San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) for president Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Harmon joined more than 40 elected and previously elected officials across California, according to a news release from the Sanders campaign. Other mayors who have endorsed Sanders include Jesse Arreguin (Berkeley, Alameda County), Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto (El Cerrito, Contra Costa County) and Jose Gurrola (Arvin, Kern County).
“We are proud to have the endorsement of some of California’s most progressive and dedicated elected officials and party leaders,” the campaign’s California director Rafael Návar said in the news release. “Grassroots change begins in our own counties and neighborhoods, and I have no doubt that with these leaders on our side, Bernie Sanders will become the next President of the United States.”
Harmon said she campaigned for Sanders unofficially even before his campaign began, and she said she was inspired by him to run for office.
“In many ways, I wouldn’t be mayor of San Luis Obispo if it wasn’t for Bernie,” Harmon said in an interview with Mustang News. “I think it’s been great to have really dynamic and multilayered candidates, but I believe that Bernie is the right choice.”
“In many ways, I wouldn’t be mayor of San Luis Obispo if it wasn’t for Bernie.”
Harmon said she endorsed Sanders because he aligns with her values and others who “put people over profit.”
“[Sanders] has been a voice and a leader on the social, economic, gender and environmental justice issues I care about,” Harmon tweeted. “I trust him to be the leader we need now more than ever.”
So excited to be endorsing @BernieSanders for President! He has been a voice and a leader on the social, economic, gender and environmental justice issues I care about. I trust him to be the leader we need now more than ever. #caforbernie #californiaforbernie #feelthebern pic.twitter.com/CDfmHU9c7v
— Heidi Harmon ??? (@heidiismighty) October 22, 2019
Harmon’s endorsement is not the first time she has supported the Vermont senator’s presidential efforts. Prior to her election as mayor, Harmon was a Sanders delegate at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
While she said she was honored to be a delegate for Sanders, Harmon said the convention itself was disappointing and highlighted the problematic nature of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
“By the time we got to the convention, we had confirmation that the Democratic National Committee had done everything in their power to ensure that Bernie wouldn’t be the candidate,” Harmon said. “I think we all knew then that Hillary [Clinton] had no chance of winning.”
At the local level, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), whose district covers both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties and parts of Ventura County, endorsed former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in June.
Harmon joins an already expansive list of politicians endorsing Sanders’ campaign. Most notably, Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) both endorsed Sanders on Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, respectively.
.@BernieSanders isn’t fighting to win just one presidential election — he’s fighting for the soul of our democracy.
Here’s more on why I’m so proud to give Bernie my endorsement for president of the United States: pic.twitter.com/1NLMPnzS1x
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 16, 2019
Today I am endorsing Senator @BernieSanders for president.
In the end, we must come together to defeat Donald Trump. We should do so knowing he is a symptom of a larger problem – and our greatest hope is a multiracial, working class movement in the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/9fiTS7FTX9
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 19, 2019
California will hold voting for the Democratic Party primary March 3, 2020.