(SACRAMENTO) -- Thousands of working Californians in eleven video- linked sites took part in an unprecedented “Rebuild California Town Hall” meeting on Saturday where candidates running for statewide offices made their case for how they plan to Rebuild California.   Saturday’s town hall enabled 700,000 workers represented by  Service Employee International Union (SEIU) California to hear firsthand how candidates plan to lead the state out of a deep recession and invest in our future.

“Who we support is critical to whether our state can recover and rebuild,” said Maria Martha Chavez, an in-home caregiver from Oxnard, who recently led Attorney General candidate Pedro Nava through one of her days as part of SEIU’s “Walk A Day In My Shoes” program.  “Hearing directly from candidates is important so we can determine who will make recovering California by investing in jobs and vital services their top priority.”

More than 2000 members of the SEIU California’s local unions participated in the first-of-its-kind town hall from 11 locations across California.  Janitors, social workers, security officers, home care workers, school and university employees, healthcare workers, and city, county and state employees posed tough questions to candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and Insurance Commissioner.   Following each question, candidates had the opportunity to respond to SEIU members as well as their opponents.   

“We need to elect leaders who will be our partners in rebuilding California,” said Renee Lee, an SEIU Local 1000 member who works for the Franchise Tax Board. “We are the people who provide the ‘service’ in ‘public service.’ We maintain the state’s parks, inspect the bridges and keep nursing homes. We need leaders who know that rebuilding California requires investing in our recovery, protecting vital services and jobs, and strengthening our schools, colleges and health care.”

Candidates participating in today’s town hall included: Jerry Brown (candidate for Governor), Janice Hahn and Gavin Newsom (candidates for Lt. Governor), Ted Lieu, Pedro Nava, Kamala Harris, Alberto Torrico, Chris Kelly and Rocky Delgadillo (candidates for Attorney General), Dave Jones and Hector De La Torre (candidates for Insurance Commissioner), Gloria Romero, Tom Torlakson, and Larry Aceves (Candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction).

Because this year’s elections will be especially important in charting a course for California’s recovery, SEIU California launched the Rebuild California Town Hall to enable any SEIU member to take part in the organizations statewide endorsement process in person or on the web.

The town hall was open to all workers represented by SEIU and is part of an inclusive, democratic process that gives SEIU members a direct role and voice in the political decisions of their union.

Town hall meetings took place in Bakersfield, Fairfield, Fresno, Oakland, Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, and Ventura County.

In the coming weeks, SEIU will announce its official endorsements.


SEIU California is a coalition of over 700,000 janitors, social workers, security officers, home care workers, school and university employees, healthcare workers, and city, county and state employees represented by SEIU local unions throughout California. We come together to build a better California by fighting to pass policies and elect candidates that benefit working families and advance the issues we care about: affordable healthcare, good wages, retirement security for all, a healthy environment, good schools and universities, and stronger communities. We believe that by working together we can build a California where working families can thrive again.