Why is passing Prop. 50 so important? MoveOn.org explained it well:
Proposition 50, on the ballot for the November 4, 2025 election, would enact the congressional maps approved by the California legislature earlier this August. This measure is a direct response to the unprecedented GOP-driven power grab, backed by Trump, taking place in states like Texas, Indiana, and Missouri.
If passed, Proposition 50 would lock these new congressional boundaries in place until 2030, when the regular census and redistricting process resumes. Unlike in Texas, where political leaders unilaterally redrew maps at the direction of the president and governor, California is putting this decision in the hands of voters for their approval.
This measure does not permanently change the state’s redistricting process. Instead, it allows the legislature’s approved maps to take effect temporarily, ensuring a fairer process while countering the blatant partisan manipulation happening elsewhere. The balance of the House of Representatives is at stake, and our ability to push back on future power grabs, if we don’t respond to Republican redistricting efforts.
Want to not just vote but also volunteer to help pass Prop. 50?Click below to join the action at one of our sister Get Out the Vote orgs, Grassroots Dems HQ and Westside Dem HQ
PREVIOUS EVENTS & INFO
A record crowd showed up at our 2025 PaliDems Garden Party! Thanks to your being there along with our elected officials, it was a truly great day
Post-fire statement from your Pacific Palisades Dem Club
For decades, PPDC has been at the heart of Democratic organizing on the Westside — mobilizing volunteers, endorsing and supporting Democratic candidates and causes, and helping turn elections in favor of both Democrats and small-“d” democratic values.
The Palisades Fire has not only shaken our community but also severely impacted the club’s financial stability. PPDC lost thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise, event paraphernalia, and membership supplies. And we rely on local events, grassroots contributions, and community engagement to fund our work, but the disaster forced the cancellation of key activities. At the same time, many of our members are understandably focused on recovery.
Had the fire not battered us the way it did, the pain inflicted on our country by the Trump administration would have been traumatic enough. Today, the stakes for our democracy could not be higher. With crucial elections ahead, we cannot afford to lose momentum. PPDC has a proven track record of helping candidates win tough races, but we need immediate support to continue that mission.
We are asking our friends and neighbors to stand with us in this critical moment. Getting tickets to the Garden Party is enormously helpful (same ticket price as last year!). We thank you for that, and further ask those of you who can comfortably contribute more to consider a major donation at this time.
Your sponsorship will help us rebuild our operations, unite the community, and ensure that Dem candidates have the backing they need to beat back right-wing extremism. Together, we can turn elections — and turn these challenges into an opportunity for renewed strength.
and brought in L.A. County Tax Assessor Jeff Prang, State Sen. Ben Allen, and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin
to talk about post-fire property tax implications and recovery information and answer your questions
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 6:30 PM, FREE & OPEN TO ALL
Join the PaliDems meeting to hear from AM Irwin, who’s working hard on legislation to help our recovery …and Assessor Prang, who’ll discuss taxes not only for people whose homes were lost, but also for those whose homes are still standing
NOTE: If you’re thinking of rebuilding 10% larger
or not rebuilding on the same footprint
your taxes could go up — please attend and get the facts
before you decide what to do
Missed the meeting? Click here to watch the recording
BECAUSE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING SEVERAL ON THE PPDC BOARD,
WERE SEVERELY IMPACTED BY THE PALISADES FIRE,
WE RESCHEDULED AND REFOCUSED OUR 2025 ANNUAL MEETING
(ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 2, NOW TO BE MARCH 2, 2025)
OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO EVERYONE AFFECTED, AND WE WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TOGETHER IN SOLIDARITY
TO REBUILD OUR BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORHOODS
AND TO UPHOLD OUR DEMOCRATIC IDEALS AS THE NEW PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION
TRIES THEIR DAMNDEST TO UNDO THE PROGRESS WE’VE MADE
AND THE RULE OF LAW
AND THE POLICIES WE’VE FOUGHT HARD TO BRING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
SEE WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO!
