2011 – “Save Vernon Jobs” Campaign (Vernon Chamber)

This year, I had the honor of working with top L.A. area PR Agency Englander Knable & Allen for the Vernon Chamber of Commerce in fighting AB 46, Speaker John Perez’s pet bill to disincorporate the City of Vernon.

As Government Affairs Adviser for the Vernon Chamber, my contributions to the campaign were through:  managing day-to-day communications and establishing e-mail outreach, working with the PR team & Chamber staff to develop messaging, researching and utilizing info connecting Vernon to other businesses across the U.S., setting up meetings with legislators, aiding lobbying trips to Sacramento, organizing grassroots outreach to assemble a coalition of over 200 businesses representing over 20,000 workers, and overall aid to the success of the campaign.

The video below I developed gives a good overview from the Chamber’s part in the Save Vernon Jobs coalition, which included a rare alliance of labor and business:

If AB 46 had passed, it would have eliminated over 11,000 jobs in Southern California.

Below is a flyer I helped write copy for and designed, that we distributed to businesses (through mailers and through coordinated business walks) that illustrated the anti-jobs threats of AB 46.

In the end, the defeat of AB 46 and proposed Vernon Disincorporation was not just a come-from-behind public affairs victory, but a blow to one of the most powerful men in California–Speaker John Perez.

Endorsements of my work from Vernon stakeholders:

“Randy makes a great asset to any team. Here’s how I would describe Randy: Follows through and executes with excellence. Takes initiative. Drives results. Operates with discipline. Operates well under pressure. Creative, flexible and deals well with uncertainty.”

- Lisette Gavina-Lopez, Marketing Director, F. Gavina and Sons Coffee

“I had the opportunity to work closely with Randy on the 2011 “Save Vernon Jobs” campaign. Randy provided strategic planning and direction to our committee. He did an excellent job of organizing and facilitating our efforts and played a signifcant role in the Chamber’s victory over AB 46/781. Randy consistently demonstrated exceptional comprehension, innovation, responsiveness and coordination.”

- Adam Ferry, Business Development Manager, Vernon Security