No Labels group gathers
There were no crowds, cameras or commentators watching, but a handful of residents got together for the first time this week to start their own grassroots political campaign.
Could sitting in a circle in a quiet front room be the same way the founders of the tea party movement got their start?
The eight concerned citizens who gathered here are fed up with the state's political squabbles, so they've begun a local branch of "No Labels," a national nonprofit organization that advocates for solutions to the country's problems without regard to partisan labels.
Monday's meeting was the first of the Upland-Claremont chapter, where many questions were posed regarding an official formation.
"The hardest part of a great idea is what do you do with it?" said Tom Thomas, former Upland councilman.
Thomas and his wife, Ann, hosted the group's first meeting with the hope of planning the chapter's initial steps toward advocacy.
Attending were Democrats, Republicans and some without an affiliation.
With the slogan "No right. No left. Forward," No Labels encourages citizens from all political parties to put aside their political labels to discuss solutions to the country's political and social problems.
Tim Jahns, the chapter's founding leader, told the group, "We need to arm ourselves with information before we go to advocate for something."
He passed out a list of 14 political and social issues that have the potential of being taken on as the chapter's priorities.
Jahns suggested that those in attendance bring their own list of issues, along with a friend, to the next meeting.
From there the members can vote on which issues they believe give them an opportunity to have the most influence.
"The purpose is to define ourselves as a group. What do we want to do as a local group?" Jahns said.
"We all view the government as being broken in some way. What can we do to fix it as well as advocate for specific issues?"
As has happened with the tea party movement, Thomas hopes No Labels will gain an influence of its own.
Thomas said the members need to attend events and meet lawmakers in person to let them know what their local No Labels group has to say.
"We're concerned citizens," Thomas said. "And we support a No Labels concept."
The next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. March 7 at 353 Emerson St., Upland.
For more information or directions, call 909-946-8739 or 909-920-6711.
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