By Dianne Anderson

Now that so much COVID money has dried up along with many program supports for the low income community, anti-poverty activist Connie Jones sees the fallout as more people seek help with food and resources as they try to hang on to their housing.

It all boils down to voting potential, knowing how the money flows down to people in need – or not.

Jones said the community must keep a close eye on the funding that helps those in need, at the county and city levels.

“It has an effect. We have to know – in a bipartisan manner – who is for it and who is against it,” said Jones, whose great-grandmother  Annie  Mae Tripp, started the original food pantry over 40 years ago in Santa Ana.

Over the decades, she has seen food insecurity firsthand, and feels the vote has never been more important than it is now. In the not so distant past, she said people used to talk about thriving, but now it’s all about surviving.

“Because of the things coming down the pipeline and the issues with who may be elected. It might change things for us. There’s the SNAP program, summer lunch, but since COVID is over, there is not a lot of food so the accessibility and supplemental [help to] seniors is tough,” she said.

The community also must get to know their representatives by name, and then volunteer and phonebanks, she said, including sending letters about their concerns of laws and policies that they want to see passed to support the people.

On Saturday, March 9, she plans to join hundreds for the 36th Annual Great American Write-In, an event hosted by the Women for Orange County at Delhi Community Center, located at 505 East Central Avenue Santa Ana. That event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

She said many nonprofits are expected to be there, including members of the local National Action Network, Health Equity for African Americans League (HEAAL) Collective, NCNW and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Orange County Chapter.

“There’s going to be about 50 nonprofits there writing to the legislators. We’ve been pushing for people to come out and see what things we’re writing about, and things that your organization truly wants you to contact [the legislators about],” she said.

One key election on March 5 is the Board of Education race, which Gaston Castellanos, spokesperson for the Orange County Democrats, is the last call.

He said local Democrats have been aggressively communicating with their voters about the importance of getting their voices heard. They are texting and phone banking to make sure that voters are ready.

Some of the motivation is dealing with the extremism that the county is facing on these boards, he said, adding that the GOP position of the incumbents are alarming.

“We need to get a handle on these boards,” Castellanos said. “One [BOE] incumbent has been there for 28 years. He was recently accused of assault and battery in a road rage incident, choking and beating a 20-year-old kid and leaving him on the side of the road.”

Those allegations against District 3 incumbent, Dr. Ken Williams Jr. led to a lawsuit filed last week.

Castellanos said the same trustee has voted to spend millions of dollars suing other state agencies toward frivolous lawsuits that wound up on the losing side.

“They’re more about culture wars than education. All three incumbents up for election, they all vote the same way in lockstep. Most of them are charter school advocates who don’t believe in public education. So for that race, the OC Board of Education, that is a one-and-done on March 5,” he said.

Despite the obvious growing homelessness problem, he said Orange County built its first shelter only a few years ago because the political ideology of the GOP members is it’s not for the government to handle, but rather churches and charities.

He said there is a great need to have Board Supervisors who are willing to look at the data and evidence and come up with solutions.

“We have a majority [Democrats] on the Board of Supervisors. We have a chance to increase that majority and we’re hoping that our two democratically endorsed candidates will be successful,” he said.

The Secretary of State’s website says that Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop-off location, or the county elections office. Vote centers are open for early in-person voting, and Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by March 12, 2024.

For SOS voting help, call (800) 345-VOTE (8683) – English

or see  https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/where-and-how

Not clear on the easy way to vote? See the League of Women Voters Easy Voting Guide at

https://easyvoterguide.org/

To view your local ballot, see  https://www.vote411.org/ballot

For information on polling locations and popups, see

https://www.ocvote.gov/voting/voting-and-dropoff-locations-by-election

To see the OC Voter Guide,

http://www.orangecountydemocrats.com/

For Second Baptist Church and upcoming poll events, see  https://sbc.family/