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San Diego leaders participate in 'Day of Action' to rally support for U.S. Postal Service

This comes as President Trump has expressed his opposition to crucial funding for USPS and increasing reports of delays in mail service.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — California State Assemblyman and San Diego mayoral candidate Todd Gloria joined San Diego’s Congressional delegation, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, and Ricardo Guzman, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 70 Tuesday to rally support for the U.S. Postal Service. 

The move from Democratic leaders comes as President Trump has expressed his opposition to crucial funding for USPS and increasing reports of delays in mail service. 

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday that he will delay changes to the U.S. Postal Service until after the election to "avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail."

“To have this president really try to undermine [postal workers] and ultimately abolish them, if you listen to what he says is absolutely diabolical and we have to fight back,” said Rep. Juan Vargas, who represents the South Bay and Imperial County.

The move comes in response to mail delivery delays and service changes that lawmakers and others warned could imperil the November election.

U.S. Congresswoman Susan Davis stated on Twitter that the San Diego Congressional delegation "stands by our postal workers and your right to have your voices heard." She stated at the rally that "voting by mail is safe and reliable" and directly asked President Trump to "stop his attack on our postal service." 

“My constituents have told me that suddenly blue mailboxes have disappeared and post offices are closed during lunch time. This can't happen when we are trying to get on our feet. Our president should be fixing the problem, not causing the problem," Davis said.

Lawmakers expressed concerns about a planned reduction in retail hours, processing equipment and the possibility that mailboxes could slow service to the point that ballots sent by mail may not arrive in time to be counted. Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to send all registered voters a ballot by mail because of the pandemic.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will call the House back to session this week to vote on legislation that would prohibit changes within the postal service and provide the agency with $25 billion to cover shortfalls. DeJoy agreed to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee next week.

“He's going to come and testify before the House Oversight Committee. He's going to get asked the tough questions and we're going to get to the bottom of what's happening,” said Mike Levin (D), who represents portions of northern San Diego County and Southern Orange County.

Earlier this week, Levin tweeted a picture of mailboxes that were removed from Encinitas. At least two others remain in the same location.

The Postal Service did not speak directly about the removal of the Encinitas mailboxes, but told News 8 it routinely identifies redundant and seldom-used collection boxes for removal and has an opportunity for public comment before a decision is made. The agency may continue to remove mailboxes later this year to help cover its deficit.

The union that represents local postal workers supported the additional funding and pledged to do its best to ensure votes are counted.

“We as letter carriers are going to make sure you get your ballot delivered to you,” said Ricardo Guzman, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 70. “Please, as soon as you get your ballot, vote and put it right back in the system. Don't sit on it and wait. It's so important that we don't have a backlog of ballots coming in all at one time.”

Gloria said when he looked into the crowd of patriotic San Diegans at Tuesday's event, it gave him a lot of hope. 

"You are fully committed to making sure our voices are heard in November, this act against the post office will not stand," Gloria said.

You can watch the full video here.

On Monday, Gloria led an effort in the California Assembly to protect the postal service. Gloria and 53 of his colleagues sent a letter to California’s Congressional delegation urging immediate intervention to shield the U.S. Postal Service. House Democrats have recently proposed $25 billion for USPS, the amount also proposed by the agency’s Board of Governors, who were appointed by President Trump.

Supervisor Fletcher said at the rally that Americans can count on the U.S. Postal Service to bring people together.

"For more than 200 years, the U.S. Postal Service has been an institution in this country rain or shine, peace or war, global pandemic or not -- they get out every single day to bring us our mail," Fletcher said. 

Guzman said the post office is providing service during the coronavirus pandemic and will continue to provide it to the people.

"Each of you can have confidence to vote-by-mail, it’s safe and secure. We as postal workers will make sure the mail gets processed so that your vote will count." 

Guzman said at the rally that he had one request for the public.

"As soon as you get your ballot in the mail, vote and put it right back in the system so we don’t have a backlog."

  

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