Who Represents You? Tell IEB, Help Save Democracy

Well, that may be a bit overly dramatic. But there’s a kernel of truth in it! As part of IEB’s preparation for the critical 2018 midterms, we want to be sure that everyone who votes will be able to find information on every elected office, from the federal level down to the tiniest township.

Local offices are often little-known and overlooked by voters, but they are important: they have real power, and local office is often a step toward higher office. We want to let our members know as much as possible about our local elected offices and who’s holding them.

This is where you come in. We need to know: who represents you and the place where you live? If you know anything about the local structure of your city or county government, please fill out this form (or as much of it as you can). You can fill out a form for each office you know about, and when you submit a form you can see the info we have and the info we need – and you can also join our GOTV campaign.

Right now we have an edition for Oakland and we hope to produce information – either printed or digital – for the other cities and towns within IEB’s geographical range. That’s San Leandro, Hayward, Pleasanton, Union City, Fremont, Alameda, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, Richmond, San Pablo, Dublin, and more; if you have info on a town that is not listed on the form, by all means send it! And if you know of any online resources that contain this information for the various cities and towns in our region, please let us know in the area asking for “additional information.”

For just one example of why it’s so important to have this kind of information, take a look at this excellent video and website from the ACLU about the office of District Attorney. And remember that the former Contra Costa County DA recently resigned after pleading no contest to felony perjury, leading to a search process for a new DA in which citizens were able to participate.

Thanks for helping IEB in this project!