Teamster Tackles Corporate Democrat in California Assembly Race
Jovanka Beckles rallied with campus workers recently. The odds are stacked against rank-and-file union members who run for office... but this Teamster, county worker, and community activist has made it into the general election for a California Assembly seat. She's up against an establishment Democrat. Photo: Jovanka Beckles for District 15
It has become a movement mantra, as labor suffers betrayal after betrayal by Democrats and Republicans alike: union members should run for office themselves.
Rhetoric on this subject is cheap and easy. But running successful candidates is not. Even labor activists with considerable skill and experience have found it difficult to win public office.
Yet in California’s “jungle primary” in June, a Teamster from Richmond astounded many observers by placing second in her state legislative race.
Jovanka Beckles, a two-term city councilor, county worker, and past Labor Notes Troublemakers School speaker, now advances to the November run-off for Assembly District 15, which includes Richmond, Berkeley, and part of Oakland.
She’s up against Buffy Wicks, a well-connected former White House official who recently relocated to the East Bay. Wicks has been personally endorsed by former President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who is likely to become California’s next governor.
The November showdown between Beckles, a strong Bernie Sanders support