California National Party facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids California National Party (CNP) Partido Nacional de California

Chair	Sean Forbes
Vice-Chair	Yvonne Hargrove
Secretary	David Lescure
Founded	2015; 10 years ago (2015)
Headquarters	Sacramento, California
Student wing	CNP Students
Membership (January 2022)	413
Ideology	Californian nationalism‌ Civic nationalism‌ Social democracy Environmentalism
Political position	Center-left Big tent
Colours	Yellow Blue
Seats in the U.S. Senate	0 / 2
Seats in the U.S. House	0 / 52
Statewide Executive Offices	0 / 8
Seats in the State Senate	0 / 40
Seats in the State Assembly	0 / 80
Politics of California Politics of the United States Political parties

The California National Party (Spanish: Partido Nacional de California), or CNP, is a political party in California. It supports the idea of California becoming independent from the United States. The CNP also believes in civic nationalism, which means supporting California's identity and people, no matter their background. The party focuses on progressive ideas and aims to include many different viewpoints.

History

The California National Party started in August 2015. Its main goal was to create a political group that focused on California's needs and its unique identity.

In January 2016, the California government was told that the CNP planned to become an official political party. They were given the code "CNP".

The party really started to get organized in June 2016. They held their first meeting in Sacramento, California. At this meeting, leaders were chosen, and two groups merged. The CNP then adopted a new set of goals and started a website to find new members. Since then, the party's leaders are chosen every year by its members. All leaders must live in California.

The CNP has said it is different from another group called "Yes California." The CNP believes that "Yes California" is not truly a Californian movement. Instead, the CNP focuses on progressive policies for Californians, like improving roads and offering universal health care.

As of January 2022, 413 voters in California have joined the California National Party. To become a fully recognized party, the CNP needs about 73,000 registered voters.

Organization

The California National Party is set up as a general committee. It works with the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which is like a watchdog group for politics in California.

Leadership Committee

The CNP has a team of leaders who help run the party:

Chairperson: Sean Forbes
Vice-Chairperson: Yvonne Hargrove
Secretary: David Lescure
Treasurer: Lyra Porcasi
Chapter Coordinator (North California): Bill Skog
Chapter Coordinator (South California): Chloe Caldasso
External Communications Coordinator: Theo Slater

Ideology

The California National Party's name and main purpose are partly inspired by the Scottish National Party. That party supports independence for Scotland. The CNP believes that "California politics should focus on improving the lives of Californians." This includes building better infrastructure, helping local businesses grow, and protecting the land and people.

The CNP has "core values" that guide its actions. These include "building and defending California," using "fact-based, compassionate policy," supporting "individual rights and social responsibility," and aiming for "prosperity for all Californians."

The party also wants local governments to have more power and control over their money.

Political positions

Civil rights

The California National Party wants to make sure that all people are included and treated fairly. This includes women, the LGBT community, Native Americans, and people of color. They want to prevent violence and abuse, ensure fair access to healthcare, and increase penalties for discrimination.

Economy

Taxation and Universal Basic Income

The CNP wants to make taxes simpler. They suggest a system where people with very low incomes get money back (called a negative income tax). They also propose a fair tax on wages, investments, and large inheritances. There would also be a tax on very large amounts of wealth. Businesses would pay a 22% tax.

A key idea is universal basic income (UBI). This means all California citizens aged 18 or older would get a monthly payment, no matter how much they earn. This UBI, combined with the negative income tax, would help replace the current welfare system. It aims to make sure everyone has enough money for food, housing, and other basic needs. This could also help reduce crime and homelessness.

California Public Bank

The CNP supports creating a state-owned Bank of California. This public bank would offer an alternative to expensive loans and check-cashing services. It would help people with fewer financial resources. It would also provide banking services for businesses that are legal in California but might have trouble with traditional banks.

All California residents would automatically have an account with this public bank. Tax refunds and UBI payments would go directly into these accounts. The bank would also manage special funds and offer loans to new, local California businesses. Branches would be in every county, making banking services easy to reach for everyone.

