Bernie Sanders national campaign amps up Watsonville supporters
“He has a great and progressive message, he’s very true and authentic,” said Bernie Sanders campaign volunteer and coordinator Margarett Bonetti.
People from all over the Central Coast gathered inside the Appleton Grill in Watsonville to learn how to do a better job at getting senator Bernie Sanders elected president.
“I would like to see big money out of politics and Bernie’s the man for that,” said Kathy Yurista with the Santa Cruz and Watsonville for Bernie Sanders.
Robert Estrada says he will not be voting for Sanders. “I don’t think he’s genuine.”
To help change those opinions and bring more awareness to his message the Bernie Sanders national campaign hosted a barnstorm to teach national strategies for outreach, volunteering and event organizing at the local level.
“We’re here to get more direction because Bernie has inspired a lot of us to get involved politically but we’re doing it on our own,” said Bernie Sanders Watsonville grass roots organizer Manuel Rivas.
Organizers say one of the challenges they face on the campaign trail is name recognition.
“So we have a lot of outreach to do because he doesn’t have a lot of name recognition like Hilary Clinton,” said Rivas.
Sanders supporters say navigating communities of color has also been a struggle.
“So that’s the challenge how do we get his name out and get the information about his position on the issues,” said Rivas.
Some of the volunteers say they plan to travel beyond the Central Coast to host phone banks and canvas for the man they feel will turn the country around.
