TODAY’S MESSAGE
🌎 International Workers Day

Today is May 1st — International Workers Day — and I want to talk to you about two things that belong in the same conversation: what a Governor can actually do, and what the California Secretary of State actually did to keep a Black radical candidate off the ballot.

Because they are connected. They have always been connected. The reason most people don't know what a Governor can do is the same reason they tried to remove Dr. Butch Ware from your ballot. Power protects itself by keeping people from understanding how power works. We're going to change that with thirty-two days left until Election Day.

Something Important Is Coming Around May 4th

We can't give you all the details yet — but watch your inbox and our social channels. A major announcement is coming about how you can vote for Dr. Butch Ware on June 2. When it drops, we're going to need you to move fast.

Until then: Vote Butch Ware.

LEGAL UPDATE
Federal Civil-Rights Lawsuit and Emergency Motion Filed

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 30, 2026. The Butch Ware for Governor 2026 campaign has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit and an emergency motion in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, demanding that Senior District Judge William B. Shubb issue a Temporary Restraining Order restoring Dr. Butch Ware to the gubernatorial primary ballot. Filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the federal civil-rights statute, the case alleges that the California Secretary of State's disqualification of Dr. Ware over alleged tax-return paperwork defects violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The lawsuit, captioned Ware v. Weber and assigned Case No. 2:26-cv-01643 WBS SCR, names California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber as defendant in her official capacity. Lead counsel is James E. Tyrrell III of Dickinson Wright PLLC in Washington, D.C., joined by Eric R. McDonough of the firm's San Diego office as local counsel.

THE FEDERAL COURT IS TREATING THIS AS AN EMERGENCY

Within 48 hours of the campaign's filing, the Court issued a briefing order placing Ware v. Weber on an expedited emergency schedule. The Secretary of State's opposition is due May 4, 2026, seven days after filing rather than the customary twenty-one. The campaign's reply is due May 6. The Court will then take the motion under submission and rule, with the earliest possible ruling date May 6 and the latest realistic date around May 12.

The schedule reflects a federal court moving as quickly as it can while still affording the State an opportunity to be heard. May 4 is also the day, under California Elections Code § 3001, that county election officials

WARE’S AGENDA AS GOVERNOR
The First 100 Days

Day 65 is not isolated. Here is the arc:

Day 1 — Declare a State of Emergency on climate

Day 15 — Restore cuts to public transportation funding

Day 30 — Expand the California College Promise Grant

Day 45 — Phase-in plan for zero-emission public buses

Day 50 — Long-term funding locked for SF-LA high-speed rail

Day 65 — Establish the statewide Tenant's Rights Office

Day 80 — Constitutional amendment to make UC Regents publicly elected

Day 95 — Statewide referendum for a public housing corporation

Day 100 — Initiate a California Public Bank to finance social housing

Every item has a legal pathway. Every item has a budget framework. Every item is possible under the California Constitution today. What has been missing is not the authority. It is the will.

GOVERNMENT
What Can a Governor Actually Do?

I've been in movement spaces for twenty years, and one thing I know deep in my body is that our people get told to dream small. We get told the problems are too big, the system is too complicated, to be grateful for scraps and patient about the rest.

I am not interested in being patient anymore. And neither is Dr. Ware.

So let me tell you something specific.

California has no statewide Tenant's Rights Office. Not one.

The most populous state in the country. Seventeen million renters. A housing emergency on every corner. And when a working family faces an illegal eviction, a rent gouge, or a slumlord who will not fix the mold growing in their child's bedroom — the state of California has no dedicated office to help them.

That absence is not an accident. Every governor California has had could have built that office. They chose not to. The real estate lobby, the landlord associations, the developer interests that fund their campaigns made sure the question was never asked.

On Day 65 of a Butch Ware administration, that changes.

Using California Government Code §12080 — the executive reorganization authority that has been on the books since the Reagan governorship — Dr. Ware will establish a permanent, statewide Tenant's Rights Office. Staffed. Funded. Accountable to the Governor. A direct line for every renter in the state. A presumption in favor of tenants, not landlords, in disputes.

This is what it looks like when the office of Governor is used for the people.

THE REVOLUTION TELEVISED
Art as Resistance vs. State Propaganda: The Political Value of Expression

George "Conscious" Lee takes us on a deep dive into the inherently political nature of art, exploring how it either challenges systems of power or serves as propaganda. The discussion covers the commodification of Black culture, soft power in American hegemony, and the historical theft of art from oppressed nations.

EVENTS
Be There This Weekend!

