Many thanks to everyone who joined in person or watched the People's Candidate Town Hall in Chico! The line at the Women's Club was out the door with people excited to meet the candidates challenging Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

Out. The. Door. Our momentum is beautiful, and a sign of great things to come for the 2018 midterm elections!

As an Our Revolution chapter, we believe there is something profoundly wrong when our politicians are bought and paid for by corporate interests. As we continue to fight for values that put people over profit, we must do our due diligence with the candidate we will support to challenge LaMalfa.

Audrey Denney (D), Lewis Elbinger (G), Jessica Holcombe (D), and Marty Walters (D) all gracefully participated in our open town hall so we could get to know them better. They shared their vision for the North State, spoke about the issues, and answered questions from the audience. All candidates said they would fight for things like Medicare for All, take action on our changing climate, and protect a woman's right to choose. 

Audrey Denney won the public audience straw poll at the end of the event, garnering 73% of the votes (103 votes cast). 

A Chico resident for nearly 15 years, Audrey Denney (pictured) has a rich background in agriculture, education, and nonprofit leadership. She taught agriculture at CSU Chico for six years, and is now in her third year designing learning strategy and curriculum for worldwide agricultural organizations. Her volunteer work includes serving as the President of the Board of Directors for an internationally renowned human rights organization and working as a member of the mission committee at Bidwell Presbyterian Church.

Coming in at 15% was Marty Walters. Marty is an environmental scientist and musician. She has spent 30 years advocating for people and the environment within companies and high-risk industries. 

9% of the votes went to Jessica Holcombe. She is a fourth generation Northern Californian and the oldest of seven kids. She attended UC Davis and lives in Auburn where she founded her own law firm. **She was the only candidate to say she would accept Corporate PAC money, and therefore can't be considered for an Our Revolution endorsement.**

2% for Lewis Elbinger. He is a retired career diplomat whose primary interest is the consciousness of the human race, an experienced world traveller who sees the world whole and a lifelong learner who values wisdom over cleverness.  

1% was votes cast for Undecided. 

We thank all of the candidates for participating!

We think people need to hear from the candidates running this year - up and down the ballot. To that end, we will be facilitating more independent town halls with transparent voting and open questions from the audience. If you'd like to get more involved or want to help organize one in your area, consider signing up to volunteer or becoming a regional leader!

If you'd like to chime-in before our steering committee meets to make an endorsement, you can submit your vote here. Poll closes at 5pm PST February 28, 2018.

It's going to take people like you to bring on the wave of change we need. We hope that you'll join us as we continue to grow together, and help spread the word.

Together we will repeal and replace LaMalfa.

Onwards,

-Our Revolution Chico

P.S.  If you missed the event or want to re-watch the video, you can watch the full town hall on Facebook! You can also watch news coverage of our event on the Action News Now page.