Truman Awards
Saturday, January 25, 2025, 11 AM
Congratulations to PaliDems board member and phenomenal Palisades community leader Maryam Zar, this year’s PPDC local club winner
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LEFT: MARYAM RECEIVING THE AWARD ….. CENTER AND RIGHT: MARYAM WITH REP. BRAD SHERMAN AND MEMBERS OF DPSFV AND THE PPDC BOARD (apologies to those on either side of the photo on right — we tried for a half hour to get the gallery to fit you in but the template lops off the sides no matter what we adjust 😣)
Final days to pitch in: critical elections of 2024
Westside Dem HQ, 1241 3rd St. Promenade, between Wilshire & Arizona (across from Sephora) — see below for more info/RSVP
(Scroll down for Grassroots Dems HQ actions (1027 Westwood Blvd., Westwood, between Weyburn & Kinross)
Last weekend phone banks at the WDHQ! Call voters in swing states starting at 8 AM (remember, that’s 11 AM in North Carolina, Georgia, and Michigan) https://events.democrats.org/event/712308/
Sign up or just drop in for as long as you like. And Saturday you may well get to call with and meet L.A.’s own Mayor Karen Bass!, along with other luminaries 😲
Take a WDHQ bus from the 3rd St. Promenade to knock doors We have some great, easier-on-the-posterior (shorter trip!) in-state options for you, with very special guests
One-day canvass this Saturday, 11/2: bus to CA-45 for army vet • consumer rights attorney • city commissioner • small business owner Derek Tran!
9 AM meetup at the WDHQ — now with SPECIAL GUEST planned to kick things off!
One-day canvass this Sunday, 11/3: bus from the HQ to CA-40 for former Fire Captain • Pres. of the OC Professional Firefighters Ass’n. • VP, OC Central Labor Council (AFL-CIO) Joe Kerr — with thank-you appearances by **GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM & REP. KATIE PORTER**!
Ballot Curing (making sure every vote gets counted) at the HQ Low stress, high-reward calling of voters who’ve cast ballots that weren’t accepted — we give them the opportunity to “cure” their ballots so they get counted. Very important in small-margin elections!
with video message recorded specially for the Garden Party from Rep. Brad Sherman
WHO WE ARE: PPDC, aka Palidems
The Pacific Palisades Dem Club is among the most influential Dem clubs in the US, proud to have led the founding and running of Presidential election year **Westside Democratic Headquarters**
… wildly successful Santa Monica GOTV centers with national reach, Because CA is safely blue and home to some of the country’s most giving democrats (you), we target not only CA voters but swing staters, too. This gives >you< the power to swing elections!
The HQ also hosts fun events, ballot prop debates, and the Westside’s best selection of political merch
WDHQ’s 2024 Santa Monica election center at 1241 3rd St. Promenade had its kickoff event on August 22: a soft open watch party for Kamala Harris’s historic nomination speech — with overflow crowd and local TV news coverage
With grand opening Sunday, September 1, 2024, attended by over 300 people who came to eat, drink, hear from Rep. Maxine Waters and other VIPs, and sign up to volunteer
WDHQ now open seven days/wk for election action
Promenade HQ Harris speech watch party & grand open pics:
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•
For 2024 the other amazing GOTV group founded and run by PPDC board members, **Grassroots Democrats HQ**, has opened an HQ in at 1027 Westwood Blvd. in addition to their already operational Brentwood and Malibu pop-up HQs
Grassroots Democrats is a preeminent GOTV operation that’s among the most successful in the country, working hard and bringing in VIPs like Reps. Adam Schiff and Eric Swallwell to fire folks up!
Here’s an exciting look at some of what the Grassroots crew is up to:
President Biden may be out of the race, but we remain ever grateful for his leadership and legislative achievements. As part of the Biden/Harris administration, Harris can take credit for a(n) historically successful term, so you may still be interested in reading more on our NEWS page about the WhyBiden.com website, run in partnership with a PPDC board member
Pacific Palisades Democratic Club (aka PaliDems, or PPDC) celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023! PPDC has an active membership base that supports our work promoting Democratic principles, legislation, and candidates. Members donate to the cause, attend events, and advocate locally, statewide, and nationally
** PAST EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS FYI **
Bus with us in October! You can depart from Westwood (left image) or Santa Monica (right image)
WEDNESDAY, 10/23/24
Trump, crushed by Harris in their debate, declined a CNN debate invitation. Harris accepted. So she’ll be holding a **town hall** Wednesday, October 23 on CNN, and your HQ will be streaming it at 6 PM (phonebanking in one room, viewing in the other)
Come on in to watch, snack, and be part of what’s up at the HQ. And sign up to volunteer in the critical final days!
