The Pacific Palisades Democratic Club will host its first speaker of 2020, Herbert S. Ferguson, from the U.S. Government Census Outreach Office, on Monday evening, February 24, at the Palisades Library community room.
“Some people hear ‘census’ and their eyes glaze over,” said club board member Adam Wolman. “But the 2020 Census will have profound impacts on the distribution of almost a trillion dollars’ worth of federal spending, plus the number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes California is granted. There’s a lot at stake, and this presentation should be surprisingly fascinating for people who want to understand the process.”
The event is non-partisan and open to the public. The doors open at 6 p.m. and the presentation starts at 6:30 p.m. There will be a question-and-answer period. The library will close its doors at 7:40 p.m.
This event should be of special interest to all residents because for every person who does NOT respond to the census, Los Angeles will lose $2,000 a year for the next 10 years (until the next census), according to the office of Congressman Ted Lieu.
Not being counted will lose the state more than money. Experts are predicting that California could lose at least one Congressional seat and possibly two because of a diminished population count.
Households will begin receiving official Census Bureau mail from March 12 -20. April 1 is Census Day, a key reference date, and will be celebrated with events across the country.