What is it about a guy who looks like this …

… that excites a guy who looks like this?



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Let Julio Castaneda, a North Orange County organizer for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign (and an upcoming “Feel the Bern” rally in Anaheim), count the ways:

1. I have a deep love for my country. I joined the Field Artillery division of the Army when I was 18 years old. I fully understood the risks involved but rarely thought about those risks because I fully understood that I too gained liberty while defending it. However, as time went on my view and understanding of the wars we were engaged in changed. The more I looked into the reasons for why we invaded Iraq, the more I realized that the ultimate goal was money.

2. The more I went down this rabbit hole, the more I realized the power that a few billionaire families had over the global economy.

3. Without having this become a bashing of the one percent, I will make this story short. I became absolutely depressed and unwilling to enjoy life knowing there was so much suffering of others at our expense. When I say “our expense,” I am referring to the system that we all participate in. I am convinced that we are now living in an oligarchy and that it in fact may be too late to do anything about it.

4. I first heard about Bernie Sanders when he announced that he was going to be running for president. I began reading about him and I realized that the issues he was fighting for were mostly the things that had led me to lose hope in political change.

5. What really captured my attention was that “he is not for sale.” I couldn't believe that this man would not be taking any money from billionaires through super PACs. I loved that idea because in my opinion, Citizens United was the most evil act that the Supreme Court ever passed.

6. The more I read, the more I was sold on Bernie Sanders. I had already made up my mind that I would be voting for him, absolutely believing that he had no chance to win at that time.

7. The weeks passed and my excitement grew about a Bernie Sanders presidency. I looked around and I realized that I wasn't the only person feeling the Bern. I could physically feel the excitement and passion for Bernie Sanders growing. I couldn't fight the Bern anymore and that is when I decided to form North Orange County for Bernie , a volunteer committee that is organizing different events on behalf of Bernie Sanders in North Orange County.

8. I also started the United4Bernie fan page and in less than two months we had more than 2,600 likes and there has been a lot of engagement with the page. H.A. Goodman, a journalist, is an editor on the United4Bernie page and he has over 140 articles about Bernie Sanders printed in several publications, namely The Huffington Post and The Hill. We also have Paul Sasso who posts on behalf of the page; he tricked out his Tesla as the “Bern Machine” and goes to many of the Bernie events while spreading the Bern on the road one quarter mile at a time.

9. I say that to say this: Never have I seen so many people this excited about a politician. As you may be aware, he has already beat many of Obama's [crowd size] records that were set in the 2008 election. Bernie already received more than 1 million individual contributions, three months prior to the primary elections. Obama didn't do that until after the primary elections.

10. This is a man that the middle class can truly believe in. I feel it in my bones that this is a once in a lifetime chance to take our country back and that is why I believe that everyone should vote for Bernie Sanders!

So now you know what attracted Castaneda to Sanders, who The Google can tell you all about. But we want to know more about Castaneda and this rally he has planned.

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Julio Castaneda is 31. He grew up in Anaheim, which is where he still resides.

“Just as most people who have spent most of their lives behind the Orange Curtain, I have an affinity for my city and have always felt pride for my city,” he says.

Indeed, it is why Castaneda chose La Palma Park in Anaheim as the site for the planned Jan. 30 rally.

“This is the first time that I have been involved in political campaign,” he confesses. “However, my efforts will not stop after Bernie Sanders is elected. I have been following politics for a few years now, but I can no longer stand in the sidelines. I want to form an organization of like-minded individuals who want to be more proactive in their community and local politics.”

He hopes the experience he is gaining as a Sanders presidential campaign organizer can be carried over to that future organization.

“We will attack each issue central to Bernie's campaign to make sure that we effect change in our communities. We will work to make individual changes, changes in our neighborhoods, changes in our city and changes in our country. I absolutely believe in the political revolution and it will not stop when Bernie is in office. When Bernie is in office is when he will need the power of the people more than ever. Bernie is the people's champion and his supporters have his back one hundred percent.”

Castaneda says he has a “soft commitment” from H.A. Goodman to speak at the rally scheduled to start at 9 a.m. on Jan. 30 in La Palma Park, 1161 N. Anaheim Blvd. He vows that Paul Sasso and his Bern Machine will also be in attendance. The event is to start with speakers and then move on to a march around the park.

So far, more than 500 people claim to be attending. Castaneda has a goal of getting 2,000 supporters to come out. For more information or to track the progress of the event, visit the Facebook event page .

Drop Castaneda a line here: julio@noc4bernie.com . Be forewarned he may Bern you!

Email: mcoker@ocweekly.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!