On Sunday, January 9, Democrats in Sonoma and Marin will be voting on who will represent them in the California Democratic Party. The 6th Assembly District, comprising a third of Sonoma County and all of Marin County, is among the most innovative and sustainable agricultural communities in California and the US, but the interests of our local organic farmers, food industry workers and consumers are far less represented than they should be. To seize this chance and take action, come vote for Montana Mathieu to be a Democratic Delegate on January 9, 2011 between 1:30 and 4 p.m. at the Marinwood Community Center, 775 Marinwood Ave, San Rafael.
For Sonoma, a Slow Town, a vibrant agricultural area and a mindful community, there is no more important action than supporting and protecting our food safety, security and sustainability. By coming out to elect a young, engaged and accessible Sonoman, you are advocating for organics in the face of market odds, you are speaking for watersheds and their impact on our bodies, you are raising your voice a little higher than the white noise of the status quo.
Politics at the top have become increasingly disappointing, and the responsibility that comes with power now lies in our hands. Dreams of great change were dashed, but these last two years have united many of us in stalwart resilience and dedication to our local communities. Empowered by solidarity and commitment, our decisions at the local level have become the most important action we can take. Never before has the opportunity to unite our communities around ethical, healthy and sustainable agriculture been greater, or more necessary.
Starting from the local level, ripples are forming, and with the right Democratic Delegates acting on our behalf at the state level, groundbreaking efforts such as creating a Sustainable Food and Agriculture Caucus within the California Democratic Party could become reality. Leading this wave, with the support across the state, are the voices of citizens like you. We are changing California from the bottom up, changing the U.S. from the inside out, and building a more sustainable society to bring us through the next year and the next generation.
With profound experience across fields and continents, I bring versatility, integrity, idealism and pragmatism to politics. At Georgetown University, I designed my Bachelor’s of Science of Foreign Service to span institutional and grassroots forms of socio-economic development, with the ambition to find innovative solutions and new applications for the issues of human rights and structural inequalities. I combined the study of public policy with fieldwork to integrate top-down and bottom-up strategies, at global and local scales, from the analysis of harsh labor and health conditions in China’s booming manufacturing sector, to the disastrous effects of for-profit foreign water management on Bolivian homes. Yet it was in the war-torn hills of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley that I became committed to public policy in service of sustainable development. After years away from their ancestral land, farmers and families returning to rubble and drought are rebuilding the foundation of their food security with the resilient models of agriculture that eschew industrial inputs and corporate control in favor of land wisdom and positive stewardship, with the promise of both high yields and local control for the vibrant future of their valley. Awoken not by bombs but the threats of our own communities’ social and environmental quality, access and limits, I returned to Northern California to learn the bedrock of organic agriculture and the source of our future food security. With mindful leadership and policy in the California Democratic Party, we too can provide a foundation of best environmental practices for our financial and social livelihoods, retain land stewardship and re-invest in sustainable infrastructures.
By giving me your vote, you are investing in economically and environmentally sound solutions. Your vote honors human rights, health security, labor rights and the urgent need to end the wars. Your vote demands political accountability, fair elections and equal representation. Together, Sonoma can lead the effort to improve school food and community nutrition that emphasizes organics rather than excluding them. Sonomans can help create jobs and incentives for healthy farms with safe working conditions, and oppose the mounting toxicity driven by profit. We can increase stewardship of our environment, expand green research and reform agro-business regulation. It’s long been time for change, but now it’s time for action!
We’ll be carpooling, so call 802.497.4723 before January 7 to join us and help represent Sonoma!
Montana Mathieu
Sonoma
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