Political Action & News

PAFC meetings occur on second Wednesdays of the month from 3 pm to 5 pm.

For more than a century, labor unions have played an important role in shaping American politics and advocating for progressive causes. In keeping with that tradition, the LRCFT Political Action Fund Committee (PAFC) provides a collective voice for members on issues that impact their lives. General union dues are never used to fund political action. Instead, the PAFC depends entirely on generous donations from concerned Los Rios Faculty.

Hello Colleagues:
May 10, 2022

As the semester ends, and you are getting ballots in the mail, we thought you’d like an accounting of the people your union’s Political Action Fund Committee (PAFC) has interviewed and chosen to endorse, and why. 

The people we send to the legislature have a direct effect on your job.  They play a role in your salary and in your working conditions.  The most significant legislative race in our area is the race for our local state senate seat.  We spent a lot of time reviewing the candidates for this race last semester.  We chose Dave Jones because he has a relationship with us, has a proven record supporting our issues, and will enter office as one of the strongest new Senators in California.   Eric Guerra is running for assembly in the southern part of Los Rios. He also has a long history with our union and has been a friend to the larger labor community.  Paula Villescaz is running for state senate in the northern part of our district.  She is a proven supporter of public education.

Our PAFC expressed an interest in expanding our range within the community, including addressing the relationship between law enforcement and the community we serve.  To that end, we have reviewed candidates for District Attorney in Sacramento and Yolo counties.  Alana Mathews and Cynthia Rodriguez align closest with our social justice values.

Your PAFC is interested in municipal races because we live and work in this community, and we want our values supported.  Several of these choices represent a new generation of public servants that may signal the beginning of long relationships with our union.  Jaclyn Moreno is a strong progressive running for an open seat that could help improve the Sacramento Board of Supervisors.   There are several exciting Sacramento City Council races.  Caity Maple is the most progressive new candidate running this cycle in District 5.  Karina Talamantes is another strong advocate for public education running in District 3. Nate Pelczar running for District 1 has earned our support through service in supporting our values in other campaigns.  Our strongest supporter already in the city council is facing a recall, and we urge you to support Katie Valenzuela’s effort to fight the recall.

One of our own, Walter Garcia Kawamoto, who has worked at CRC, SCC, and ARC is also running for Sacramento County Office of Education, District 3 (Parts of San Juan and Twin Rivers School Districts). We support Walter and encourage other union members to support him as well.

This has been one of the busiest spring semesters ever for PAFC, and I’d like to thank all the members for their participation.  Please go out and vote and support our endorsed candidates.

If you are interested in getting involved in any of the campaigns, please reach out to me or any of your union representatives.

Thank you,

Jason Newman

LRCFT President