Native to Vallejo, Lynda Daniels was born at Vallejo General Hospital, and proclaims proudly that she loves her City! A highly involved citizen, Lynda not only has been very instrumental since the inception of Vallejo Participatory Budgeting (PB), she also service as the Secretary for Vallejo's NAACP. Lynda first heard about PB over breakfast with a fellow laborer of Vallejo's NAACP, who encouraged her to get involved in PB. After signing up, Lynda has not stopped advocating for the importance of the citizens of Vallejo to join the cause. The first year of Vallejo's PB, Lynda was nominated as Vice Chair of the Steering Committee, and the second year, she served as Chair, and she continues to serve as a Steering Committee member. Lynda says, "Everywhere I went I had to put in a plug for PB. I did radio and television stations. We can sit around and talk about what could and should've happened, but if we don't become a part of the solution, we are a part of the problem." What drew Lynda to her role in PB is her love for politics and humanity, what kept her interested in PB was her belief in how "this new democratic process can be a natural part of every city government."
Being a participant now in all three (3) previous cycles, and now entering into the fourth (4) cycle, Lynda explained that PB has made her realize the true impact that this democratic process can make in changing our living conditions and our work relationships. "What's been great about PB", Lynda says, "it brings neighbors and city residents together, where as we could have went another 20-30 years and never met."
Lynda states that PB means that we all have a voice and are not invisible. We can be seen and heard with PB. Lynda states her experience with PB was frustrating at times, but states that it was enjoyable. Lynda Daniels wants all to understand about the PB process is that, "the key word is Participatory - You have to take an active part."