Garcetti, Bonin, Lieu Rally Troops at Pacific Palisades Democratic Club Annual Meeting

He urged audience members to donate to frontline organizations such as the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Planned Parenthood, “and buy subscriptions to newspapers that you like,” to support their vital role. “It’s deeply troubling that Trump’s administration is attacking the press,” Lieu said, noting that the press “will be a check on the abuses by our president.”

When Mayor Garcetti, who is running for a second term, came to the podium, he pointed to the room’s bay windows and the hard rain falling. “Look outside,” he said. “This turnout is incredible.” He said he was inspired by the diversity of those who participated in the Women’s March (“It reminded us, this is what America looks like”) but warned, “This is the next day—nothing changes unless we act. It’s what we do between elections that counts.”

He said that he is especially focused on resolving homelessness in Los Angeles (“join my Welcome Home Project”), tackling traffic issues across the city, and widening the number of job opportunities in the face of challenges posed by automation.

Councilman Bonin, who is also running for re-election on March 7, said: “We have to show the rest of the country—the red states— what progressive values mean. Los Angeles is a leader in this [e.g., the $15 minimum wage]; we set the example.” He cited two examples: “My signature issue is to get the DWP to eventually use 100% renewable energy,” and next year he wants the City Council to focus on campaign financial reform. “I know the political muscle is there” to bring it about.

State Senator Allen said he has two new responsibilities this year: chair of the Senate Education Committee and co-chair of the Legislative Environmental Caucus. “Needless to say, we are gearing up to do whatever it takes and whatever is in our power to block any rollback of our key environmental protections, and any erosion of education opportunity for all students that may be coming out of Washington, D.C.”

Assemblyman Bloom reiterated that California’s state government, controlled at every level by Democrats, “is going to fight any federal actions that try to reverse what we are doing here,” in terms of environmental, immigrant and health care protections. He also predicted, “I think you’ll see a lot of housing-related legislation this year” aimed at tackling the affordable housing crisis.

Former club president Joe Halper provided his traditional post-election voting analysis, noting that 51 percent of the eligible voters in Pacific Palisades were registered Democrats, 28.9 percent were registered Republi- cans, 16.9% were decline-to-state and 2.8 percent were other parties. Hillary Clinton received 72.5 percent of the vote here (the same percent- age as in L.A. County), and Donald Trump received 22.2 percent.