Sacramento can't be fixed from Sacramento. It gets fixed from your school board. From your water district. From your city council. From your healthcare board. Common sense doesn't start in a capitol building — it starts in your family, spreads to your neighborhood, takes root in your church, and wins one down-ballot race at a time. That's the Bear Republic ground game. And it starts right here.
In 1846 a handful of Californians raised a flag with a single grizzly and a lone star and declared that the people who live on this land — not a distant government — would decide its future. That flag still flies over our state capitol. Wake the Bear is that same idea, brought home to your own neighborhood. En 1846 un puñado de californianos alzó una bandera con un solo oso pardo y una estrella y declaró que quienes viven en esta tierra — no un gobierno lejano — decidirían su futuro. Esa bandera aún ondea sobre nuestro capitolio. Wake the Bear es esa misma idea, traída de vuelta a tu propio vecindario.
A grizzly is slow to anger and fierce to protect. A mother bear doesn't argue about politics — she moves the moment her cubs, her den, or her territory are threatened. That's the instinct this movement is built on: when your schools, your water, your hospital, or your neighborhood stop making sense, you don't wait for Sacramento to notice. You wake up, and you protect what's yours. Un oso pardo tarda en enojarse y es feroz al proteger. Una mamá osa no discute de política — actúa en cuanto sus cachorros, su guarida o su territorio están amenazados. Ese es el instinto sobre el que se construye este movimiento: cuando tus escuelas, tu agua, tu hospital o tu vecindario dejan de tener sentido, no esperas a que Sacramento lo note. Despiertas y proteges lo que es tuyo.
Why it matters now: more and more of the decisions that shape daily life in California — what gets built, what your water costs, what your kids are taught, whether care stays local — are being pulled away from the towns and counties that live with the results. This isn't left versus right. It's common sense versus distance. The bear is a Californian of every background who is simply done being governed by people who will never knock on their door. Awake, not angry. Local, not partisan. Unstoppable, one race at a time. Por qué importa ahora: cada vez más decisiones que moldean la vida diaria en California — qué se construye, cuánto cuesta tu agua, qué aprenden tus hijos, si la atención sigue siendo local — se alejan de los pueblos y condados que viven con las consecuencias. Esto no es izquierda contra derecha. Es sentido común contra distancia. El oso es un californiano de cualquier origen que simplemente está cansado de ser gobernado por gente que nunca tocará su puerta. Despierto, no enojado. Local, no partidista. Imparable, una carrera a la vez.
Most people never find out what their local boards are actually doing until the bill, the rezoning, or the curriculum change has already landed. This site exists to close that gap. Two reasons to be here: La mayoría nunca se entera de lo que hacen sus juntas locales hasta que la factura, la rezonificación o el cambio de plan de estudios ya llegó. Este sitio existe para cerrar esa brecha. Dos razones para estar aquí:
Look up your address to see who holds the local seats that decide your schools, water, safety, and healthcare — the common-sense grade on their record, and the decisions still on the table. Pick the issues you care about and we'll show you exactly where the non-common-sense is coming from.Busca tu dirección para ver quién ocupa los cargos locales que deciden tus escuelas, agua, seguridad y salud — la calificación de sentido común de su historial y las decisiones aún pendientes. Elige los temas que te importan y te mostramos de dónde viene el sinsentido.
See What's Going On Near Me →Ver Qué Pasa Cerca de Mí →You don't have to be a politician. These are part-time, winnable seats — many decided by a few hundred neighbors. We show you the filing deadline, how many votes it takes, and the step-by-step path to put your name on the ballot and bring common sense back to the board.No tienes que ser político. Son cargos de medio tiempo y ganables — muchos se deciden por unos cientos de vecinos. Te mostramos el plazo de inscripción, cuántos votos hacen falta y el camino paso a paso para poner tu nombre en la boleta y devolver el sentido común a la junta.
See How to Run →Ver Cómo Postularse →Most of the races on this site are non-partisan — no D or R next to the name. Your school board trustee, your water district director, your healthcare board member — these seats don't ask which party you belong to. They ask one question: can you solve the problem?
It's not left vs. right — it's common sense vs. bureaucracy. A water rate that doubles in three years is a management failure. A school that can't keep teachers is a leadership failure. The bear doesn't wake up over party platforms — it wakes up because the den isn't safe anymore. That's the Wake the Bear ground game: common sense over party labels, local solutions over Sacramento, your family first.
