Submitted by lorinpda on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 17:39

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On election night, Tuesday Feb 2 volunteers for Rudy Lozano Jr and Jesus Chuy Garcia gathered. The crowd shouted Si Se Pueda! Si Se Pueda! I don't speak Spanish, however the context and the passion of words translate by themselves. I asked a woman standing next to me. "They got it from us, it means Yes We Can".

The next day, I looked up the phrase "Si Se Puede". It's the motto of the United Farm Workers (UFW). The UFW translates the phrase as "It can be done!". In 1972, Cesar Chavez's and UFW's co-founder, Dolores Huerta came up with the slogan, during an extended fast.

I like the UFW translation, "It can be done!". That's how I'll remember the campaign to elect Rudy Lozano Jr. in Feb 2010. After the final count was in, Rudy said "It's not a loss, it's a win for our community and our families".

The rally just 2 days earlier, with Jesus Chuy Garcia was standing room only. In fact, there we so many volunteers there we folks out on the street. Elections are just part of a larger social movement. The race isn't a sprint it's a marathon. You get to meet folks and talk about what their concerns are. You get to knock on stranger's doors and invite then to talk about changing the world.

You knock on many doors, most of the time no one answers. So you go back a second time, then a third, eventually they'll open the door. And that is when "Si Se Puede". Till next time my friends.

The official and final election results show Rudy was just short a few hundred votes.

Lorin M Klugman
Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)
Illinois State Coordinator

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