Welcome to the Indivisible-RISE Newburyport Monthly Meeting. January 15, 2019

Transcription

1 Welcome to the Indivisible-RISE Newburyport Monthly Meeting January 15, 2019

2 Agenda Introductions, welcome new members, ground rules (5 min) Featured Topics: (25 min) I-RISE: 2018 Wrap, 2019 Launch (10 min) ACLU 2019 Initiatives: Protecting and Expanding Voters Rights (15 min) Action Group Updates (20 min) New I-RISE Action Working Group: Karen Trowbridge (10 min) Open Mic - Member Updates/Questions (10 min) Takeaways (5 min) Mix and Mingle (20 min)

3 Intros, Welcome, Ground Rules Intros: Indivisible-RISE Newburyport (I-RISE) core group Each other Guidelines: Monthly meetings are action focused Questions/comments centered on the actions under discussion Bring process suggestions/concerns to the core group outside of the meeting Sharing/venting happens - before/after the meeting, on the discussion page Want to end promptly - out of room by 8 PM. Please respect 1-minute warning (yellow) and time s up (red) cards Feel free to contact core team members with any questions after the meeting Business cards on table Want to help? Donor jar on back table - for all those little things that need doing

4 Featured speakers... I-RISE 2018 Wrap, 2019 Launch: Core Group ACLU 2019 Initiatives: Olivia Santoro, Volunteer Coordinator, ACLU Mass.

5 I-RISE in 2018: the Numbers - Friday Action Hour We wrote 16,816 postcards for 56 campaigns Lined up end to end, they would go 1½ times around the White House grounds 300 postcards per campaign exceeds the winning margin in nearly one in ten Postcards to Voters campaigns! $5, in postage! We wrote for 1,121 hours, with writers on average per Friday We helped the Democratic vote increase by 8.5% in state legislature races we supported

6 I-RISE in 2018, the Numbers - Canvassing We made dozens of trips to NH-01 and ME-02, drove thousands of miles, and knocked on hundreds of doors. In ME-02, Jared Golden won (thanks to ranked-choice voting!) by fewer than 4,000 votes out of 280,000 votes cast - every vote counts! 2018 election: US House results FLIP! In NH-01, we helped Chris Pappas win handily We helped make New England blue from coast to coast!* FLIP! * - yes, New England has a West Coast!

7 I-RISE in 2018, the Numbers - Phone / Text Banking We made hundreds of calls and sent tens* of thousands of texts for candidates around the country, including: U.S. Senate: Kyrsten Sinema, AZ; Jacky Rosen, NV; Beto O Rourke, TX; Heidi Heitkamp, ND; Claire McCaskill, MO U.S. House: Jared Golden, ME-02; Elaine Luria, VA-02; Colin Allred, TX-32 Governors: Andrew Gillum, FL; Stacey Abrams, GA State legislatures (SDP): Melissa Schusterman, PA; Anton Andrews, PA; Jenn Alford-Teaster, NH * - maybe even hundreds!

8 I-RISE in the Numbers - Local Support We knocked on hundreds of doors campaigning for MA state House candidates Jennifer Rocco-Runnion and Christina Eckert. We talked to hundreds of people about voter registration, registered 168 to vote, provided registration information to an additional 70. We wrote hundreds of postcards to engage local voters and coordinated with Newburyport and Newbury Democratic committees for an assist. We supported Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Seth Moulton, and Governor s Council member Eileen Duff by gathering hundreds of signatures for nomination papers.

9 I-RISE 2019: Elections are over, what s next? Lots: (See Mission Statement on website) 1. Support (push hard when needed) our Democratic majority to go on the offensive against Trump agenda 2. Push the Blue Wave in 2019 elections Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi state elections, special elections 3. Set up to flip the Presidency, win the Senate, win more seats in the House and States in 2020 Work to ensure that the 2020 elections are free, fair, and representative. Engage with Swing Left, etc. to lay groundwork for campaigns-in-waiting* *Campaigns in waiting: Raising funds, building networks to support 2020 primary winners

10 I-RISE 2019: Starting with a bang... 12/2018, aligned with Indivisible Jan. 3 Day of Action, wrote postcards to Seth Moulton in support of HR1: For the People Act (1) 01/04: Friday Action Hour postcards encouraging Miami-Dade County Democrats to vote by mail (3) 01/06: Posted Support American Promise petition: big money out of politics (3) 01/09: MA-06 Indivisible Collaborative first meeting - follow on scheduled 01/30 (1) 01/10: Sister District Thursday Action Hour - supporting voter education with postcards through Sister District Project, targeting voters in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia (2) 01/11: Friday Action Hour postcards encouraging Miami-Dade County Democrats to vote by mail (3) 01/15: Olivia Santoro, MA ACLU volunteer coordinator, on 2019 opportunities (3) 02/19: Seth Moulton staffers to present at February I-RISE Monthly Meeting (1) Future: Reaching out to Swing Left, others to start getting 2020 groundwork in place (3)

11 Olivia Santoro, Volunteer Coordinator

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20 Action Group Updates What Happened Last Month. What s Planned This Month. Call for Action. New: Legislator Watch Team (Karen Trowbridge) Action Hours (Boyd Hancock, Robin Lawson, Kath Mason) Sister District Project (Dana Levy, Judy Mouradian) Swing Left (Ted Russell) Recruiting: Enthusiasm/Fund Raiser, I-RISE Megaphone

21 New I-RISE Action Working Group: Legislator Watch Team (exact name TBD) Initiated by Karen Trowbridge

22 GOALS Form a committee to oversee the words, actions, and votes of our local representatives: James Kelcourse, R, First Essex District Lenny Mirra, R, Second Essex District (Others?) Hold our Representatives accountable to voters and ensure that they tackle the issues of importance to their communities Soften the ground for the next Democratic candidates who oppose them in 2020

23 METHODS Recruit members from all towns represented by these legislators Learn everything we can about the legislative process Assign each member a different task to help gather and share information. Much of the work will be research at first! When we believe action is needed, reach out to the larger I-RISE membership. Possible actions include: Calling, ing, or visiting legislator s office Writing letters to the editor Attending Town Hall meetings Protesting outside legislator s office

24 GUIDANCE We have successfully recruited: Newly elected State Senator Diana DiZoglio (1 st Essex) 2018 State Representative candidates Jennifer Rocco-Runnion (1st Essex) Christina Eckert (2nd Essex) to help us better understand the legislative process.

25 JOIN US These actions are all consistent with the goals of Indivisible. We will follow the Indivisible model, which was successful in influencing the actions of legislators around the country during the 2018 election cycle. Let s get started!

26 OPEN MIC: Member Updates/Questions Members opportunity to suggest actions, ask questions about actions, or point to other actions that may be of interest Don t be shy - you re among friends...right, friends? Keep it concise - not much time (3 minutes) Who you are Three (concise) sentences on your topic Close with... Talk to me to get more info Who can I talk to to get more info

27 Takeaways: Everybody leaves with an action... This Week: Ongoing: Anytime: Join A Women s March on Saturday (Boston, Portsmouth, etc.) Action Hours: Thursdays at 6:30, Fridays at 4. Both at Commune Cafe. Resistance Happy Hour, the first Friday of the month. 5:30 at Loretta. SPREAD THE WORD About I-RISE - point friends to Leave contact information with a Core Group member Questions/Suggestions? Reach out to the Core Group at: indivisible.rise.newburyport@gmail.com

28 Mix and Mingle What, you need instructions? That s better!