surfaced a young Hispanic man not registered to vote and I explained how he could still register and vote. Another young man was convinced Trump will win so why bother to vote. I shared that Trump’s derogatory remarks had offended a key demographic of Pennsylvania voters. I stressed that his vote would matter.

This is the work.

As a long-time member of the Davis community, I am excited about Dillan's candidacy for the Davis City Council. As both a renter and a Black man, Dillan is committed to fighting for all Davis residents, especially those who have been suffering from racial and economic injustices.

Dillan’s involvement in the city government, contribution to the Nine Recommendations, and his role in establishing the Department of Social Services & Housing proves that he is the only candidate with successful experience in city governance. If elected to the City Council, Dillan will leverage his expertise to better represent racial minorities, renters, and the entire Davis community.

Since the onset of the tragic Israel-Palestinian conflict, Dillan has consistently advocated for those suffering from warfare. He successfully encouraged the City Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. He has also engaged with Jewish leaders in Davis to address the issue of antisemitism. I fully trust Dillan to champion causes that matter to us and fight for our collective best interests.

Tim Malone

As one of the oldest former City Councilmen of Davis I am pleased to endorse my friend, Dillan Horton, for Davis City Council District 2. During the past few years we have benefited from work that Dillan has done to assist us here in Winters, where I now live. I know Dylan as a smart hard worker with great ideas that he will use to shape the future of Davis.

Ever since 1972 I have unsuccessfully tried to get a Black person elected and or appointed to the Davis City Council. Hopefully, getting Dillan elected this year will be a delightful change, a tremendous benefit, and source of pride to Davis. This old barrier will finally be broken. This will be a great year to make this happen and Davis will benefit from his knowledge and sensitivity.

Cheers

Dick Holdstock

I write to recommend Linda Deos for Councilperson for Davis District 2.

Linda is an excellent listener and her work as a legal mediator has provided her great experience in working with people who may not immediately perceive their mutual interest, realize a positive solution to resolve their conflicts. This skill will be invaluable in leading the community as Davis develops its new general plan.

Over the fifteen years I have known Linda, she and I have had long conversations about her approach to public service and her understanding of the work required to successfully execute each of the positions she has held in city and county government. As others have noted, Linda takes her work for the community very seriously, spending the time to learn exactly the responsibilities and processes involved in each position.  The breadth of her experience, from chairing the Yolo County Cannabis Business Tax Oversight Commission, chairing the Utilities Commission and serving on the Davis Planning Commission and the Davis Personnel Board, when combined with her role on the Yolo Basin Foundation Executive Committee means she will come to the City Council with a deep understand of how various parts of Davis work.  Moreover, Linda has developed a detailed knowledge about how the parts of local government—advisory boards, city and county agencies—complement each other. Understanding of how these levels of government interact is imperative to successfully craft and implement policy.

Linda is also a fun-loving person who enjoys and values people, an excellent addition to the City Council.

Helen Roland Cramer