BUNKHOUSE

A WINNING STRATEGY

SUCCESS REQUIRES REACHING ACROSS THE AISLE

by CCA Executive Vice President Billy Gatlin

CCA scored some major victories for ranchers in the 2022 legislative session. Highlights include two CCAsponsored bills as well as several other supported bills signed by the Governor, and we defeated or favorably amended every bill we opposed (for more information, see page 10). In addition, the Legislature and Governor continue to invest additional resources in making California more fire resilient and making it easier to execute more prescribed fire. The narrative around grazing continues to become more positive with lawmakers discussing the environmental benefits of grazing and looking to expand grazing for fuel load reduction throughout the state.

This success can largely be attributed to CCA’s leadership direction and execution of a successful lobbying strategy. Most importantly, none of this could have been accomplished without the investment and support of all CCA members. Your investment and engagement have paid and will continue to deliver huge dividends. Together we are fighting to secure a strong future for California’s ranching families. Not only are we fighting but we are winning.

Other important allies in this fight have been legislators that support California’s ranching community and believe that cattle production is essential to California’s future. This group includes both Republicans and Democrats but is primarily made up of Democrats. In 2022, there were 19 Republican members in the 80-member State Assembly, requiring us to secure votes from at least 22 Democrats for every piece of legislation we were seeking to pass or defeat. Every legislative victory we secured was not only bipartisan but had more Democratic votes than Republican votes. The same is true for the State Senate where Republicans only have nine of the 40 seats.

In prior columns I have gone into detail about the mega majorities that Democrats hold in both the State Assembly and Senate as well as holding every statewide office. I have also detailed how the recent redistricting process has solidified that dominance for the next decade. So, I will not go into detail here but will reiterate this key point: CCA’s future legislative successes will be the result of a bipartisan group of lawmakers primarily made up of Democratic lawmakers.

A critical component to building a bipartisan coalition of legislators to achieve legislative success is helping to elect candidates that support cattle production in the state. Every year, CCA’s Cattle-PAC invests in candidates that we know will support ranchers once they are elected. We know that Republican and Democratic candidates will not support our position on every issue but have been extremely successful in identifying and electing candidates that will be with us most of the time. Electing candidates that are supportive rather than hostile towards cattle production has been critical to our collective success.

One of the biggest opportunities we have been able to capitalize on is helping to elect more moderate Democratic candidates over their more progressive Democratic opponents. We have not given up on working with progressive Democrats, and even count a few of them as our allies. But as we work to educate these progressive members about California cattle production our most immediate and clearest path to victory is with moderate Democrats.

In the 2022 Primary and General elections we have identified over two dozen Republican and Democratic candidates running in competitive elections that we believe will support CCA on our issues once elected. Cattle-PAC has invested in their campaigns, and we are confident that after the Nov. 8 election we will have a solid coalition of legislators that value cattle production in California and will support our legislative efforts. Not only are we growing the size of our coalition, but we are helping to elect candidates who will be champions for the causes we care about most.

California’s ranching families are vital to our state’s economic and environmental future. That simple fact is not a partisan issue. It’s why CCA’s leadership over the last decade has endeavored to build relationships with Republicans and Democrats. Our future depends on bipartisan support.

While we have secured some major victories, our fight is far from over. This is an ongoing battle. It’s been a battle waged since CCA was formed in 1917 and will continue long after us. But for now, we are the stewards of this fight and I am proud of all that we have accomplished together. It takes all of us. Together we will achieve many more great things in 2023.

CLM REPRESENTATIVES

Jake Parnell..........................916-662-1298 George Gookin ..................209-482-1648 Rex Whittle..........................209-996-6994 Mark Fischer....................... 209-768-6522 Kris Gudel .............................916-208-7258 Steve Bianchi .....................707-484-3903 Jason Dailey ........................916-439-7761 Brett Friend...........................510-685-4870 Tod Radelfinger ..................775-901-3332 Bowdy Griffen ....................530-906-5713

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CATTLEMEN’S FALL SPECIAL FEEDER SALES

SELECT WEDNESDAYS AT 12 P.M. November 9 • November 16 November 30 • December 7 December 21: Last Sale of ‘22

Visit our Website for Details: www.clmgalt.com CLM ANNUAL BRED COW & REPLACEMENT FEMALE SALE AND ‘WORLD OF BULLS’ SALE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

FEMALES SELL AT 9:30 A.M. LUNCH SERVED AT 12 P.M. BULLS SELL AT 12:30 P.M. Featuring Bulls from Reputable Breeders from California, Oregon and Idaho ANGUS • HEREFORD • CHAROLAIS • GELBVIEH BALANCER • LIM-FLEX • RED ANGUS • SIMANGUS

Parnell’s Central California

54rd Annual W rld

Saturday, November 5