Obama Campaign Press Release - Barack Obama Hosts California Women for Obama Kick-off

San Francisco, CA -- Barack Obama today kicked-off California Women for Obama, a grassroots organization of women dedicated to organizing their friends, co-workers, and families to transform the incredible enthusiasm for the campaign into an organization ready to turn out the vote and change Washington. Obama was joined by Kamala Harris, the San Francisco District Attorney, and Laura Chick, the Los Angeles Controller, who will serve as co-chairs of the organization, as well as hundreds of women serving as ambassadors for the campaign in their own communities.

"Like tens of thousands of Americans, these women have joined our campaign to challenge Washington because they believe in what our country can be and they're willing to work for it," said Senator Obama. "For too long, special interests and conventional thinking in Washington have stalled progress on issues like health care reform and energy independence and advanced the priorities of those with access at the expense of most Americans. To end the war in Iraq and address the major challenges facing us at home, it's not enough to just change parties, we've got to change our politics."

"Women across California know that we need a leader who can unite the country and make progress on the challenges facing our families and our nation," said District Attorney Harris. "Barack Obama understands the importance of keeping our communities safe. Hundreds of women across California are building support in their communities to elect Barack Obama the next president because he has spent his life creating change when there was little hope. Through our work, the enthusiasm for this campaign that exists across the across the state will translate into an infrastructure that will turn out the votes we need on February 5th."

"Barack Obama has the experience we need to take on the special interests and challenge the conventional thinking in Washington so that we can turn the page on the Bush-Cheney years," said Controller Chick. "Just like Barack Obama organized communities in Chicago that were shut out of the political process, we are organizing women across California who know we've got to take action ourselves if we want to change America."

California Women for Obama includes community leaders like Kim Mack, who has built a dynamic grassroots operation in Sacramento while her son has served in Iraq and Rosa Cabrera, the daughter of farm workers who was the first in her family to go to college and has built an organization in the Bay Area that inspired many to get involved in a campaign for the first time.