Local residents Swanee Edwards and Charmaine Jabr will be
honored for their political activism at the Democratic Party’s
state convention in San Diego this weekend.
Morgan Hill – Local residents Swanee Edwards and Charmaine Jabr will be honored for their political activism at the Democratic Party’s state convention in San Diego this weekend.
The two women will share the Democratic Volunteer of the Year Award for region 9 of the California Democratic Party, which covers parts of Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey and Santa Clara counties.
A significant reason for their nomination was their role in Congressman Jerry McNerney’s surprising victory over incumbent Richard Pombo in the 11th Congressional District last November.
“Of the 7,000 possible voters in the Morgan Hill area, they got 5,000 of them to vote for Jerry McNerney,” Graves said. “They did all of the grunt work, mailing out newsletters, doing dishes after events, emptying the trash … they’re pretty extraordinary women and very low-key about it.”
Edwards and Jabr, both Morgan Hill residents, met in January 2006 to work on McNerney’s behalf. Through their efforts they managed to open a campaign office on Main Avenue, staffed entirely by volunteers.
“We hit every precinct in Morgan Hill twice,” said Edwards, 55, who is publicity chair for the 166-member South County Democratic Club. “It took a huge amount of work to wake up a politically sleepy town that managed to give Jerry McNerney 61 percent of the vote in Santa Clara County.”
Distric 11 covers parts of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties.
Jabr, 53, McNerney’s campaign chairwoman in Morgan Hill, said she was surprised and honored to learn about the award.
“Swanee is far more outspoken … she was really good at contacting other people,” Jabr said, describing her role as more of a behind the scenes organizer.
