The leader of the California Democratic Party slammed former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren for skipping an upcoming presidential candidates forum in Long Beach, calling it “a misguided decision to publicly snub California’s Democrats and Latino voters across the nation.”

In a four-part tweet Tuesday, state party chair Rusty Hicks ripped the two candidates who are leading the California polls for bypassing a Nov. 16 televised forum before 5,000 party activists and community members that is co-sponsored by Univision.

“Your decision is a blatant disregard and disrespect to California’s grassroots leaders who make the phone calls, knock the doors, and give the money ... in swing districts and swing states alike ... year after year after year,” Hicks wrote.

1/ When @JoeBiden & @EWarren decide to skip the @CA_DEM/@UniNoticias Presidential Forum, the only thing to say is...



I respect your work/candidacy, BUT... you should reconsider your misguided decision to publicly snub California’s Democrats & Latino Voters across the nation. — Rusty Hicks (@rustyhicks) November 6, 2019

“It’s clear you don’t think you need us to win the Primary. But, you *just might* need us in the General. Just sayin,” Hicks tweeted.

2/ Your decision is a blatant disregard and disrespect to California’s grassroots leaders who make the phone calls, knock the doors, and give the money... in swing districts and swing states alike... year after year after year. — Rusty Hicks (@rustyhicks) November 6, 2019

Hicks urged the candidates to “reconsider your decision. And show us that you value the contributions of California’s hardworking Democrats who do the gritty house-to-house work it takes to win. Anything less is deeply disappointing. Hope to see you in Long Beach on November 16.”

3/ It’s clear you don’t think you need us to win the Primary. But, you *just might* need us in the General. Just sayin. — Rusty Hicks (@rustyhicks) November 6, 2019

4/ So, reconsider your decision.



And show us that you value the contributions of California’s hardworking Democrats who do the gritty house-to-house work it takes to win. Anything less is deeply disappointing.



Hope to see you in Long Beach on November 16. — Rusty Hicks (@rustyhicks) November 6, 2019

Biden plans to appear at a rally in California on Nov. 14, probably in the southern part of the state, according to his campaign. However, he won’t stick around for the televised forum, which will be held at the state Democratic Party convention that runs from Nov. 15-17.

“Vice President Biden is looking forward to returning to the West Coast to meet with voters face-to-face as he continues to lay out his vision to restore the soul of the nation, rebuild the middle class, and unify the country,” an emailed statement from the campaign said Tuesday. “Vice President Biden knows that the voices of Nevadans and Californians are crucial in the Democratic primary, which is why he will work harder than anyone else to earn their vote and ensure we defeat Donald Trump next November.”

Warren’s campaign declined to comment.

While California is a reliably blue state, party insiders said it is important for presidential candidates to keep grassroots activists enthusiastic so they will help in battleground states.

Gabriel Sanchez, a spokesman for Barack Obama’s California campaign in 2008, tweeted Tuesday that the campaign recruited more than 45,000 volunteers in the state that year, 13,000 of whom traveled on weekends to battleground states including Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Obama’s campaign also trained more than 600 volunteer field organizers in California who traveled to swing states.

Those volunteers who stayed in California made more than 5 million calls to voters in battleground states in the 96 hours before Election Day, for a total of more than 10 million calls between August 25 (the end of the #DNC) and November 4. — Gabriel Sanchez (@ItsGabeSanchez) November 6, 2019

The Long Beach convention will be the third major Democratic Party gathering in California this year that Biden will have skipped. He didn’t show up for the state Democratic Party convention in May or a Democratic National Committee meeting in August, both in San Francisco. Most of the top candidates attended both.

Warren leads in California with 24.5% of Democratic voters, according to the latest amalgamation of surveys by RealClearPolitics.com. She is closely followed by Biden at 23.5% and Sen. Bernie Sanders at 20%, with Sen. Kamala Harris at 8% and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., at 6.3%.

Candidates who plan to take part in the televised forum include Sanders, Harris, Buttigieg, Sen. Cory Booker, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Harris said Wednesday that “I’ll never take California for granted. California knows what I’ve delivered for its homeowners, for people who have needed badly, rightfully needed reform of the criminal justice system.”

Univision has limited the forum to eight candidates. Former San Francisco hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who have accepted invitations to address the party convention, could fill the slots.

San Francisco Chronicle Washington correspondent Tal Kopan contributed to this report.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicle’s senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli