Delaine Eastin
Template:TOCnestleft Delaine Eastin
La Hermandad Mexicana Nacional
Bert Corona was most closely identified with the work of La Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, or the National Mexican Brotherhood. Founded in 1951 in San Diego by brothers Phil Usquiano and Albert Usquiano, the organization provided services to immigrants. Over the years, La Hermandad established chapters throughout the country and at one point boasted a membership of 30,000. The focus was organizing trade unions, defending undocumented workers, and providing social services to the undocumented. Corona quickly recognized the urgency of this group's efforts, and he helped establish its Los Angeles chapter. For the next four decades, he devoted much of his time to La Hermandad. He was the group's executive director when he died.
Immigrants proved convenient for other causes and Corona brags about using them to protest U.S. involvement in Vietnam. After receiving a teaching appointment in Chicano studies at Cal State LA, Corona, whom the Los Angeles Times has described as "an energetic man with a booming voice and a Marxist-Leninist viewpoint," surrounded himself with a bodyguard of radical students. A supporter of Fidel Castro, Corona is one of the few to lament the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"Renewed class struggle in these societies will lead to new forms of social arrangements," he said. "The workers of East Germany, for example, aren't about to give up easily many of the supports they had under socialism, such as low rents and free education for their children." With his stirring defense of socialism, Corona earned icon status with the left wing of the Democratic Party, becoming a hero to state politicians such as Tom Hayden, Sheila Kuehl, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo and Assembly speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, among others. He maintains a residence in Washington and has been entertained and praised by Bill Clinton.
Under Corona's helmsmanship, Hermandad had become a kind of domestic Third World dictatorship in style, tactics and fiscal policy. During the later 1980's and 1990's, it secured a staggering $35 million in grants. By 1997, Corona's Hermandad was $8 million in debt, including $4.2 million on its new Los Angeles health clinic. In 1995, Hermandad was evicted from its North Hollywood office and sued for $400,000 in back rent. Rank-and-file employees complained they had not been paid and Corona, whose own lifestyle did not appear to suffer, told reporters that the group used employees' withholding taxes to pay bills, a violation of state and federal law. These derelictions did not stop the California Department of Education (CDE), headed by Delaine Eastin, former Bay Area Democratic assemblywoman, from channeling nearly $10 million in adult education funds to Hermandad. The CDE punished the whistleblowers, one of whom was threatened by Corona and his enforcers.
The U.S. Attorney subsequently raised the possibility of criminal violations, but to the astonishment of many, particularly the whistleblowers, no charges were filed. [1]
Our Revolution - East Bay
Cullen Tiernan May 22, 2018:
Our Revolution - East Bay Meeting, discussing #california #primary #ourrevolution #bernie #delegates #united — attending an event with Mike Katz-Lacabe, Kelsey Pressnall, Delaine Eastin, Margarita Lacabe, Mark Van Landuyt and Carol Coyote at 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA 94702-1723, United States.
2018 endorsements
Democratic Socialists of America - Ventura County Chapter, 2018 endorsements.
- Gayle McLaughlin - Lieutenant Governor, California
- Lorrie Brown - Ventura City Council District 6
- John Nelson - US House California District 26
- Delaine Eastin - Governor, California[2]
Campaign manager
Campaign manager was Jennifer Rindahl.