Bear Republic Race Tracker Rastreador de Carreras
WAKE THE WOKE
A scoreboard of local California offices — how winnable each seat is, and where the incumbent stands.Powered by WAKE THE WOKE — grading down-ballot races on one test: practicality and common sense over party noise. Not left, not right — just awake. Know the seat before you run. Grade the candidate before you back them.
↓ Click a county to explore races — or use the keyboard-friendly county list below
Click any county dot on the map
to explore available Bear Republic races
Or use the county list below on mobile
Your Voice — What's Breaking Your Neighborhood?Tu Voz — ¿Qué Está Fallando en Tu Vecindario?
The Bear Coalition La Coalición del Oso
Vote Your Local Ballot Vota Tu Boleta Local — Sentido Común en Cada Distrito
Common sense isn't partisan. The local offices that decide your healthcare, schools, water, and taxes are won or lost by a few hundred neighbors — and the ideas that win are the ones almost everyone already agrees on. Here's how to make your local ballot count. El sentido común no es partidista. Los cargos locales que deciden tu salud, escuelas, agua e impuestos se ganan o se pierden por unos cientos de vecinos — y las ideas que ganan son las que casi todos ya comparten. Así haces que tu boleta local cuente.
The Restoration Framework El Marco de Restauración
Neighborhood Districts & Local Seats
Eliminate at-large races where one politician represents 50,000 people. Replace with neighborhood-sized districts a real neighbor — not a lobbyist — can actually win.
🐻 For Your FamilyWhen your district is small, you can knock on your representative's door. When it's large, only money gets through. We make representation human-sized again.
Energy & Water Sovereignty
California families pay the highest electricity rates in the continental U.S. Sacramento trades Central Valley water rights for environmental politics. Both stop at the county line under Bear Republic governance.
🐻 For Your FamilyYour electricity bill, your water bill, and your gas prices are all higher because Sacramento makes energy decisions from a coastal office. Local energy boards and water districts answer to you — not to lobbyists in Sacramento.
Election Integrity & Fair Ballots
Every legitimate vote counted. Every illegitimate vote stopped. Audit-ready local elections with transparent chain of custody — starting with the special districts and school boards the Bear Republic is winning right now.
🐻 For Your FamilyIf you don't trust the election, you don't trust the result. Bear Republic candidates run clean campaigns, demand clean counts, and push for paper-trail audits at every level of local government.
Parental Rights & Education Sovereignty
Parents — not state boards, not corporate curriculum vendors — are the primary authority over their children's education and health decisions.
🐻 For Your FamilyYou have the right to know what your child is being taught, to opt out of centralized testing, and to choose a school that reflects your values. Sacramento can't overrule that.
Property Rights, Tax Limits & Small Business Freedom
Cap what Sacramento can extract from local taxes. Every parcel tax, bond measure, and fee increase decided by the neighbors who pay it. And strip the state regulations that make California the most expensive place in America to open a small business.
🐻 For Your FamilyWhen your landlord gets hit with a parcel tax, it lands in your rent. When a small business owner pays $10,000 just to get a state permit, that cost lands in your grocery bill. Less Sacramento means more in everyone's pocket.
Sheriff Autonomy & Local Veto
Locally elected Sheriffs and District Attorneys have the authority to enforce the laws their community elects them to enforce — not Sacramento's non-prosecution mandates.
🐻 For Your FamilyIf your neighborhood isn't safe, your Sheriff can act — without waiting for Sacramento to give permission. Your community's safety standards come first.
Why Local Costs Keep Rising — and the Common-Sense Way OutPor Qué Suben los Costos Locales — y la Salida con Sentido Común
A nurse contract, a school parcel tax, a water-rate hike — they look like separate fights. They are the same machine. Here is how it works, and the common-sense way out. Not left, not right — local.Un contrato de enfermeras, un impuesto escolar, un alza en la tarifa del agua — parecen peleas separadas. Son la misma máquina. Así funciona, y así se sale con sentido común. Ni izquierda ni derecha — local.
The Bear Republic Needs You to Run
Every uncontested local seat is a seat Sacramento wins by default. Most water boards, school boards, and special districts have never faced a Bear Republic candidate. The barriers to entry are lower than you think. Filing fees run $30–$200. You don't need a consultant. You need one clear issue and your neighbors.
"But I could never run." Yes, you could.
We asked thousands of Californians what stops them. These four answers came up the most — here's the truth about each one.
Deploy Your Claws — Take Action Despliega Tus Garras — Actúa
The ground game doesn't start at a rally. It starts at your front door this week. Pick one action below and do it before Sunday. That's how Bear Republic wins: neighbor by neighbor, action by action.
