Bernie Sanders ramps up focus on California, with 3 months before Democratic primary

Sam Metz and Ricardo Lopez, Palm Springs Desert Sun
Published 5:01 a.m. PT Dec. 17, 2019

Excerpt:

Hoping his proposals will resonate in the Golden State, the independent senator is punctuating his commitments to structurally transforming the nation's healthcare and tax systems with California-specific appeals about issues like water and the wildfires that have ravaged the state.

On Monday, he locked up the support of the entire Coachella City Council — a show of strength in the working-class city of 45,000 with a rich history of immigration and farmworker activism. Some Coachella residents who attended the rally said they frequently feel overlooked by national political candidates. Until Sanders' visit, no president or presidential candidate had visited Coachella since John F. Kennedy spoke at Coachella Valley High School in 1961.

Before taking the stage in Coachella, he discussed water issues with Coachella Valley Water District Board Member Castulo Estrada, who also endorsed his candidacy.

Estrada, the Coachella Valley Water District Board Member, said even though Sanders' commitment to organized labor and working-class voters resonated with him, his endorsement was mostly about the senator showing up—something few other candidates have done.

"I haven't heard of anybody else reaching out to us," Estrada said, praising Sanders for choosing to open up a campaign office in downtown Coachella. "For him to be willing to come and pay a visit and be willing to open up a campaign office here in our city, an office that is tied to a lot of our historical political struggle, going back to Cesar Chavez ... that, to me, is something that I care about."

https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/12/17/bernie-sanders-california-coachella-rancho-mirage-democratic-primary/2671902001/

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