The Blue Wave runs through Orange County
Irene Gonzalez, a Field Representative in California’s 45th Congressional District (CA-45), is in it for the long haul; an experienced canvasser, she will remain an important part of the Progressive Turnout Project team not only through the election, but afterward as well. Part of what drew Irene to the Progressive Turnout Project was the opportunity for long-term engagement in the political arena.
The district Irene is working, CA-45, is a wealthy area in southern Orange County that has been represented by Republican Mimi Walters since 2015. Walters, a former business executive, is one of four Republican members of Congress representing Orange County, and quite notably, she is the only one to vote in favor of President Trump’s tax plan. Walters’ opponent, Democratic candidate Katie Porter, says the plan will hurt working and middle class California families.
In early September, Walters and Porter sat down with CNBC host John Harwood for discussion of the issues most critical to the voters in CA-45. Critiquing Walters’ vote in favor of Trump’s tax plan, Porter said, “She’s concerning herself with people at the very top of the income bracket… I’m concerning myself with working, middle class families here in Orange County.”
Not only has Porter promised to fight to overturn Trump’s tax plan, she is also an advocate of a Medicare for All system and a strong supporter of women’s right to reproductive freedom. She is a champion for the environment, supports common sense gun reform, and has proven herself as “a strong advocate for using our tax code to encourage home ownership.”
Porter is a tenured University of California-Irvine law professor and respected Consumer Protection Attorney. She is also a well-known protege of Massachusetts Progressive Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is widely noted as a contender for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination.
According to The Cook Political Report, Porter, an Iowa native, is “more of a Midwestern populist than a coastal suburbanite.” FiveThirtyEight Politics reports that a mid-September University of California-Berkeley poll found Porter leads Walters 52% to 45%.
Not only are increasing numbers of Democratic women poised to gain political leadership positions in the the 2018 and 2020 elections, we are also seeing women receiving increased recognition nationally as a critical voting bloc.
Promoting voter empowerment has been an important part of Irene’s job in the District. And she admits that yes, sometimes she meets jaded voters – voters who feel there’s no point in voting because “nothing is going to change” – but Irene sees in each of these disillusioned voters the chance to promote the idea that empowerment comes from active participation in our admittedly-imperfect electoral process.
Irene’s personal goal of “inspiring others to learn more, dream more, do more, and become more” is just part of what makes her such an influential Progressive Turnout Project Field Representative.
