October 2025 Updates
October Calendar
Mondays: Join the SAVE DEMOCRACY ACTION GROUP for postcard writing, to support Proposition 50 in the upcoming California Special Election. Stamp donations welcome. Pilgrim Place Napier Center,10:15 am - 12 noon.
Wednesdays: Ceasefire Vigil - corner of Foothill and Indian Hill - 8:00 am (will return to 4 pm when temperature drops to 80 degrees).
Fridays: Peace Vigil - corner of Arrow Highway and Indian Hill - 3:30 to 4:30 pm, and at Pilgrim Place at the Octagonal Garden from 4 - 4:30 pm.
Saturdays, October, 4, 11 and 18, 10 am - noon - Neighborhood Canvassing and Literature Drop. Leave YES on Prop 50 literature at front doors of Democrats and Independents and, if volunteers so choose, have face-to-face conversations to persuade and turn out voters. Don’t worry if it’s your first time—training, materials, and support are all provided. Just bring comfortable shoes, a charged phone, and your passion for making a difference. Sponsored by Swing Left, at Pilgrim Place Napier Center.
Sundays, October 5 and 12, 8 am - 1 pm: Build support for Prop 50 at the Claremont Farmers Market. Volunteers are needed to fill three shifts each day, 8-10, 10-11:30, or 11:30-1. Harvard Avenue at 2nd Street, Downtown Claremont.
Saturday, October 11, 9:15 am - Inland Valley Citizens' Climate Lobby Chapter Meeting in the Pilgrim Place Napier Center. All are welcome.
Saturday, October 11, 3 - 5 pm -- 30th Circle of Chairs Interracial Dialogue on Race, with the topic "Should DEI D-I-E?" At Pitzer College, Gold Student Health & Wellness Center Multipurpose Room, 1102 Pitzer Service Rd, Claremont.
Monday, October 13, 3 pm - Ice Out of Pomona STOP THE RAIDS Rally to support day laborers, families and the community. At Pomona Valley Pride, 235 W. Mission Blvd., Pomona.
Saturday, October 18, 2 - 4 pm: NO KINGS 2! Sponsored by Indivisible, who says, "NO KINGS is more than a slogan—it’s the foundation of our nation’s body politic. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together. Let’s make this non-violent, peaceful event ENORMOUS!" Please pre-register here to ensure that enough safety volunteers, medics, and legal observers are present on the 18th. Corner of Indian Hill and Foothill, Claremont.
Wednesday, October 22, 10:30 am - Current Affairs Forum, "Housing and Homelessness Update: A Panel" at Pilgrim Place, Decker Hall. Representatives from Inland Abundant Housing and Claremont Tenants United will address the impact of SB 67 on Claremont, the proposed Claremont UCC Safe Parking Program, the opening of Larkin Place, and the $10 billion in State Housing Bonds on the June 2026 ballot.
UPCOMING EVENTS: The 2025-26 schedule of planned Current Affairs Forums,
Justice Groups at Pilgrim Place meeting dates, and Senior Stewards Acting For the
Environment (SSAFE) meeting dates is available here. Please save these dates!
Talking Points from Pilgrim Place's Save Democracy Action Group on
Proposition 50: The Election Rigging Response Act
What is Prop 50?
Prop 50 will be on the ballot on November 4. Voters will have the chance to decide whether to change the California Constitution to allow for mid-decade redrawing of Congressional district boundary lines. A majority vote is required to change the California constitution.
Under pressure from Trump, Texas redistricted to gain five Republican seats to give Republicans an unfair advantage in the 2026 congressional mid-terms and beyond. Prop 50 would redistrict to gain five Democratic seats in order to neutralize Texas’ redistricting plan.
Normally our independent Citizens Redistricting Commission determines voting districts after each 10-year census, but this proposition would redefine districts in January.
It is a temporary measure, and will return map drawing to the Commission in 2031 and every 10 years after that.
Gerrymandering:
The Texas redistricting is racial gerrymandering, or splitting up majority-minority districts and disenfranchising Black and people of color. This is unconstitutional.
The California initiative is partisan gerrymandering, or redrawing districts to favor a political party. This is not unconstitutional.
Why we need it:
Only 11 states have independent commissions, most of them in majority Democratic states. These 11 states cannot use racial or partisan gerrymandering. In other states, politicians can determine voting districts without voter approval and can more easily draw maps favoring Republicans. Democratic states are handicapped and operating in an uneven playing field.
President Trump pressured the Texas legislature and is now pressuring other states to redistrict order to gain more Republican representatives.
While we don’t like the idea of gerrymandering, California’s proposition gives voters a say in the matter. We support all states using the independent commissions for redistricting.
Prop 50 is a tactic -- a SHORT term objective to level the playing field. In Texas, theirs is a long-term strategy to control the U.S. Congress for years to come.
Our democracy is on the line. While we believe in taking the high road, in this case our very democracy is the high road.