California Innovation Fund

The CNP wants to create an Office of Innovation and an Innovation Fund. This fund would support scientific research and new technology. California would own the patents for these inventions. Businesses that pay taxes in California could use these patents at a lower cost, encouraging tech companies to stay in California. Profits from these patents would help the fund grow.

This fund would support projects like:

Research to improve desalination (removing salt from water) and clean energy technologies.
Publicly owned internet services across California, aiming to be fast and affordable, especially in rural areas.
Developing self-driving vehicles and the necessary infrastructure.
Using technology to make California's government more efficient and democratic.

Education

The CNP believes everyone should have access to education, from childcare to college. They want public schools and universities to be run by educators, not politicians. They also support better pay for teachers.

The party wants bilingual education in all California public schools. They hope all Californians can become fluent in both English and Spanish. They also support more foreign language classes and exchange programs.

Primary education

The CNP supports free, universal access to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. They want California public schools to include these early grades. The party also wants "California studies" to be taught at all levels, covering California's history, geography, and cultures. They also support more funding for teacher salaries.

Higher education

The CNP wants California Community Colleges to be free for all Californians. They also want to guarantee admission offers to California State Universities and the University of California for all students who meet the requirements.

Environment

The CNP supports expanding California's carbon market, which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also want to invest in infrastructure along the California coast to protect against sea level rise.

They support expanding the California State Parks. This would include both recreational parks and areas for conservation.

The CNP believes that the PG&E is a threat to the environment and public safety. They want to increase building energy efficiency and create more local renewable energy production.

Water and Agriculture

Protecting California's waterways is very important to the CNP. They want a permanent ban on offshore drilling along California's coast. They also support public access to all beaches of California, based on old Spanish law. The CNP wants to help farmers switch to more environmentally friendly practices. They also encourage collecting rainwater in cities to save water for farming.

Healthcare

The CNP wants to simplify healthcare programs into a "Medi-Cal for all" system. This would expand access to healthcare and automatically enroll people.

Housing and infrastructure

The CNP wants to add an amendment to the California Constitution to make affordable housing a civil right. This would encourage building more homes where they are needed most, with state help if necessary. They also want California to learn from successful housing policies in other places, like Singapore and Tokyo.

The California National Party supports expanding statewide transportation. They also want to combine local transit agencies to make them more efficient and connected.

Immigration

The CNP wants the Californian government to play a bigger role in attracting immigrants to California for work, study, or living. They believe California should be able to issue visas alongside the U.S. federal government. They also propose a plan for immigration to California.

The CNP believes all California residents should have access to public services, no matter their immigration status.

The party is against building the "Trump wall" along California's border with Mexico. They also support the freedom of movement across North America. The CNP also supports a program for temporary workers to fill job shortages.

Legislative and Electoral Reform

Voting

The CNP supports using ranked-choice voting for all California elections. They also want to ensure fair elections by hand-counting paper ballots in smaller areas. In larger areas, they want to use secure, open-source voting systems that produce paper ballots and are never connected to the internet.

California Legislature

The CNP supports changing the California Constitution to increase the size of the Assembly. This would mean each member represents fewer people, making them more accountable. They suggest having one Assembly member for every 100,000 people. They also want to increase the size of the California Senate to 50 members. Senators would be elected based on how many votes their party gets.

Autonomy and Independence

The California National Party (CNP) works to make California stronger. At the same time, they are working towards California having more control over its own affairs, and eventually, becoming an independent country.

Elections

2020

In August 2020, the CNP supported Scott Schmidt for a local college board position. Schmidt received 37% of the votes but did not win.

2021

Michael Loebs, who was the party chairperson at the time, ran as a candidate in the 2021 recall election for governor. Loebs received 25,468 votes, which was 0.35% of the total votes statewide. The CNP saw his candidacy as a success. They plan to keep supporting candidates who are not tied to a major party and encourage more people to register to vote.

2022

The CNP's Los Angeles County chapter supported two candidates in the Long Beach City Council election, Carlos Ovalle and Steven Estrada. Both candidates lost their elections.