Send Angela to Emerge California

I did a crazy thing the other day. I applied for the Emerge California training program , a series of classes that teach women of the Democratic party how to run for office. I did this because I needed to do something, anything to feel like I could fight back against a conservative presidential administration. The Emerge program reopened their application process after the election ended. I applied on a whim. Of course I never thought I would actually get in.

But I did.



Color me surprised!

Why do I want to run for office? It's not enough to complain about the state of the world on Facebook. It's clearly not enough to vote. It's not even enough to protest. We have to be active participants in our democrazy, especially if we have local issues that we're passionate about and ideas on how to improve the lives of working families. 

I believe that revolutionizing how we build housing and develop our cities can improve the lives of most Californians. 


I've been working on renter issues since starting the Alameda Renters Coalition in 2014 and I've also served on the board of the Alameda Home Team since this year. Housing across California is at a premium. In fact Robert Reich recently said that it's California's biggest problem.

We need to change perceptions of housing development across California to create dense, transit connected housing. It's the only way to change the chronic undersupply we have that leaves middle and lower class families subject to the expensive whims of landlords.

Do you hate your commute? Do you hate that you can't afford to live closer to your job? Do you hate that most of California's housing isn't earthquake safe? Do you hate that you have little alternative to renting in the Bay Area? Are you annoyed that many job opportunities don't make it out to the center of our state? Do you feel like we are not doing enough to make our communities greener with energy efficient homes? These are just a few of the problems that revolutionizing our housing priorities would address. These are the ideas I want to fight for if I run for office.

Attending the Emerge California training will put me in the same room as Democratic Party professionals, policy pros, and likeminded women who also want to run for office so that I can network to find the best way for me to put myself to work fighting for more housing opportunities for all in California -and receive the training I need to be an effective candidate for office.

The only problem? The training costs $1500. 

Like many of you, I don't just have $1500 lying around that I can drop on a whim, especially with the holidays coming upon us and I do not want to go into more debt. I am humbly asking for my community's support in helping me get to Emerge California. 

The money you donate will go straight to paying Emerge California my tuition to attend the trainings, which are one weekend a month for the next six months. I will be paying for my own travel expenses to get to LA for one weekend, and Sacramento for another daytime training. 

Here's the other thing: the training starts next weekend and I will have to deliver a check to them on the first day of the training.

Being able to attend this training would mean that I can actively fight for working families. Someone as ill informed as Ben Carson might be running the HUD. California needs to get ahead of the eight ball to begin creating policies to protect low income families and ensure that California can continue to build affordable housing in this housing crisis. I want to be able to propose workable housing solutions that can bring our state into the next century. 

I deeply appreciate you considering a donation. Even if you can't donate, please think about sharing this campaign on your Facebook page, or on your twitter feed. Every little bit helps. I'm going to make it to the Emerge Training come hell or high water.

Thank you all for your support!