From Derek Cressman

From: Derek Cressman <derek@derekcressman.com>
Date: Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 11:12 AM
Subject: Onward!
To: Robert Shattuck <rdshattuck@gmail.com>

Robert -- A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’m glad I took the step of running for Secretary of State and grateful for all the support that you and others gave the campaign. While it would be easy to feel tired or discouraged at the end of a long endeavor, we don’t have that luxury – there’s too much work still to do. My campaign was part of a larger, pro-democracy movement that grows stronger with every passing day and which I believe is crucial for our country to move forward. Our campaign received more small donations than any other candidate in the race.  I discovered, and was inspired by, a small army of activists within the California Democratic Party who are working every day to make California politics a little better. Among the positive developments in the race: We raised awareness about the Citizens United ruling and built momentum for overturning it.  Senator Ted Lieu introduced SB 1272 to allow every Californian the chance to vote in favor of a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court.  Alex Padilla co-authored that bill, which has passed the Senate.  Please call Assemblymember Paul Fong at (916) 319-2028 and urge him to schedule this bill for a hearing in the Assembly Elections Committee.   Both Alex Padilla and Pete Peterson are focused on the need to build a new voter registration database and implement Same Day Voter Registration.  This is important, bipartisan agreement on a key reform to boost voter participation in California. We introduced the idea of a digital voters guide.  Tuesday’s results clearly indicate that voters need more information about all of the candidates, and we need a way to update that guide as events unfold in the campaign.  I’ll continue to look for opportunities to advance this idea in California and other states. Rest assured that I’ll continue taking steps forward to further these issues.  I know you’ll be there with me, and I can’t tell you how thankful I’ll be. Onward! Derek http://www.derekcressman.com/