SATURDAY, OCT. 26
Join us Saturday, Oct 12, 19, or 26 at 3 PM for Spanish-speaking phonebank training at the WDHQ or virtually. Make calls to Spanish speakers to ensure we elect Kamala Harris and give her the Congress she needs — with extra fun on 10/26, with the Día de los Muertos celebration in full swing on the 3rd Street Promenade! CLICK HERE, or just come on down
Good vibes guaranteed! Bring friends, bring your energy, and let’s hit those high notes for Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Dems nationwide, and freedom & democracy! 💙 CLICK HERE TO RSVP
SUNDAY, OCT. 27
Join Brian Tyler Cohen (MSNBC contributor, YouTuber with 3 million subscribers and 2.3 billion views) at the HQ to raise $$ for not one but two of the most important CA congressional seats!
WDHQ supervolunteer PAULA POUNDSTONE made everyone’s day when she postcarded with us, then popped onstage to entertain the packed room
We begged her to come back and she didn’t hesitate to say YES! On Sunday, 10/27 at 7 PM, after the Harder-Rollins fundraiser, the <Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.> podcast host / Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me uberguest / comedy legend returns to your Westside Dem HQ to inspire and motivate us…
Whether or not you’ve been in to volunteer, come on down for this free show!CLICK HERE TO RSVP
He was the architect of Barack Obama’s 2008 epic grassroots organizing campaign, but his activism and organizing can be traced back to Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta’s campaign to unionize California farm workers in the late 1960s and 1970s, and even further back to the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.
Who is he? Marshall Ganz, of course! And he is coming to the Westside Dem HQ Sunday, 10/6 at 11:30 AM to talk about his new book, People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal.
After delivering the decisive margin of victory to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 along with many of his handpicked midterm candidates in 2022, young voters will once again determine whether Democrats can defend the White House and take back full control of Congress this November. That’s why Voters of Tomorrow and the Grassroots Democrats HQ are committed to training a record number of youth organizers to turn out young voters in swing states and House districts over the final weeks of this campaign
Please join us and special guests Mark Hamilland Congressman Eric Swalwell on Tuesday, September 17 at 6:30 PM in L.A. for Alliance for the Future, a reception supporting critically needed youth organizing and turnout programs
Westside Democratic HQ
1241 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica (between Wilshire & Arizona, across from Sephora)
Next Karaoke for Kamala night: Friday, 9/27/24
Tuesday, September 10 Presidential Debate Watch Party
Co-hosted by PPDC as a founding member of the WDHQ consortium
Join the excitement and watch the Harris-Trump debate on the big screens at the Westside Democratic HQ on the 3rd Street Promenade
After its sneak peek pre-open to watch Kamala Harris’s DNC acceptance speech, the Westside Democratic Headquarters (WDHQ) officially opens its 4000 SF campaign office and storefront at 1241 3rd St. Promenade (first block south of Wilshire, across from Sephora) on Sunday, September 1 at 1 PM —
with food • drink • entertainment • VIPs to celebrate the 20th year of the WDHQ, which opened our first Presidential HQ in 2004!CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO & TO RSVP
Our WDHQs have guided thousands of volunteers from 2004 through 2016 in Santa Monica (on Montana, the Third St. Promenade, and Wilshire), followed by a 2018 midterms HQ in Westwood. Covid pushed us to Zoom in 2020 but now we can gather online >and< in-person
Thanks to the almost 300 who were excited to come together to watch and celebrate!
The Westside Dem HQ (WDHQ) transitions from virtual to real-world GOTV operations, opening an election hub in a big, fun space on the 3rd Street Promenade
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 3 PM: PPDC brought “Political Musical Satire” with TV writer and sought-after speaker David Misch to a packed house! Location: a beautiful canyonside backyard on Chautauqua in the Palisades. MORE INFO HERE
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Thank you to the 100+ who came to the 2024 Labor Awards in support of the WDHQ!
THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 6 PM: First Presidential debate Location: WDHQ reserved the mezzanine of Barney’s Beanery on the Promenade for group watching and emotional support, and GDHQ gathered in Brentwood. Happy to see everyone who came. Many heated discussions followed…
45 people signed up (thanks to all!) to see the MAURICE SENDAK EXHIBIT at the SKIRBALL CULTURAL CENTER with us on 6/2/24
Why? Chance to meet fellow Dems in a fun environment, welcome new members, and get everyone fired up for the November election!
PPDC co-hosts with GDHQ a canvassing event in Corona to send Will Rollins (CA-41) to Congress CLICK HERE for more
In April, we walked through beautiful new George Wolfberg Park in the Palisades
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Sunday, April 28, 2024, 12 PM Thank you to the 45 who signed up to attend!
Originally scheduled for Saturday, March 23, 12 PM
Followed by lunch & talk about the history of the park with a local expert & Wolfberg family member at Veterans’ Gardens (picnic tables near the bocce court in Palisades Park)
2) PPDC is co-hosting, with Grassroots Dems, a discussion with Heather Cox Richardson, historian and best-selling author! She’ll speak **FRIDAY, 4/11/24** about the stakes of 2024 elections and what we can do to defend democracy. Learn how you can make a difference with the launch of Volunteer Blue, a new effort of 15 highly committed organizations. CLICK HERE
The Westside Dem HQ hosts a State of the Union watch party tonight! Thursday, March 7, 2024 • Zoom starts 5:15 PM • President Biden starts 6 PM
Connect with fellow supporters and rally behind President Biden’s message of positivity and progress in real time. The event is virtual and free — click below to register — so pop in from wherever you may be. With special guests!
Laura Friedman, Assemblymember (soon to be Congressmember*); Mark Gonzales, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party (soon to be Assemblymember*); and Congressional top-two’s Will Rollins and Derek Marshall
2024 ANNUAL MEETING, Sun., 2/4/24, 2 – 4 PM Thanks to the 175 of you who RSVPed!
**ALERT: BECAUSE OF THE STORM, THE MEETING WILL BE HELD EXCLUSIVELY VIA ZOOM**
Your excitement for this event is contagious, but Mother Nature had other plans! We’ll miss seeing you in person and sharing refreshments. Your safety and the safety of our incredible electeds are our primary concerns. Stay safe and dry!
Every year the club holds a meeting, open to all, featuring local elected officials, with updates and Q&A. For 2024, we kick off the most consequential election year in memory with
Update: Mayor Bass was scheduled to attend but now has to hold a press conference about the storm. Other electeds may similiarly be called away at the last minute. We’ve been working hard to hold the best possible meeting for you despite the storm…
This event serves as the club’s official “Annual Meeting” (though the club holds many events throughout the year and its board meets monthly), at which the 2024 board candidate slate will be up for ratification by all club members in good standing who are present
Admission is free, with donations requested to help defray costs ($10 suggested)
50+ guests came Midweek : )
Thank you for supporting PPDC’s work by attending our TOUR OF PALISADES HIDDEN GEM: HISTORIC VILLA AURORA fundraiser! On December 7, 2023, we gathered for a docent-led tour of this storied US/German arts institution.
Thanks to all who attended our 10/22/23 Zev Yaroslavsky book signing, including Zev!
2023 Summer garden party
Thanks also to all 126 of you who came to PPDC’s Garden Party onSunday, August 6!
And to Rep. Brad Sherman, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Supervisor District 3 Lindsey Horvath, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Councilmember Traci Park
…for their informative presentations, Q&A, and genial presence as the community got to hear from and spend one-on-one time with them in a lovely, informal setting
PPDC initial and subsequent statements on the horrific attacks of 10/7/23
10/9/23 The Pacific Palisades Democratic Club condemns the brutal attacks that took place in Israel, and our hearts go out to all who are suffering. We acknowledge the complexities of the political situation in the region and support those who call for peaceful resolutions and respect for human rights. There is absolutely no justification for terrorist acts against civilians, or military attacks against a democratic nation, and we stand with Israel after this national tragedy.