A Partner Organization's Perspective on Prop 50
Yes on Proposition 50! Let’s Fight Fire with Fire! Right now, Third Act SoCal’s leadership team strongly believes that nothing is more important than supporting California Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act. By Phil Glosserman, Lead Facilitator, Third Act SoCal
As I’m sure you’re aware, President Trump is blatantly trying to rig the 2026 midterm elections by bullying Texas into gerrymandering their election districts so that he can have five more Republican U.S. House members. The potential consequences are huge.
If California does not counter the move in Texas, it’s highly unlikely the Dems could win back the House in 2026. If that happens, we can kiss many of our democracy and climate goals goodbye. And Trump and his Republican enablers will have two additional years to take us further down the road to fascism. Unthinkable!
On the other hand, if the Dems take back the U.S. House in 2026, we’ll regain some of our power (and sanity) and block the kinds of actions that are tearing apart our democracy and damaging our environment.
We must fight fire with fire. Prop 50 is our best chance to counter Trump’s election rigging. It’s dead serious. Trump could make the same demand to redraw districts in Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and South Carolina. By the time you read this, he may already have.
The opposition to Prop 50 is well organized. The Republicans have pledged $100M to the anti-50 campaign, even though they fully support gerrymandering in Texas. It’s blatantly hypocritical. By the way, one major difference between what Texas and California are doing is that in Texas the Governor and legislature acted without the will of the people. In California, we are putting Prop 50 to a vote in a special election. Let the people decide.
It’s going to be a challenge to pass Prop 50, and we have our work cut out for us. Historically, very few voters pay attention to special elections. Plus, there is so much else going on in our country now that people may not know about the election rigging. They may not understand Prop 50, why Newsom proposed it, why it’s so critical, and that it’s a temporary measure.
We need to educate people and help turn out the vote. It going to take explanation through conversation.
The great news is that Third Act SoCal’s Democracy Team has already created an action plan. Check out our Prop 50 playbook called the Action Heroes Guide. We are part of a growing coalition and are working with trusted partner organizations like Activate America and Mobilize.
What We Can Do
Let’s get behind Prop 50 now. Here are a few recommendations:
When your mail-in ballot arrives in October, be sure to complete it and vote Yes on Prop 50.
Actively participate in Third Act’s campaign to pass Prop 50. And bring someone you know. They don’t have to be part of Third Act.
Much of what we do will be talking and educating. Please read through the Action Heroes Guide, which explains Prop 50 and the actions we’re recommending.
Start with the people you know. You can easily reach them, and they’ll listen because they respect you. The object is to let them know how important this vote is and have them to agree to complete their mail-in ballot which will be sent to them in October.
What happens in California will impact the balance of power in the U.S. House, and therefore the entire country. I urge all of us to get on board, follow our Democracy team’s lead, and get to work. Let’s focus on getting Prop 50 passed. Then we can turn our sights to flipping the U.S. House in 2026. It’s crunch time!
A Brief Update on Refugee Rights
From Church World Service "State of Play," updated September 29, 2025, submitted by Sid M.
Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the Trump administration is required to meaningfully consult with Congress and establish a new Presidential Determination (PD) on refugee admissions by September 30 (the end of the fiscal year). There is no evidence any such consultation has occurred, and it is increasingly possible the administration will not sign a PD in time, resulting in an indefinite pause on all admissions. The scenario recalls 2019, when the first Trump administration delayed in signing a PD and no refugees were resettled for the entire month of October.
In the meantime, the indefinite refugee ban continues to leave more than 100,000 refugees stranded – individuals who had already completed years of vetting and were approved for resettlement when President Trump took office.
While significant uncertainty remains on the administration’s plans, reports continue to suggest the administration may be preparing to a PD that continues to prioritize groups like white South Africans and continues to keep out almost all other refugees. Use this tool to urge your Members of Congress to stand with stranded refugees and push for a PD that reflects our values.
At UN General Assembly, State Department officials call for overhaul of international refugee and asylum protections. In a public panel discussion last Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau unveiled a set of principles the Trump administration intends to push to rewrite the global system for refugee and asylum protections. International refugee and asylum laws have been in place since the end of World War II and the signing of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Amid an opening speech that included a number of falsehoods about asylum “fraud and abuse," Landau laid out the following tenets:
Nations should have no obligation to open their borders to asylum seekers
Asylum seekers should have no right to receive refugee or asylum status in the country of their choice
Refugee and asylum status must be temporary, not permanent
States must be constantly making a determination if country of origin conditions permit return
Every country must agree to expeditiously accept return of its nationals.
The panel included representatives from Kosovo, Liberia, Panama, and Bangladesh, although not all appeared to agree with Landau’s position. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Fillipo Grandi struck a conciliatory tone in a comment toward the end of the panel, noting the concerns raised by the administration can be addressed without abridging the rights and protections established by existing international refugee law.
George Devendorf, CWS Senior Director of External Relations, said of the announcement: “At a time of unprecedented global displacement, it is more important than ever that UN Member States work together to advance our shared interest in protecting the most vulnerable and upholding refugee law…As UN Member States continue to discuss modernizing asylum, we urge all countries to recommit to upholding the fundamental right to non-refoulement and ensuring people’s lives and freedoms are not placed at risk.”