Statement on Prop 15
On November 10th, the Associated Press called the race for Proposition 15, with the initiative trailing by less 1.8 percentage points, or 520,000 votes.
While we are heartbroken by this loss, we celebrate the power that was built by our historic coalition of communities of color. Prop 15 was a movement to reform Prop 13, which was passed in 1978 and led to decades of disinvestment in communities of color. Prop 13 was also considered untouchable in California politics, but we took on the status quo, changed hearts and minds and nearly won.
While the opposition outspent us by at least $20 million, we built what could never be bought. We know that the majority of Californians from all backgrounds prioritize Communities Over Corporations, but many voters were led astray by the opposition’s scare tactics and disinformation.
While the opposition outspent us by $20 million, we built what could never be bought. We rallied organizations representing the diversity of California, Black, Latinx, Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander. Organizers and policy wonks. Cultural workers and data heads. Young people and veteran organizers with youthful hope. Together, we talked to one million voters about improving California for everyone.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in this movement by answering our phone calls, volunteering to talk to voters, sharing our posts, and living out the values of #CommunitiesOverCorporations. We are proud of what we’ve accomplished and will continue to work toward a future where we can all not only survive, but also thrive.
Our steering committee and community partners ran the largest and most complex AAPI voter outreach program that California has ever seen:
- 450,000 calls were made to CA AAPI voters.
- 90,000 in-language materials were delivered to non-English speaking voters.
- 65 volunteers mailed 1,100 handwritten postcards to infrequent AAPI voters.
- 331 volunteers were recruited.
More AAPI voters voted in this election than in the history of California. Before Election Day, 60% of all AAPI voters had already voted, and our communities showed great enthusiasm up and down the state about making an impact in this election. Together, we will continue taking care of each other and fighting for justice and liberation for our communities.