Diana Love addressed our March 8 membership meeting as a candidate for Secretary of the California Democratic Party. Currently the Party’s Director for Region 9 in Southern California, Diana is originally from Ohio, with a long career in healthcare and community and social service spanning several disciplines including gerontology, in board and care and veterans homes, and child care and elder care settings.
As a Regional Director of the State Party, Diana represents 5 counties in the high desert and inland empire, including parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, and Kern, Tulare and Inyo Counties. She was appointed to the Contractors’ State License Board by the Governor, and serves as chair of the board’s Public Affairs Committee. She is a member of SEIU-2015; has been an advocate for CASA; worked as a campaign manager and a field representative in the State Assembly; and founded a local non-profit for senior services called, “Forget Us Not.” As a representative of a labor coalition, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of marching in a parade in Lancaster, CA!
Her hope, as Secretary of the CDP, would be to “break some of the barriers, and lead with progressive issues,” noting there had not been a Black Secretary to serve the State Party in 30 years. “The Party stands for diversity and equity,” she said, “and we must find ways to reinforce that. There is no representation without black and brown women.” Progressive issues she promotes include Medicare For All, CalCare, the Green New Deal, student loan cancellation, and promotion of a living wage, and she authored a plan that became HR1788, the Medicare Part B fairness act, pending in Congress.
Her vision for Secretary of the State Party goes beyond the primary role of recording and sharing information in a timely manner. Diana hopes to “carve out a niche in the corner,” to bring the central committees and clubs together to share their best practices, initiate more workshops and training, and be personally available for special events. “We have to have more communication, foster more trust with the policies, and recruit more of the next generation,” she said. “We’ve got to stand up for our communities,” adding that “it’s time to come together, and put our egos aside.”
“The State Party is very complicated,” she admits, and thinks Democrats need to know more about its history. She explained that although County Committees and Clubs are autonomous, she hopes we can speak with one voice, while remaining “separate in our own right.”
As a party leader, she would vow to “uplift up some of the young Democrats, and get them into office,” and strengthen the relationship between local Democrats and the state party. “I want to bring all my experiences to the leadership team, travel to all 58 counties to find out what you need, and what you want from the state party,” she said. “I think we can do better.”