Dozens of Riverside County stakeholders gathered at the IBEW Local 440 hall in Riverside on Thursday night to meet Riverside County Board of Supervisors candidates Russ Bogh and Eric Linder and CA State Senate candidate Joy Silver, as well as get an update on the fight to Raise Up Riverside. At the event, SEIU Local 721 also announced its support of California Ballot Proposition 10, which would tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis by allowing municipalities to enact their own rent control legislation.
Joy Silver, SEIU 721’s newly endorsed candidate for the CA state senate in the 28th district, encouraged attendees to hit the pavement and get out the vote to Raise Up Riverside.
SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover emphasized the importance of the upcoming Riverside County Board of Supervisors elections for working families in not just Riverside, but all of California.
The two Board of Supervisors candidates, Russ Bogh and Eric Linder, spoke about the need for leadership that supports and enhances the work of county employees. Both highlighted the county’s $40 million contract with overseas consulting firm KPMG as an example of the kind of shortsighted decision making that hurts Riverside County.
“It’s time that Riverside County embrace its role as one of the largest counties in the state,” Linder said. “It’s time for us to be the model for the rest of California. That requires jumping in and doing the work as a leader – not outsourcing your decisions to a foreign consulting firm.”
The upcoming board race wasn’t the only focus of the event. Ballot Proposition 10 received a major boost with the support of SEIU 721. This important measure will repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act and allow municipalities to establish their own rent control laws, going a long way to address the housing and homelessness crisis facing working families across California.
Constituents and community members from all walks of life then came together to pledge to knock on doors, phonebank and educate their friends and neighbors so that we can Raise Up Riverside!
