Dear Pride Family,
I don’t need to tell you that every election matters. You’re reading this, so you know they do. Here in San Diego County, we have a special election happening in the next week for the 4th Supervisorial District, Chula Vista City Attorney, and on ballot measures in the Fallbrook Public Utility & Rainbow Municipal Water Districts.
See if you live in one of the voting districts here
If you live in one of the special election districts, please make certain that you return your ballot or vote in person by this coming Tuesday, November 7.
We all choose how much we engage in the democratic process. We can decide to vote or not, to volunteer a little, a lot, or not at all. We can donate. We can protest. We can write op-eds. We can combat false narratives in our daily lives or as part of a larger campaign. We can sit back and do nothing. No matter what, it’s all a choice.
During the Prop 8 campaign, in San Diego, about 9,000 volunteers engaged with the campaign that year. That’s almost as many as volunteer for Pride over the weekend. We had heard from so many who wouldn’t volunteer or donate that ‘Califonia was too progressive to pass such a bill.’
After Prop 8, approximately 29,000 people took to the streets on a very hot day to protest the passage of Prop 8. At Pride about 250,000 take to the streets any given year to celebrate. I always think about what would have happened if those other 20,000 people had decided to volunteer beforehand, not to mention a quarter million people.
I don’t say any of this to shame or judge. I say it as an invitation to reflect on how we choose to engage in making the world a better place. Do we sit back and watch? Do we protest after the fact? Do we stand up to the bullies? It’s our choice.
Here are a few ways you can positively engage in building community now:
Register for our Youth Leadership Academy
Sign up to be notified about volunteer opportunities
Join Pride’s Advocacy Team
Save the date for the Pride Power Summit; annual organizer training, 4/12-4/14
Donate to support the year-round programs of Pride
Next year we will face elections in California and across the country that will deeply impact the rights, protections, safety, and very lives of our LGBTQ community. How will you decide to show up? No matter what, I hope you make a decision that will help our community and movement Thrive!
With Pride,
Fernando Z. López
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Executive Director
San Diego Pride
Fernando Lopez was the Executive Director of San Diego Pride. Lopez’s years of LGBT advocacy, nonprofit management, public education, diversity consulting, media relations, guest lectures, and organizing have made them a consistent presence ensuring the struggles of the LGBT community are ever visible.
