Welcome to the Bay Area for Bernie Blog. Bay Area for Bernie is a group of people from around the San Francisco Bay who have come together to support Senator Bernie Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Our first meeting was on May 16, and since then, 165 people have signed up. We’ve asked Mike K., one of our volunteers, to give you the scoop on what we’ve done so far.

Mike K., a volunteer with Bay Area for Bernie

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

With a long history of grassroots organization and progressive politics, it should come as no surprise that conscientious SF Bay Area residents began mobilizing to spread awareness about the “democratic socialist” candidate even before the official launch of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Presidential campaign. Since that first meeting in May, Bay Area for Bernie has begun filling the streets at public events like First Fridays, local farmers’ markets, and even neighborhood yard sales. The wide range of support we continue to see from all walks of life has been a very inspiring start! Here are a couple of our larger early actions.

Friday, June 5 – First Fridays, Oakland

First Action, First Friday

After setting up our first tabling event, we were delighted that interested people started coming up to talk to us right away. While most of us at this first action had minimal experience campaigning for a candidate, it was invigorating to realize that Bernie’s ideas and their wide appeal made it easy to start and maintain a conversation with both enthusiastic Bernie fans as well as those who had never heard of him.

That night we had dozens of supporters looking to take local action in support of Bernie sign up for our mailing list, and we left many more with a new awareness that there was a candidate in this election who actually agreed with them and who has a shot at the White House.

Our table happened to be next to the good people at Socialist Alternative, a third party organization whose ideals are very similar to Bernie’s. They gladly sent quite a few people over to talk with us and vice versa.

Saturday, June 13 – Downtown Berkeley

Downtown Berkeley Honk and Wave

At the intersection of Center and Shattuck, right above the downtown Berkeley BART, Supporters of Bernie set up shop on multiple corners to spread name awareness and chat about Bernie with passers by. The action was a huge success with a outpour of honks, waves, and thumbs up from passing cars, as well as many more pedestrians who were encouraged to come and discuss the issues that make Sanders the clear choice for 2016. AC Transit bus drivers and supervisors were our biggest fans, sending honks and cheery smiles our way every time they passed. It was great to hear such love from a strong local union.

Saturday, June 20 – Downtown Berkeley

Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market

After our warm reception in downtown Berkeley on the 13th, we decided to return this past Saturday, this time at a table in the farmers’ market on Center Street. We got 24 people to sign up for our newsletter, bringing the total up to 165.

Check out photos from the events:

How Can I Help Out?

With the official Sanders campaign focusing on the early primary states, many people are itching to help spread the message locally, but don’t know how. If you are looking to get involved, check out our upcoming events for all the upcoming actions (the next large action will be at S.F. Pride) as well as committee and group meetings. Also coming soon, the Bernie Bag! An easy to carry, all-inclusive pouch with the signs and flyers to enter the community and spread awareness. Sign up for our newsletter to keep in the loop.