Mixing and Mingling

Annual Garden Party Allows Community Members to Meet and Greet Local Elected Officials

By MARYAM ZAR | Contributing Writer

Pacific Palisades Democratic Club hosted its 2024 Garden Party on Sunday, September 8, at a home in the Riviera—a tradition that’s become a way to meet local elected officials and other VIPs in a casual setting.

Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvre and wine, hearing first from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who detailed her legislative priorities as she looked ahead to serving her last term.

Irwin is spearheading initiatives to expand and democratize car charging stations, mandate informed food-labeling standards for expiration and safe consumption dates, and develop fire mitigation strategies by helping people harden their homes and prepare for emergencies.

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto spoke of her Puerto Rican roots and offered a review of her work combating trafficking and child sex abuse citywide, walking the audience through the challenges of prosecuting these crimes.

Councilmember Traci Park spoke of the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics and her role as chair of the Olympic Committee. She told partygoers about her trip to Paris accompanying Mayor Karen Bass, noting the “magical” nature of the games.

Park said she returned to LA more eager than ever to spearhead the ’28 games, but also confessed to some manageable, not-quite “panic” that conveyed the urgency of putting plans in place and thinking through the details of a historic moment for LA.

The councilmember also touched on her other work, including the way in which she and her office are tackling homelessness and showing that results are achievable. Park spoke of collaboration between city and county offices to commit resources to solving the unhoused crisis in LA.

County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath spoke at length about the 2024 elections, describing the “supercharged” energy she experienced at the Democratic National Convention.

The supervisor went on to note the many achievements of her office as a result of her leadership on homelessness solutions. She also touched on the reforms to the Board of Supervisors proposed in Measure G—a package, co-authored by Horvath, that expands the board and crafts new ethics rules. Horvath urged Palisadians to support it.

Congressmember Brad Sherman delivered a video message recorded exclusively for PPDC’s Garden Party, and special guest Bill Burton, former senior advisor and deputy press secretary to President Barack Obama, gave attendees a behind-the-scenes look at the 2024 political landscape.

In addition to the electeds who spoke and took questions, guests also heard from LA County Democratic Party Chair Mark Ramos, elected in 2024. The LACDP is the largest Democratic central committee in the United States, representing over 3.1 million Democrats.

Ramos addressed the election cycle, including volunteer efforts—doorknocking, postcarding, phonebanking and textbanking.

The event concluded with calls to action from the two nationally influential Get Out the Vote operations: the Grassroots Dems HQ, co-founded by two members of the PaliDems board, with its newly opened election office at 1027 Westwood Boulevard in Westwood, and the Westside Dem HQ, founded and co-run by PPDC, with its own election hub at 1241 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

“Mark your calendars for next year’s Garden Party,” said PPDC President Steve Cron. “After yet another successful one, we’ll try to top ourselves for 2025.”

For more information, visit palidems.org.