LAKEPORT — Congressman John Garamendi and other politicians running for office in Lake County attended the opening of the Democrat Coordinated Campaign Headquarters Saturday in Lakeport.
About 30 people attended the opening of the new headquarters, located at 1210 S. Main St., across from the Grocery Outlet.
Candidates introduced themselves to attendees and spoke briefly about the issues. They included Clearlake City Council candidate Bruno Sabatier, Lakeport City Council member Suzanne Lyons, and superior court judge candidates Judy Conard and Michael Lunas.
Garamendi spoke for approximately 30 minutes about the upcoming presidential election and the issues surrounding the campaign that would impact the country, as well as issues affecting the new Third Congressional District in which he is running for re-election.
The new district includes much of the northern and eastern portions of Lake County.
He spoke of Congressman Mike Thompson, who is running for re-election in the new Fifth Congressional District, which includes the western and southern portions of the county. Garamendi said they will have the opportunity to work together and magnify issues of concern for Lake County, including water and environmental concerns.
“I know how much he cares about here (Lake County),” Garamendi said.
He discussed the importance of infrastructure to the U.S. economy and legislation he helped introduce that aims to revamp the U.S. manufacturing industry for large-scale infrastructure projects. He said Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is looking to purchase new cars to replace older ones.
“They need to buy American,” Garamendi said.
He also discussed the country”s growing deficit.
“We must deal with the deficit as we build the economy,” he said. “We have to work together. We can do this.”
Garamendi fielded a few questions from the attendees and talked about the importance of the new district, urging folks to get involved in the campaign and put “boots on the ground (and) phones in hand.”
Attendees mingled with the candidates and were treated to light refreshments.
