Invigorated by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, more than 250 Democrats gathered for a Labor Day barbecue Monday at Tucker’s Grove Park in Santa Barbara to kick off the season and outline their local vision for the November election.

“Of course, we are going to be electing Kamala Harris this year,” Darcel Elliott, chair of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, said to fire up the crowd.

The event featured a who’s who of Santa Barbara County Democrats, including Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte, and several local elected officials, campaign candidates and activists.

Elliott explained the connection between Labor Day and the Democratic Party.

“The labor movement and the Democratic Party are both based in the fact that we are strong together, and when we unite, we can overcome powerful interests that are working to exploit our workers, our environment and our differences,” Elliott said. “We are a hodgepodge of various people who care about many different interests, and we all work together to uplift one another and come together and make huge progress forward.”

Candidates from Santa Maria to Carpinteria spoke at the Labor Day barbecue, an annual event that this year featured Jonathan Abboud, president of the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees, who cooked several dozen tri-tips to feed the attendees.

Among those who spoke was David Silva, a candidate for mayor in Buellton.

“You never really think of Buellton as the cutting edge of liberal values, but we are getting there,” said Silva, who is the vice mayor. “It is because of the hard work of our campaign and the people here that Buellton had rainbow flags for the first time. We celebrated Juneteenth. We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month.”

Silva said he would not criticize Republicans but would talk about the strengths of the Democratic Party.

“We provide a vision of inclusivity,” Silva said. “We provide a vision of belief in each other’s equity. We are the party that supports workers. We’re the party that supports housing. We’re the party that supports our queer and trans youth. We’re that party that shows up and fights for them every time.”

Jennifer Smith, executive director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, is running for the Goleta City Council in District 2.

Smith, a member of the Goleta Planning Commission, told a story of how her parents got divorced when she was young, and her mother had to enter the workforce after a 10-year absence. The county where she lived offered a paid training program, she said, and she ultimately became a social worker.

“I am thrilled to be here today to celebrate Labor Day with all of you,” Smith said. “I know how important good jobs are to our community.”

She urged the audience to vote for Democrats.

“We all need your help to ensure that Democrats win in November,” she said.

Hart, who noted that there are only 63 days to go before the Nov. 5 election, said it is an exciting time to be a Democrat, particularly with Harris’ presidential campaign.

“When Democrats get elected, working families do better, schools do better, the environment does better,” he said. “Across the board, our party is leading change that our nation desperately needs. We are all part of this together.”

Santa Barbara City Council District 1 candidate Wendy Santamaria roused up the crowd with a fiery speech.

“This race, this campaign, is about sustaining our middle class, the working class that keeps the beautiful city of Santa Barbara running,” Santamaria said. “We’re going to make sure that we have good, stable jobs, good wages, good benefits, affordable housing, true tenant representation on that City Council because we will not go back.”