Sonoma Valley CAN to hold community forum Feb. 8

“What now?” was the question on many people’s lips the day after Barack Obama’s election. The starting point for some locals has become the Sonoma Valley Community Action Network, a new nonpartisan group formed to help people translate their concerns into concrete action.
SVCAN is holding the “Sonoma Valley Forum for Hope and Progress” on Sunday Feb. 8 at La Luz Center from 1:45 to 5 p.m.
The Obama campaign built one of the most extensive networks of energized Americans ever, and those involved in the campaign didn’t want the momentum just to stop the day after the election.
“They told us once the campaign is over, don’t let everything we’ve built just disappear,” said Chip Roberson, who was regional field organizer for the Obama campaign, covering an area from just north of the Bay to the Oregon border.
A couple of weeks after the election, top campaigners from every state met in Chicago to strategize. They decided to foster locally based groups that would work on pushing legislation in their areas and beyond and that would also foster two-way communication between the president and the public.
“Instead of trying to elect someone to office, it’s to take the same energy and organizing skills and hopefully bring in new people and make a difference in our community,” said Roberson.
Lilla Weinberger of Readers’ Books organized the first “Change is Coming” event to get the ball rolling. Attendees called for a bigger forum with a broader range of community members.
The second event was recruiting volunteers to get behind Obama’s national day of service on Martin Luther King Day.
Over 120 volunteers participated in three events over the course of the long weekend. On Saturday, volunteers worked at the Community Garden. On Sunday, they set up tables around town to let people know about volunteer opportunities with local nonprofits, and on Monday, a huge crew of people did work in Dunbar Elementary School’s garden.
The group also answered Obama’s call for input on healthcare. After a community workshop, Roberson put together the key points raised to give input back to the administration.
“The whole idea is to keep everybody engaged and to continue working and improving our communities,” said Roberson.
He considers Sonoma a testing ground for how to build an effective group that could be duplicated across northern California. Currently, Petaluma has a group going and Marin and Napa have smaller groups.
The forum on Feb. 8 will start by having attendees identify their primary area of concern choosing from areas like the environment, health care or youth. They will then go into breakout groups for discussion. The meeting will close with each group presenting key concerns and ideas for action to the larger group. Community members can sign up at USAservice.org in order to receive some information in advance to help prepare for the event. More information is also available at Sonomavalleycan.org.
SVCAN is also looking for volunteers to post fliers, work the phone bank, do event set up and pitch in with setup and cleanup. If interested, e-mail Karen Basore at kicknbk@sbcglobal.net or call her at 707.996.5643.