Two prominent East Bay political figures are being remembered this week after they died Friday when the pickup they were in collided with a car in rural San Diego County.
Hope Wood and her wife Peggy Moore were killed, along with the 60-year-old man driving the Jeep pickup when it collided with a Chrysler sedan at about 11:15 p.m.
The Jeep was headed west on state Highway 76 just past Horse Ranch Creek Road near the unincorporated community of Fallbrook when it hit the sedan, which was headed east, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.
In addition to Wood and Moore, the drivers of both vehicles also died at the scene while another passenger in the Jeep survived.
Only Wood, 48, was identified by the medical examiner, but social media posts over the weekend by colleagues and friends of the pair indicate they died together in the crash.
“We at East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club are devastated to hear of the passing of our past President Peggy Moore and her wife Hope Wood. Moore was a force of change in Oakland and the East Bay,” read one post.
Moore’s 25-years of political activism and organizing were highlighted by her work to secure and protect the rights of the LGBT community and communities of color, according to the post.
Moore ran former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s 2014 election campaign, was a senior consultant on Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton’s successful campaign and served as the political director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential primary campaign in California.
She and Wood met while campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008 and in 2019 they founded Hope Action Change, an organizational development consultancy and coaching firm, according to the company’s website.
“Together they organized, changed hearts and minds, and helped to create a world where who you love doesn’t limit your freedoms,” U.S. Congressional Rep. Barbara Lee posted. “Both Peggy and Hope made an impact on our community, on our city, on our state, and on our nation that will be felt for generations to come.”