Local seats are won door by door. Pick a race near you from the tracker, grab a walk list, and put in two hours. A few hundred doors can decide a local election.
- Sign up via the coalition form below
- Pick a race in your county from the Race Tracker
- Knock 20 doors. Leave a lit. Report back.
10 neighbors in a living room changes a neighborhood. You provide the space. We provide the talking points, the lit, and the signup sheets.
- Invite 10–15 neighbors — no label required
- Bear Republic provides a speaker + materials
- Collect 5 names for the volunteer list
- Each house party becomes a precinct captain
The voter registration deadline for the November 2026 election is October 20, 2026. Every unregistered neighbor is a vote we lose by default.
- Share registertovote.ca.gov on your block
- Host a 20-min voter reg table at a local event
- Target apartment buildings and new homeowners
Most water board meetings have 5 people in the room — and that's on a busy night. Showing up once is how you find out who's running in 2026 or 2027.
- Google "[your county] water district board meeting"
- Show up. Sign the public comment sheet.
- Ask about rate increases and uncontested seats
- Report back to Bear Republic — we track it
Dozens of California local races are still uncontested heading into the August 2026 filing deadline. A single Bear Republic candidate changes the math.
- Use the Race Tracker above to find your seat
- Filing fee: $25–$200 or voter signatures
- Bear Republic provides campaign coaching
- You run on one issue. We handle the ground game.
Every dollar funds door-knocking materials, yard signs, candidate training, and the coalition network. This is not a PAC. It's a neighborhood operation.
- $25 — pays for 50 door hangers
- $100 — funds a house party kit for one precinct
- $500 — sponsors a Bear Republic candidate's filing
- All donations are subject to FPPC disclosure
Township Ground Game Tactics Tácticas del Juego Local
La Familia / The Family DenLa Familia / El Hogar
The family is the first unit of the coalition. Make common sense a household principle before it becomes a political one.
La familia es la primera unidad de la coalición. Convierte el sentido común en un principio del hogar antes de que se vuelva político.
- Start kitchen-table discussions about what your family pays in local taxes, fees, and rent increases driven by government mandates.
- Teach children the value of local self-reliance: where your water comes from, who runs your school board, what your city council voted on last month.
- Build personal resilience: 3-month food/water storage, home security audit, independent energy. The Bear doesn't wait for Sacramento to solve problems.
- Inicia conversaciones en la mesa de la cocina sobre lo que tu familia paga en impuestos locales, tarifas y aumentos de renta impulsados por mandatos gubernamentales.
- Enseña a los niños el valor de la autosuficiencia local: de dónde viene el agua, quién dirige la junta escolar, qué votó el concejo municipal el mes pasado.
- Construye resiliencia personal: reservas de alimentos y agua por 3 meses, auditoría de seguridad del hogar, energía independiente. El Oso no espera que Sacramento resuelva los problemas.
La Iglesia / The ParishLa Iglesia / La Parroquia
The parish, the mosque, the temple — these are the original community organizations. Faith communities already share values: family, dignity, work, and service. Meet them there.
La parroquia, la mezquita, el templo — son las organizaciones comunitarias originales. Las comunidades de fe ya comparten valores: familia, dignidad, trabajo y servicio. Encuéntralos ahí.
- Identify faith leaders who share common sense values on family, taxation, and local control. Build trust before you ask for anything.
- Host informal "after service" conversations about a single local issue — school curriculum, a parcel tax, a zoning decision — not national politics.
- Latino Catholic communities in particular are natural coalition partners: familia-first, skeptical of government overreach, and deeply entrepreneurial.
- Identifica líderes de fe que comparten valores de sentido común sobre la familia, los impuestos y el control local. Construye confianza antes de pedir algo.
- Organiza conversaciones informales después del servicio sobre un solo tema local — currículum, un impuesto parcelario, una decisión de zonificación — no política nacional.
- Las comunidades católicas latinas son socios naturales de la coalición: primero la familia, escépticos del exceso gubernamental, y profundamente emprendedores.
El Negocio / Small BusinessEl Negocio / Pequeña Empresa
Small business owners are the most politically persuadable community in California. They feel every tax, every regulation, every labor mandate directly in their margin.
Los dueños de pequeños negocios son la comunidad más persuadible políticamente en California. Sienten cada impuesto, cada regulación, cada mandato laboral directamente en su margen.
- Latino small business ownership grew 44% in the last decade. These owners are natural Republicans who haven't been asked to join in the right way.