MAY 1ST - THE LOS ANGELES CANDIDATES FORUMS

Midnight Books 941 East 2nd Street Suite 101 Los Angeles, CA 90012

Friday, May 1, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Along with Labor For Palestine LA OC IE, Midnight Books is presenting a candidates forum for Los Angeles with Butch Ware, Rae Huang, Angela Gonzales-Torres, Eduardo “Lalo” Vargas, and Aida Ashouri.

Labor for Palestine LA OC IE will be moderating the panel. Come through after the protests up the street! No RSVP required.

MAY 2ND - DIVEST FROM OCCUPATION INVEST IN LIBERATION

Harriet Tubman Center For Social Justice

5278 W Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90019

Saturday, May 2, 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm

This event is a call to stand up against corporate control and advocate for the needs of everyday Californians through a truly people-powered movement. It's time to dismantle the duopoly once and for all.

Join us for this revolutionary opportunity to connect with comrades who support collective liberation, participate in a community art build, and to learn more about the Butch Ware for Governor of California campaign. We will also have resources available for you to register to vote. We are honored to host special guests, including Afeni Evans, Greg J. Stoker, and Frosty 5000, among others.

By registering for this event, you are helping us build a movement dedicated to a transparent, accountable government that returns California’s wealth to its people. While the event is free, we do ask for a donation of $15-25 to fuel this grassroots funded campaign.

We look forward to seeing you there and building this future together.

MAY 3RD - AN EVENING UNDER THE OLIVE TREE - SDSU

Scripps Cottage 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182

Sunday, May 3, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Join us for An Evening Under the Olive Tree, the first end of year gathering hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine at SDSU. This evening brings together the greater San Diego community to honor the resilience and enduring spirit of the Palestinian people while supporting humanitarian relief efforts and uplifting the work of student advocates at SDSU.

Guests will enjoy an evening of dinner, an alumni panel, poetry, music, and local vendors in a space dedicated to reflection, connection, and community.

This event is open to all. We warmly invite students, alumni, families, and community members to join us.

DISMANTLING DYSTOPIA - SAN DIEGO CITY COLLEGE

Saville Theater - San Diego City College

14th St. & C St., San Diego, CA 92101

Tuesday, May 5, 11:10 am - 12:35 pm

Please join us at the Saville Theater, May 5 from 11:10a.m. to 12:35p.m. to witness on a dynamic program that blends civic engagement, grassroots organizing, and pathways to effecting political change.

WARE INSTITUTE
Running Against the Machine

Ella Baker spent sixty years in the freedom movement saying that the work of liberation is not the work of a single leader — it is the patient construction of institutions that survive the person who built them. "Strong people don't need strong leaders." What they need are durable structures.

Shirley Chisholm ran "unbought and unbossed" in 1972. She didn't win the nomination, but she established what was possible and what could be demanded. Fannie Lou Hamer ran for Congress against the party infrastructure that terrorized her family, lost, and then built the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Dr. Ware is running in that tradition. They took his name off the ballot, doctored the evidence, and tried to close the door. He filed in federal court, kept showing up, and is days away from a major announcement about how you can still vote for him.

The specific task is still ours. 32 days left to answer it.

LATER THIS MONTH
MOTIVATION MAY EVENTS

MAY 11TH - UNITY UPRISING ATLANTA @ THE MURPH ATL 5-9PM in collaboration with the Movement for Black Lives. (Details Coming Soon)

MAY 12TH - UNITY UPRISING NEW YORK (Details Coming soon)

MAY 20TH - TOWN HALL MEETING (PALMDALE) 6PM

Your Network Is the Field Operation

Download the Empowerment app at empowerproject.us — invite code: bware4gov2026

It maps your existing social media connections against California's registered voter rolls. You can see today which people you already know are registered voters who haven't heard about this race yet. That's your list. No cold calls. You start with your community.

128 volunteers are already active. Tuesday night — 9pm ET / 6pm PT — live training stream for everyone.

THE WIRE HAS A NEW HOME!

thewirenetwork.com — subscribe for real analysis, real updates, and political education the mainstream press isn't giving you.

32 Days. One Ask.

Ballots drop May 4th.

We vote June 2nd.

Vote Butch Ware. Tell your family. Tell your coworkers. Tell anyone who will listen that there is a candidate in this race who means what he says, who has never wavered, who was in compliance the whole time — and who is still standing.

Butch Ware for Governor 2026

📬 [email protected] | 📞 1-888-583-WARE

Democracy Will Not Be Redacted