Local officeholders often make fantastic candidates for the State Legislature and other partisan seats. But the transition from a message and base that positions you as a neutral civil servant, to one that takes a side, can be complex to navigate. Join us and allied experts to explore best practices for non-partisan candidates entering the partisan fray.
Panelists:
Amber Parrish Baur
Executive Director, UFCW Western States Council
A California native, Amber Parrish Baur has spent the last 16 years working in politics. After graduating from CSU Sacramento, she started the Masters Program at SFSU and began working for Noreen Evans in her bid for the State Assembly. Amber worked for in the North Bay for 5 years, first serving as Evans’ Campaign Director and then District Director when she was elected.
As the Political Director for the San Francisco Labor Council for over 8 years, Amber was instrumental in building a strategic organization, designed to grow support for the contract, bargaining, and organizing goals of affiliates while developing and implementing political field and data operations.
In her role as the Political Director of the UFCW Western States Affiliate, Amber engages UFCW locals in political planning, implementation and evaluation of political campaigns. She also works with staff to design and implement grassroots organizing campaigns based on legislative priorities.
Amber lives with her husband and two young children in San Francisco.
Hon. Jane Kim
Former SF Supervisor
Jane Kim served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, representing a diverse district in San Francisco, including the lowest-income residents and the wealthiest zip code in the City. Further, the district she represents is absorbing close to 80% of all residential and commercial development in San Francisco. She also served as a member of the nine Bay Area county Metropolitan Transportation Commission. She is a member and top voter getter for AD 17’s San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.
Her landmark initiatives include leading San Francisco to be the first city in the Nation to make Community College free for all residents; the Fair Chance Act (removing unnecessary barriers to employment and stable housing for the millions of Californians who have a conviction record); passing the strongest and most progressive minimum wage law in the nation raising our minimum wage to $15/hour by 2018; securing full-time nurses for homeless shelters and establishing a medical respite shelter for aging and sick homeless residents. This past year, Kim led the single largest investment in any US city has made towards childcare- a tax on multi-million dollar commercial real estate to raise $140M+ per year to make universal affordable childcare a reality.
Supervisor Kim is a fierce affordable housing advocate who has fought to increase the affordable housing requirement from 12% to 25% and has won an unprecedented 40% affordable housing requirement in two major development projects in her district. She is proud to have authored and passed the strongest and boldest tenant protection ordinance in the country stemming frivolous evictions.
Supervisor Kim has built a strong base of support throughout her community activism and time in office. Her approach to policy-making is values-based and prioritizes community-building and progressive leadership development.
Jane is currently serving as the California Political Director for Bernie Sanders 2020 and is a Senior Fellow of Engagement at the Young Elected Officials Network, a program of the People for American Way.
Prior to being a Supervisor, Jane Kim was a community organizer at Chinatown Community Development Center, a civil rights attorney at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and served as President of the San Francisco Board of Education. She received a dual B.A. in Political Science and Asian American studies from Stanford University and her J.D. from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
Johanna Silva Waki
West Coast State & Local Regional Director, Emily’s List
Strategist. Advocate. Leader. Reformer. During her career, Johanna Silva Waki has embodied all these roles. Through various positions with non-profits, government agencies, and consultancies, Johanna has led initiatives to make legislative changes and promoted awareness and action regarding women’s health and empowerment. A tireless advocate for women’s issues with a commitment to planning, building, and executing strategic, winnable campaigns for pro-choice female candidates, Johanna has devoted her career to motivating others to act. In her current role with EMILY’s List, Johanna partners with local, state, and regional groups and legislative caucuses to identify, recruit, train candidates, and build a pipeline of candidates that align with this mission. Leveraging polling data to create and administer training, she plans and launches campaign strategy, and works with individual campaigns and candidates to effectively manage their pursuit of office. In 2002, Johanna founded Hope Road Consulting, a full-service political consulting and public relations firm, which she led until 2015. She is also a Board Member of Tides Advocacy and is a former Emerge California Board Member who now co-chairs the organizations’ Campaign Advisory Team (CAT). She is a founding member of PowerPAC, a social justice organization committed to building long-term political infrastructure for underrepresented communities. An immigrant of Nicaragua, Johanna, lives in the San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood with her parents, husband, son, and their loving Shih Tzu, Leo. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and La Raza Studies from California State University, San Francisco.
Moderated by Dr. Pratima Gupta
CTGCA Executive Board
Dr. Pratima Gupta is an obstetrician/gynecologist practicing in San Diego, California. She currently works at Planned Parenthood and UCSD and is on the Board of Directors of Close the Gap California which works towards getting more women elected to State office. She also serves as the Legislative Director of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus and is a graduate of the Emerge California training program. She previously served as the Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee and as the medical director of St James Infirmary. In addition to chasing after two young children, she is a a triathlete. Dr. Gupta’s professional interests include sustainable global health initiatives via advocacy collaboration, inclusion, and mentorship, education with residents and medical students, and increasing family planning access.