- Focus on a single issue: the specific local fee or regulation that costs them the most. Don't talk national policy — talk their bottom line.
- Business associations, chambers of commerce, and mercado networks are the fastest voter contact operation in any neighborhood.
- La propiedad de pequeños negocios latinos creció un 44% en la última década. Estos dueños son republicanos naturales a quienes no se les ha pedido unirse de la manera correcta.
- Enfócate en un solo tema: la tarifa o regulación local específica que más les cuesta. No hables de política nacional — habla de su balance final.
- Las asociaciones empresariales, cámaras de comercio y redes del mercado son la operación de contacto con votantes más rápida en cualquier vecindario.
The Playground / ParentsEl Parque / Padres
Parents of school-age children are the most mobilizable voting bloc in local elections. They show up. They talk. They organize.
Los padres de niños en edad escolar son el bloque de votantes más movilizable en las elecciones locales. Se presentan. Hablan. Se organizan.
- Use playground conversations to find parents concerned about curriculum, school safety, or budget transparency — not labels.
- Build a micro-local parent coalition around a single issue: a textbook adoption, a school board vote, a levy. Win on that issue first.
- Latino parents are among the strongest supporters of school choice nationally — this is not a partisan issue, it's a parental rights issue.
- Usa conversaciones en el parque para encontrar padres preocupados por el currículum, la seguridad escolar o la transparencia del presupuesto — sin etiquetas.
- Construye una micro-coalición local de padres alrededor de un solo tema: una adopción de libro de texto, un voto de junta escolar, un impuesto. Gana en ese tema primero.
- Los padres latinos son de los más fuertes defensores de la elección escolar a nivel nacional — este no es un tema partidista, es un tema de derechos parentales.
The Sideline / RecruitmentLa Banca / Reclutamiento
Youth sports, weekend leagues, community events — every sideline is a recruiting ground for the coalition's next local candidate.
Deportes juveniles, ligas de fin de semana, eventos comunitarios — cada banca es un campo de reclutamiento para el próximo candidato local de la coalición.
- Identify natural leaders: the parent who organizes the carpool, the coach who everyone respects, the neighbor who fixes things without being asked.
- Vet by values, not party. Ask about cost of living, neighborhood safety, school quality. If the answers align — recruit them for a local race.
- The working class multi-racial coalition doesn't need a party affiliation at the HOA level. It needs a neighbor who makes sense.
- Identifica líderes naturales: el padre que organiza el transporte, el entrenador que todos respetan, el vecino que arregla cosas sin que se lo pidan.
- Evalúa por valores, no por partido. Pregunta sobre el costo de vida, la seguridad del vecindario, la calidad escolar. Si las respuestas coinciden — reclútalo para una carrera local.
- La coalición multiracial de clase trabajadora no necesita afiliación partidista a nivel de HOA. Necesita un vecino que tenga sentido.
Infiltrate: HOA BoardInfiltrar: Junta HOA
Homeowners Associations are the lowest-cost, highest-return local political entry point in California. Thousands of them. Most run uncontested.
Las Asociaciones de Propietarios son el punto de entrada político local de menor costo y mayor retorno en California. Miles de ellas. La mayoría sin candidatos opositores.
- Win HOA seats on single issues: unreasonable fee increases, corporate vendors overcharging for services, or banning the HOA from lobbying on behalf of political causes.
- Mutualize energy and services: shared solar, bulk purchasing, community water resilience. Common sense delivers results that build trust for the next race.
- Every HOA win is a voter ID list, a volunteer base, and a donation network for the city council race that follows.
- Gana puestos de HOA en temas únicos: aumentos de cuotas irrazonables, proveedores corporativos que cobran de más, o prohibir que la HOA haga cabildeo en causas políticas.
- Mutualiza energía y servicios: energía solar compartida, compras a granel, resiliencia comunitaria del agua. El sentido común genera confianza para la próxima carrera.
- Cada victoria en la HOA es una lista de identificación de votantes, una base de voluntarios y una red de donantes para la carrera del concejo municipal que sigue.
Infiltrate: City CouncilInfiltrar: Concejo Municipal
City councils control zoning, local taxes, police funding, and small business licensing. One seat on a five-member council changes what your neighborhood looks like.
Los concejos municipales controlan la zonificación, los impuestos locales, el financiamiento policial y el licenciamiento de pequeños negocios. Un puesto en un concejo de cinco miembros cambia tu vecindario.
