Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders supporters held their first public local meeting under the banner “Visalia for Bernie” during the last week of February.
The organization, founded by Caty Wagner-Verduzco of Visalia, met at the Visalia Public Library in downtown Visalia. The first meeting focused on setting the local agenda for the rest of the presidential primary campaign.
Wagner-Verduzco is working closely with local Democratic leaders and organizations such as Ruben Macareno, Robert Cole, Victor Villalvazo, the Visalia Democratic Club, the Stonewall Democrats, Tulare County Democratic Party and the Latino Democrats of Tulare County.
The group did Super Tuesday phone banking for Sanders at the offices of the Tulare County Democratic Party on the Monday evening before and on Super Tuesday morning. They are also scheduled to do voter registration in downtown Visalia on Sunday, March 6.
According to Wagner-Verduzco, the group recognizes the Vermont Senator as the people’s candidate because his platforms reflect the interests of the public first and foremost. They feel that he stands strong on family values by pushing for universal childcare and pre-kindergarten education, equal pay for women, and paid family and medical leave.
She cites Sanders’ plans to create 13 million jobs for Americans by repairing crumbling infrastructure, and another one million jobs specifically for disadvantaged young people, which affects Visalia directly with our limited access to four-year colleges and advanced degree programs.
For opportunities to participate or more information, contact Wagner-Verduzco at catywagner@gmail.com. To receive updates and get involved join the Facebook group Visalia for Bernie Sanders. Learn more about Bernie Sanders at berniesanders.com.