The August 2011 Co-Presidents Message, Bonnie & John

Obama Campaign Kicks Off in East County
President Barack Obama’s cam-paign for re-election kicked off in East County on July 30, 2011. Carlos Diaz Livingston, organizer for the East County of San Diego, led the gathering of about 100 volunteers in planning grassroots activities. The first official event for the 2012 campaign took place at the Community Center in El Cajon from 2 – 4 p.m.
Linda Armacost, president of the La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club, and Bonnie Price, co-president of the East County Democratic Club, made comments about their clubs and party events, following opening remarks by Livingston.
The volunteers divided into sec-tors by communities in the area. In each of the groups, plans were developed to reach out to recruit new volunteers, register voters, and conduct campaign activities that would be successful in each area. El Cajon, La Mesa, Santee-Lakeside, Spring Valley-Lemon Grove, Santee-Lakeside, and smaller, rural communities, each had numerous volunteers. El Cajon had the largest turnout with about 20 participants.
Prior to the planning session, volunteers professionals did videotaping sessions with volunteers, who explained why they were joining the campaign. Following the planning session, all volunteers participated in a videotaping session, shouting “I’m In!” and “Promises Kept.” Livingston planned to have the videos posted to the national and/or state campaign web sites.
Livingston reported that he believed that the turnout in Easy County was the largest in the state. Organizing regions were based on congressional districts. Livingston graduated from Monte Vista High School and Washington University in St. Louis. Thereafter, he did a tour in Ecuador for the Peace Corps. He plans to continue his studies in graduate school.
BBP