Inspiring a Generation and Building Regional Power

Over the last four months, California Calls has been conducting training, coaching and regional sessions with anchors to update the equation for building statewide power.

Beginning in February, alliance staff met with anchors to assess who really makes decisions in their neighborhoods and cities and how their organizing could give neighborhood leaders from low-income communities of color a seat at the table. Having a clear, coherent analysis of the political landscape in their regions will give anchors a clear picture of where they should be organizing to best achieve their goals and how to build coalitions with like-minded organizations.

The regional organizing sessions pushed anchors to determine how best to engage the thousands of voters who were inspired to vote 2008, but don’t normally vote in statewide elections. Through the process, anchors took the long-view, and considered not what it would take to influence the next election, but what it would take to influence a new generation of leaders.