Dear OSTPDX Members,
I will be stepping down from my roles with OSTPDX including editing the newsletter to spend the school year focusing on my family’s shift to full-time distance learning for my young daughters. It has been an absolute pleasure working with OSTPDX and its dedicated membership of tireless activists. Carol Raphael has enthusiastically agreed to take on editing the newsletter from here out.
Warmly,
Sara McKinney
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Thank you Sara for all your efforts on behalf of OSTPDX. We will miss you!
I look forward to working with everyone in the momentous weeks ahead and will to do whatever I can to make our newsletter a tool for securing a stunning success in November!
Please feel free to reach out to me with suggestions and feedback. I welcome your input!
In solidarity,
Carol Raphael
Announcements One Small Thing-PDX September 2, 2020 Virtual Meeting How We Can Defend and Extend Democratic Legislative Control in Oregon Hear Senator Michael Dembrow on Strategy and Meet Key Candidates
Tired of Republican Senator walkouts ending legislative sessions when they don’t like a bill that was introduced? Fed up with rule-by-the-minority not doing its job to attend to and work on legislation?
Join us Wednesday, September 2, from 5:30 – 7 pmwhen we will inform ourselves about important state and local election issues. We will learn about strategic Oregon races to focus on up and down the ballot in the November election.
Senator Michael Dembrowwill be our special guest. Also invited are DemocratDeb Patterson,who is running against Denyc Boles (appointed after the death of Jackie Winters) in key District 10 in the Salem area and DemocratEileen Kiely, challenging incumbent Republican Tim Knopf in District 27, which includes increasingly progressive Bend. We will learn how we can take action to help support them in winning these two crucial seats.
Senator Dembrow will also update us on other strategic races and the future legislative agenda. There will be time for questions for all our speakers.
The first 100 lucky people who register via the link below, will receive a Zoom link for the event. Be sure to register soon and be part of a massive blue wave for Oregon candidates!
One Small Thing has made endorsements in five federal and statewide races in collaboration with the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network (COIN): President Biden, Senator Merkley, Oregon Attorney General Rosenblum, Oregon Treasurer Read, and Oregon Secretary of State Fagan.
ONE SMALL THING PDX ADOPTS FLORIDA A KEY STATE FOR 2020 ELECTION
While the national news from the administration gets more dire every day, we at OSTPDX have decided to keep our heads down and do one thing a day to help elect the Biden/Harris ticket and flip legislatures blue where major voter suppression and gerrymandering are threatening our democracy.
Working through Swing Left, OST has adopted Florida to help win their 29 electoral college votes for Biden/Harris. FLORIDA IS THE TIPPING POINT STATE (https://electoralvote.com/evp2020/Pres/tipping_point.html) for the Presidency. It has one of the easiest systems for requesting an absentee ballot and excellent Democrats running for the state legislatures. We are joining Swing Left of Greater Boston and Indivisible Connecticut, District 4 (ICT4) to phone bank and write letters. Please join in!
We have four letter-writing groups in Portland who are shifting gears to write postcards to Floridians, encouraging them to request absentee ballots. (They are currently working on alternatives to using the US Postal Service, given current events to thwart the mail). We are also joining phone banks with our Boston sister organization to chase up those postcards with a phone call to reinforce the request for an absentee ballot. Florida's primary is August 18, after which we will have some legislative candidates to support.
Join a postcard writing group NOW. Email one of the following to learn how to join their group:
Melanie Plaut, melanie.plaut@gmail.com
Ann Turner, annturnerpdx106@gmail.com
To learn more about phone banking, write Phyllis:phyllisabrown54@gmail.com
For those who hate phone-banking, it gets easier the more you do it. Studies showa phone conversation is TWICE as effective as a letter at getting people out to vote. How much do you want to see Trump voted out of office? Would you be willing to spend a slightly uncomfortable hour once a week to make this happen?
Please check out one or both of these videos below. One of our members did last week and after watching "Phone Banking for Introverts" said: going into this I never thought I would phone bank. But now, I know I can do it, and I am ready!
Use Your Voice to Save Democracy (3 minutes)
Phone-Banking for Introverts (48 minutes)
Endorsement of Multnomah County Library Bond measure on November ballot
The One Small Thing-PDX leadership team is pleased to endorse the Multnomah County Library Bond measure that will be on the ballot this November. If you have concerns or questions about this endorsement, we want to hear them, so please let us know byAugust 25via a reply to onesmallthingpdx@gmail.com
Each voter needs to make their own decision on measures and candidates, but we feel this is an important ballot measure to pass now that will go into effect on property bills in 2021. We included an article in our last newsletter about the measure and spoke with the proponents. Below is some additional information you may want to review about the measure.
Worried about Trump Sabotaging Vote-by-Mail?
Are you worried that the vote-by-mail strategy will be sabotaged by Trumpian tactics? Are you concerned about attempts such as starving the post office and removing mail boxes?
The news we find reassuring is that the Biden campaign has hired 600 lawyers to protect our free and fair elections https://bit.ly/345T90P and the National Vote at Home organization is busy communicating with county election officials on how to conduct vote by mail in our challenging times https://voteathome.org/. Moreover, outcome studies inform us that left leaning voters will turn out at a 30% higher rate if they receive a ballot at home. No wonder the Republicans want to stop us!
Actions & Events
OST-PDX Activist Reading Group
The next meeting of the OST-PDX Activist Reading group will be September 10 (second Thursday of every month), 7:00-8:30pm. Our topic will be a deep dive into several local November ballot issues, including one by Metro.
If you are interested in joining our meetings, contact Ken Rosenberg atrosenbergkd@yahoo.com.
This week’sMedicare for All articleis by Wendell Potter, a former PR strategist for a large health insurance company.
Join COIN’s Next Zoom Call
Once again, the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network (COIN)is delighted to welcome another of our endorsed candidates,Oregon's State Treasurer, Tobias Read,to theirnext Zoom call, on Tuesday, August 18.
Tobias Read is running for re-election and will join us at 7:10 for 30 minutes. He will give a brief statement and will then take your questions for the remaining 25 minutes that he'll be with us. Don't know much about what the State Treasurer does and why this is such an important office? Then plan to join us and ask Tobias your questions! Pass them along to us now or put them in the Zoom chat. (Note that due to election and IRS rules regarding charities, Tobias will not be able to share non-public campaign information with us.)
Here's how you can register:
See you then!
Election Checklist from ACE: What You Can Do to Get People to the Polls
The 2020 election is the greatest test we face to save our democracy. We’ve created this checklist so that you can ACE that test through our Action, Community and Elections support. We aim to inform and inspire others to not only VOTE, but understand that it’s more important than ever to get people to the polls while protecting that right. We provide 27 different organizations or actions that have a proven track record and volunteer infrastructure so that you can help GOTV. Do one, do all 27. It’s up to you. But we need all hands on deck. This is a test we cannot fail.
Please share our information widely and visit our website at www.acetheelection.org. Check out our Instagram and Twitter @acetheelection
More Events
Virtual Indivisible Tuesday at Senator Merkley’s Office: Tuesday, August18th at 11:30 am
Moms Demand Action Virtual Meeting, Monday, August 24th, 7:00pm
Phone Banking 101 Training Call, Thursday, August 20, 5:00pm
Reclaim Our Vote Virtual Postcard Party, Sunday, August 30th, 3:00pm
Stop Killing Us: A Black Lives Still Matter Exhibition, August 20-29, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
EcoProm: Friday, September 11th from 6:30-8:00pm
Voz Radio Presents: Our Virtual Auction Fundraiser: Saturday, September 12th from 10:00-12:00pm
Articles
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