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Kevin De Leon addressed hundreds of supporters at his official kick-off as he announced his campaign to unseat U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein who turns 85 in 2018.
By Larry Caballero
“It’s time for a new generation of leaders in Washington, D.C.” said California State Senate Majority Leader Kevin De Leon at his campaign kick-off event Oct. 18 at Los Angeles Trade Technical College.
The event was entitled “Fighting for California’s Future” where hundreds of supporters, including local community leaders, public union members and small business owners, heard De Leon speak about his vision for America.
“The state has changed significantly in the last twenty-five years since Dianne Feinstein was first elected to the United States Senate,” said De Leon. “And I am ready for a real debate that is long overdue on the issues, priorities and leadership the voters want from their Senator. I am looking forward to have the opportunity to go up and down the state and to engage everyday voters,” said De Leon.
“We are living in unique times, facing unprecedented challenges that require new ideas and new energy.”
He will be the first serious challenger in the last twenty years and believes this is the right time to move the state and nation forward.
Feinstein at 84 is the oldest member in the United States Senate. By the November, 2018 election, when she will be running for her fifth six-year term, she will have turned 85.
De Leon, aged 50, was also critical of other Washington establishment leaders who are responsible for the gridlock that has stopped the country from progressing forward. He also was clear about his opinion of President Trump.
“We are inclusive in California,” said De Leon. “We welcome everyone no matter their color, religion or place of origin. We don’t need a wall to keep people out!”
He believes Trump is too divisive and said, “We cannot let Trump shred the social fabric that binds us together—or the Constitution of the United States. We can no longer afford to be polite or patient. We can’t cross our fingers and hope that Trump can learn and change.”
De Leon said, “Now is the time for a Senator who is willing to stand up and be heard, not from the sidelines, but loud and proud from the front lines.”
He promised to fight a Trump administration that “wages war on our people and our progress.”
Members of her own party criticized Feinstein when she urged “patience” with Trump.
De Leon in Sacramento has become a leader of California’s “resistance” against the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, climate change and education.
He is proud of the achievements of the California legislature that is the most progressive in the nation.
“Today’s California is tomorrow’s future in America,” said De Leon.
Under De Leon’s leadership, the state has become a sanctuary state, minimum wage will grow to $15 per hour by 2020 and first-year tuition for community college is now free.
De Leon thinks the state can do even more to lower college tuition, increase course offerings and provide support services to increase the graduation rate.
He has consistently supported long-term clean infrastructure investments that created more clean energy jobs, and he authored a bill that the Governor signed, to provide retirement security for the 6.8 million Californians in lower and middle-income private-sector jobs who have no access to workplace retirement plans.
During his time as President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) has led the 40-member Senate body to historic accomplishments, that he believes, have improved the lives of Californians and the state’s environment and economy for decades to come.
