One week after 47 speakers persuaded Lompoc City Council to reverse a vote to slash the Chamber of Commerce’s economic development work, an impassioned crowd of 50 childcare workers overcame a Lompoc Unified School District staff recommendation to hire a for-profit, out-of-state corporation to replace them.
In both cases, novice speakers held back (or failed to hold back) tears as they addressed a microphone for the first time in their lives.
Both cases looked like lost causes. In both, the crowds at the gate found allies to mix into the throng and make converts on the other side. And in both, they sought not to destroy but to persuade.
