INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Author: Indivisible Lambertville / New Hope

  • GOTV – NJ/PA VOTE The NJ Primary – Tuesday, June 5

    By the time we meet for our June Community Gathering, both the PA and NJ 2018 primaries will be in the history books. Congratulations those who will officially be on the November ballots, and a heartfelt thank you to all who took the time to run a clean campaign and to your supporters. Now, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and work hard to GET OUT THE VOTE (GOTV) to flip the House and Senate in November, and to elect those whose values are aligned with the basic tenets of Democracy and the moral mission of government.
    We can’t stress strongly enough – every vote counts. We are confident that you will be among those who show up to the polls, but we also need your help to encourage and activate voters whose passions or knowledge may not be as deep as our own.
    In the PA primary, for example, efforts by Indivisible LNH and others netted a turnout in New Hope of about 30% overall, and a bit over 30% for registered Democrats. While Helen Tai received the lion’s share of the votes in New Hope for the special election, it was only 96 votes that pushed her into the winners column and a seat in Harrisburg. The good news: over 100,000 more Democrats than Republicans turned out to vote in the PA primary.. Note: Helen Tai will also be running again in November – she won the election to fill the seat through December. Now we need to win again to keep her there.
    What’s next for GOTV? Efforts are already underway and we need your help! The entire House is up for grabs this year, and in NJ our own CD7 is one of the seats that needs to be flipped. Unfortunately, the seat held by NJ Senator Robert Menendez (D) is also currently seen as high risk of being flipped. In PA there are more big races: Senator Bob Casey, Governor Tom Wolfe, candidate for House Scott Wallace.
    Come and learn! The June 10 Community Gathering will include a representative from Blue Wave NJ, an organization very similar to Invisible LNH, but with 12 years of experience working on GOTV, advocacy and education on critical issues and community mobilization. Come and learn!
    Volunteer! GOTV needs you – voter registration, phone and text banking, canvassing, hosting. Get involved with a campaign. Be creative! To volunteer with Indivisible Lambertville-New Hope’s GOTV team – contact the following:
    In NJ – Mary Jane Legere – legere2@comcast.net
    In PA – Ali Glickman – namealig@gmail.com
    Kristen Donnelly – kristencdonnelly@gmail.com
    Ways to GOTV
    Bring your friends to the polls!Text 10 friends and remind them to VOTEChange your profile pic to Vote image w Election Day DateCheck-in on FB that you voted on Election DayPost pic of yourself wearing your I Voted stickerDay of election post the # were you at the polls today or ask people to comment the # they were at their polling locationPublicize Vote By Mail w link to applicationPublicize the vote in person hours at county clerk officePublicize lesser known local and county candidates w link to their FB page and websitePut up a lawn sign or help post signs along busy public roadsDuring rush hours get a group together and stand holding signs reminding people it’s election day!Host an Election Day Party: Invite people to come by after voting!Canvass or make phone calls for a candidate who is advocating for your valuesHost or Attend a Meet & Greet for a candidate you believe inDonate $ to a candidate or organization that is encouraging people to voteCarry around Vote By Mail applicationsRegister votersPut up a VOTE signPost a reminder to VOTE on Facebook and tag your friendsVolunteer to help out a campaign officeBake goodies for volunteers helping to GOTV

