Rising Stars: Meet Torie Osborn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Torie Osborn.

Hi Torie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m shaped by the ’60s; haven’t stopped yet! That means working for social justice, and while the focus has changed — from anti-Vietnam War to women’s liberation, to lesbian-feminism, to AIDS and LGBTQ rights, to anti-poverty, criminal justice reform, immigration rights — AND I’ve learned as I’ve gone along –I’ve been blessed to have a sense of calling, of mission, of purpose since my teenage years.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Facing down the Right wing when I was a leader in the (then called) gay and lesbian movement in the ’90s was hard — I debated Pat Buchanan on Crossfire. He was disgustingly homophobic about my friend dying of AIDS. He had pig eyes, and it took everything in me to not get out of my seat and throttle him! I had death threats scrawled on my garage at home; it was a hard time: caring for the dying, getting arrested with ACT UP, and working to organize against those who hated us.

What’s different now is that the LGBTQ community is not on our own; we have majority support. But, the Right-wing has more political power (and seems hellbent on keeping it, although they do NOT represent the majority!). I’ve learned from every social movement I have been active in, whether as a leader or as a foot soldier. And I try to pass on those lessons…..

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My professional work was as a CEO of social change nonprofits, but I finished my last of four stints over 20 years in 2005, and have since been a Deputy Mayor for Antonio Villaraigosa and Chief Strategist for LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. But my real work since 2005 has been my volunteer political activism. My generation believed in the power of social movements to change opinion but not in the electoral system, and since 2008, I’ve focused on elections as a means for change — I ran for Assembly in 2010-12 (election was 2012 ) (started running in 2010 but the election was 2012) — losing by 1%; I worked as a super-volunteer for Barack Obama in 2008; I learned from Camp Obama how to motivate ordinary people to be their best and most productive selves in canvassing, phone banking — the nitty gritty sh*tty work of WINNING close political campaigns.

Since 2016’s disastrous election, I’ve led an all-volunteer organization that has stayed strong over nearly 6 years — I’m most proud of that achievement! I brought lessons from every movement I’ve been active in over 50 years — our membership is over 150 active members; we’ve held 55 monthly meetings (now over Zoom), knocked on 75,000 doors, helped to flip two So CA House seats, Arizona for Biden, Georgia for Warnock/Ossof. And, we’ve raised $1.7 million at 7 $50 events! I doubt any volunteer-run group in the country can match either statistic; I couldn’t be prouder! AND WE’RE STILL AT IT! We focus on two Congressional, flippable seats every cycle.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I LOVE the diversity of LA! I hate the gap between rich and poor.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makingwavesfordemocracy.com
• Facebook: Torie Osborn