- Run on a single issue that costs working families money: a proposed parcel tax, a zoning change that raises rents, a contract that wastes public funds.
- At-large races are hardest. District races are winnable. Push for district representation everywhere you organize.
- City council wins create the candidate pipeline for county supervisor and state assembly races by 2028.
- Presenta candidatura sobre un solo tema que le cuesta dinero a las familias trabajadoras: un impuesto parcelario, un cambio de zonificación que sube rentas, un contrato que desperdicia fondos públicos.
- Las carreras generales son las más difíciles. Las carreras por distrito son ganables. Impulsa la representación por distrito en todos los lugares donde te organices.
- Las victorias en el concejo municipal crean el canal de candidatos para supervisor de condado y la Asamblea Estatal en 2028.
Infiltrate: School BoardInfiltrar: Junta Escolar
School boards set curriculum, budgets, and hiring policies. They are the most consequential local office most parents never vote in.
Las juntas escolares establecen el currículum, los presupuestos y las políticas de contratación. Son el cargo local más importante en el que la mayoría de los padres nunca vota.
- Win on a single, specific issue: a budget that cuts teachers while growing administration, a curriculum adoption parents weren't consulted on, a safety policy that isn't working.
- Multi-racial working-class parents — Latino, Black, Asian, white — are united on results: safe schools, strong teachers, curriculum that prepares kids for work.
- School board wins are the fastest path to a local volunteer base that spans every ethnic community in the district.
- Gana en un tema único y específico: un presupuesto que recorta maestros mientras crece la administración, una adopción de currículum sin consultar a los padres, una política de seguridad que no funciona.
- Los padres trabajadores multirraciales — latinos, negros, asiáticos, blancos — están unidos en los resultados: escuelas seguras, buenos maestros, currículum que prepara a los niños para el trabajo.
- Las victorias en la junta escolar son el camino más rápido hacia una base de voluntarios que abarca cada comunidad étnica del distrito.
Infiltrate: Water BoardInfiltrar: Junta de Agua
Water boards control rates for millions of working-class families. Most run uncontested. Almost none are watched. All of them make decisions that hit your monthly bill.
Las juntas de agua controlan las tarifas para millones de familias de clase trabajadora. La mayoría sin candidatos opositores. Casi ninguna es vigilada. Todas toman decisiones que afectan tu factura mensual.
- Run on rate transparency: demand a public audit of where every dollar of your water bill goes before any rate increase is approved.
- Latino and working-class communities in California's Central Valley have the most direct relationship between water board decisions and household costs. This is a natural coalition issue.
- Water board seats build the municipal bond and fiscal accountability credibility for future county supervisor campaigns.
- Presenta candidatura sobre transparencia tarifaria: exige una auditoría pública de adónde va cada dólar de tu factura de agua antes de aprobar cualquier aumento de tarifa.
- Las comunidades latinas y de clase trabajadora en el Valle Central tienen la relación más directa entre las decisiones de la junta de agua y los costos del hogar. Es un tema natural de la coalición.
- Los puestos en la junta de agua construyen credibilidad en bonos municipales y rendición de cuentas fiscal para futuras campañas de supervisor de condado.
Infiltrate: Town HallInfiltrar: Sesión Pública
Every city council meeting, every school board session, every water board vote is a public record. Make them public. Record. Share. Broadcast.
Cada reunión del concejo, cada sesión de junta escolar, cada voto de junta de agua es un registro público. Hazlos públicos. Graba. Comparte. Transmite.
- Coordinate public comment campaigns around a single documented failure: one specific vote, one line item in a budget, one regulation that raised your rent or cost you a job.
- Spanish-language social sharing of local government decisions reaches the working-class Latino community that most political operations ignore entirely.
- The most powerful ground game tool is an ordinary person on camera saying: "Here is exactly what they voted for, and here is what it costs my family." Wake the Bear.
- Coordina campañas de comentarios públicos en torno a un solo fracaso documentado: un voto específico, una línea en un presupuesto, una regulación que subió tu renta o te costó un empleo.
- Compartir en redes sociales en español las decisiones del gobierno local llega a la comunidad latina de clase trabajadora que la mayoría de las operaciones políticas ignoran por completo.
- La herramienta más poderosa del juego local es una persona ordinaria en cámara diciendo: "Aquí está exactamente por qué votaron, y aquí está lo que le cuesta a mi familia." Despierta al Oso.
Bear Republic Store Tienda de la República del Oso
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Únete a la Coalición
Name. Email. County. That's all it takes to start the Bear Republic ground game in your neighborhood.