We ended 2023 with a year in review post about the homeless encampments of San Rafael. Month after month in 2023 the encampments grew. Month after month our constituents who live in San Rafael complained to local authorities.
So, what difference will 2024 make? In our blog we mainly try and report the news, maybe editorialize a bit. You know, do what journalists were SUPPOSED to do a couple of generations ago. We use our email list to push our agenda & do research.
Well, we did a poll in the last week. We asked a couple of hundred San Rafael voters to tell us what THEY thought the biggest issue in San Rafael is right now. The results are still trickling in, but it seems likely that well over 80% of San Rafael respondents identified homelessness as their top issue.
We know a couple of other fun facts --we know that San Rafael is significantly LESS Republican than say, Novato. However, we also know a lot of San Rafael residents who aren't currently registered Republicans are getting sick and tired of the same-old-same-old San Rafael leadership. We know this, because we get emails and direct messages from people who would NEVER have thought about voting for a Republican just 3 years ago who now want to VOLUNTEER for Republican candidates.
We know the current leadership of San Rafael seems uncomfortable any time anyone brings up the situation on Andersen. Yes, the video above was taken from the side window of our Vice Chair's truck while doing yet another spot check of the situation downtown. Mr. Thomas Montgomery is a little old school and was bothered to find out that the youngest female on the MarinGOP committee habitually walks through San Rafael's seediest encampment once a month to take photographs. (Hey, the modern Republican woman isn't sitting around the country club waiting for her next lunch, the modern Republican woman is out doing in-person outreach and real-world research.) And, we know that a couple of members of the San Rafael City Council are up for election in November. (Maybe it is time for "Mayor Kate" to have a reality check and confront the fact that residents care about reality, not her feel good bio?)
We also know that one of our most organized committee members is taking on the important role of local candidate recruitment and will be focusing full time on that after we finish getting in the vote for the March Primary. (Click here to learn more about Bank Your Ballot.)
So, the mission is clear, Run, Recruit, Volunteer. If you don't like the direction the pictures suggest San Rafael is going, want to get involved? Want to run for local office? Want to help recruit your awesome neighbor/relative/wife/husband/daughter/dad/etc. to run for local office? Want to volunteer to get involved at a local level? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes" we look forward to seeing you soon.
