San Diego County Democratic Leader Discusses 2018 Elections

>>> The big political year of 2018 will be among other things, the first big test for the new chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party. Jessica Hayes took office last year, just months after the surprise loss of Hillary Clinton, with the aim of getting Democrats elected. It is not always a big challenge in sky-blue California to do that, but this year, a traditionally Republican seat on the County Board of Supervisors is up for grabs, along with the position of County DA, and vulnerable Republican congressional seats. Joining me is Jessica Hayes, welcome. >> Thank you. >> Now, the big news today is that Republican Congressman Issa is retiring, what does that do to the race in the 49th? >> It is fantastic. He was the richest person in Congress. And this district did not vote for Trump, they came in for Hillary. There was no poll that showed him winning, not one. Not even his own. >> Human coming up this year? >> Yes. And I think that he did the wise thing. We have fantastic Democratic Congress is running -- running for Congress. I'm very proud of them. It is important to remember that, not one of the Republicans who have been speculated that may step into the race have denounced Donald Trump or called for him to resign. Even when he admitted to groping women, or made fun of the handicapped, so the voters are paying attention. They really are. >> Just to backtrack a little bit. I think that people would argue about -- with you about whether or not the president actually did admit to groping a woman, but moving on from that -- I know that the Democratic Party was targeting Congressman Darrell Issa's seat before he made this decision. How much of a role will the local party playing that campaign? >> We are the County Democratic Party, so it is everything for the County Board of Education. Ricochet is up for reelection, and the County Board of Supervisors, all the way down to your local fire protection districts, and everything in between. All the municipalities, the school boards, etc. So, that is where our focus is. So, we are lucky to get this excitement and this energy and this bump in these districts. We have been in this county you know, sort of continuously edging up. Every election cycle we gain more and more seats for Democrats. And, we have more and more registration for Democrats. We are 100 -- over 110,000 more Democrats registered than Republicans in this county. It has been a trend, it has been ongoing. >> So Jessica, what are some of the other big races that you're focusing on? >> We are very excited, we have a wonderful candidate for Sheriff, Dave Myers. Dave Myers is amazing. He knows the job from the bottom up. And -- he knows about the employment, what the job entails, he is more qualified than the actual sheriff sitting there. >> I would imagine that the fourth district County board of supervisors seat is another one that you are looking at. >> We have an endorsed candidate, Nathan Fletcher. We are excited about this. Nathan is an amazing candidate, and he gets a lot of flak for being a former Republican. Let me tell you something, there is nothing like a convert. He has embraced all of our platform wholeheartedly. He has not made one misstep. And, he is married to one of the most progressive people possibly in the country, Loretta Gonzales. He has the leadership skills, the knowledge, the capacity, he is a veteran. He is a wonderful person for that seat. Of course, there is also a DAs race, city Council races coming up. There are issues that I suppose the party will take stands on. One of the criticisms I think against the local party, a number of years ago, it is difficult to find good candidates to run for office in San Diego. Is that a continuing problem that you seem to be having? >> Absolutely not. [ Laughter ] we have fantastic candidates across the board. In 2017 people were so activated that in March, we did our first training in March, which was unheard of in a nonelection year. We had 180 potential candidates show up. We had I think over 300 people take the training now. Just, not even a one year period. People are activated, ready to go and they are fantastic. >> Are they activated in us to -- enough to come out in a midterm election? Republicans seem more likely to vote -- it is hard to get Democrats to come out? >> First of all, we are having a walk on January 27, a countywide walk. Our intent is to go to low propensity voters, and new voters, people who have just registered, and expect to them how important it is that they vote in June, that they cannot and they vote. And people are activated now. They understand that their vote is their voice. And if they do not like something, they need to show up at the polls. It is a different era. >> Now, national Democrats have been quick to show support for women who allege sexual misconduct. Even pushing for resignations of senators and congressmen accused of misconduct. But, the local party has not been that quick to believe allegations against let's say Mayor Filner, or more recently, labor leader in Democratic delegate Nikki Cass Berean. Cass Berean recently resigned but, allegations of misconduct surfaced one year ago. Is there something that the party should have done to remove him from his position earlier? >> The party looked at this. And, the party examined what to do, and they took in the Democratic pillar of due process. You know, this is in the middle of a court case, the women cannot come in and give testimony, they cannot -- and, the body tells me what to do. The -- I'm not a dictator. They give me my opinions. And hindsight is 20/20, but it is not -- you know, when you're in the moment and you look at democratic principles and what really matters to Democrats in the long-term, I think they did the right thing. >> Now, after credible allegations, or accusations, many organizations are now severing ties with those accused of sexual misconduct. Does the local Democratic party intend to do the same moving forward? >> If the body brings it forward and votes on it, absolutely. This is democratically driven. This is the body bringing it forward. These are the people elected to the Democratic Party, who make those decisions and bring them forward. >> But you will give them guidance, right? >> It is not up to me to bring it, it is up to them to bring it to me. >> Are you working towards a democratic Sweden 2018? >> Always. [ Laughter ] yes. >> I have been speaking with Jessica Hayes, she is chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, Jessica thank you. >> Thank you. >> We have extended an invitation to the Republican Party, to join us for the GOP view of the local 2018 elections. [ Music ]