Three Santa Monica political activists are among a group of 12 delegates elected to represent the 41st Assembly District at the California Democratic Party (CDP).

Winning seats on the state party’s central committee were Santa Monicans Ben Allen, a local attorney recently elected to the SMMUSD Board of Education, Jonathan Troen, a member of the Executive Board of the Santa Monica Democratic Club, and Aparna Sridhar, a Santa Monica attorney who was a volunteer with the Obama campaign whose work focuses on election, education and policy matters.

Democrats from Oxnard to Santa Monica gathered in Topanga Saturday, January 10, to elect the 12 delegates to the state party’s central committee, a body of 3000 delegates who endorse candidates and pass resolutions at the party’s annual convention. 147 people cast votes to give the progressive slate a resounding victory. Elected from a field of 26 candidates, the group was aided by the turnout, including many members of the Santa Monica Democratic Club.

Maureen Cruise of Pacific Palisades was elected to serve as representative to the CDP Executive Board, a body of 300 elected and appointed officials involved in policy decisions.

The delegation is aligned with Progressive Democrats of America and the CDP’s Progressive Caucus, whose issues focus on Out of Iraq, Universal Single Payer Healthcare, Election Integrity, and Eliminating the Causes and Effects of Poverty. Restoring Constitutional Rights, Climate Change/Environmental Concerns, and Quality Public Education continue a longer list of progressive issues.

Assembly member Julia Brownley addressed the crowd about the state budget, strongly emphasizing the need to pressure Governor Schwarzenegger to sign a budget before the state runs out of money and pays workers and contractors in IOU’s.

The new delegates will join those from Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee and those appointed by Assembly member Brownley and State Senator Fran Pavley at the State Democratic Convention April 24-26 in Sacramento.