  • ACTION GROUP FOCUS: Save the Census – If You’re Not Counted, You Won’t Count

    The call-to-action links are:
    Do you like shopping at Target? Do you live in housing funded by tax credits? Do you enjoy a glass of wine at the local watering-hole? Do you like to vote? You might be surprised to know that the Census is behind your ability to do all of those things (and so much more!).
    The Census is America’s once-every-10-year examination of who we are. It tracks all kinds of things — how old you are, how old your house is, how long it takes you to drive to Target, whether there are enough people in your town to allow a new liquor license, and how your Congressional and legislative districts are drawn, to name just a few. Hundreds of federal and state programs and billions of dollars in federal funds that come to states and municipalities rely on Census population and housing data, and businesses use Census population, income and drive-time data extensively to figure out whether a Target, or a Starbucks, will do well in a certain location. It’s hard to imagine going through even a day without an interaction that depends in some way on the Census.
    The next Census will take place in 2020. As with every Census, the goal is an accurate and complete count of who is in this country. And because so many things depend on the resulting data, it’s critical that we get it right — if we don’t, we’ll be living with the consequences for another 10 years. So below are some FAQs about the Census, including some disturbing indicators that it might be in trouble, along with some calls to action that we can take in order to do our part to ensure a fair, accurate and complete count. Because if you’re not counted, you won’t count.
    Why do we have to do a Census? It’s required by the Constitution, one of the many visionary things the Founding Fathers put in there to help ensure a strong democracy.
    Does it count only citizens? NO. It counts us all equally. Regardless of who you are, if you are in this country for any reason other than temporary (business or vacation) travel, you should be counted.
    What does it cost to conduct a Census? To fund the 2020 Census fully will take an estimated $15.6 billion, allocated across several years in order to fund preparations as well as enumeration and data analysis. The 2019 portion in the president’s budget allocated significantly less than what is required, but there are signs that Congress will increase appropriations for the Census, which is good news.
    Who oversees the Census? It comes under the purview of the Commerce Department, and is overseen in Congress by the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman sits on the House committee, and on the sub-committee directly responsible for the Census.
    What’s new about the 2020 Census? This will be the first attempt to collect responses online, as opposed to using mail-in forms. This will require massive new information technology infrastructure, both consumer-facing — think kiosks in post offices — and on the back end to handle all the data securely.
    So, what are the problems?
    1. No one at the top. The director of the Census is a Senate-confirmable position. The last director left in June 2018, and there is no nomination at the moment for a new director. There is an acting director, Ron Jarmin, but he has not been nominated to fill the position permanently. (There were rumors for a while that Thomas Brunell, a university professor with no large-government experience and who has no problem with gerrymandered election districts, was going to be named deputy director, a position that does not require confirmation, but he withdrew his name from consideration.)
    2. IT systems are behind. Development of the new systems required to do an online enumeration are behind schedule, which will lead to insufficient time for testing.
    3. Only one field test. Two years before the actual Census, the bureau does a series of field tests so it can identify and fix bugs in the system before going live. Because original budget appropriations were insufficient, two of the three field tests were canceled. The remaining field test, in Providence County, R.I., is under way at the moment, but there will be no re-test after any identified bugs are fixed. In addition, if the citizenship question (see below) is ultimately included in the Census, response rates from the Providence test will not be accurate, since the test does not include that question.
    4. The citizenship question. Proposed questions for the Census had to be submitted by March 31, 2018. The Justice Department requested the inclusion of a question on citizenship, which has been accepted. The Providence field test began on April 1, 2018, which means it did not include the citizenship question. There is a multi-state lawsuit, to which New Jersey is a party, challenging inclusion of the citizenship question, so it is not clear whether it will be included in the actual Census. Including it is likely to reduce response rates from people in the country without legal documentation. Since these groups are largest in urban (and more Democratic) areas, this under-response could result in undercounts in these areas, which in turn would mean unfair election districts and reduced funding levels for a variety of federal programs targeted to exactly these groups.
    5. Insufficient funds and effort for outreach. For every Census, the Census Bureau partners with hundreds of local community organizations throughout the country to help reach as many people as possible, and there is a significant advertising and outreach budget that gets passed through to states and to these groups. Marginalized communities are, in the current political climate, understandably wary of sharing any information with the federal government, so it will be particularly difficult to secure their cooperation in completing the Census questionnaire without consistent outreach by trusted partners. There is a growing fear that, if the Census is underfunded in any way, advertising and outreach is where the most drastic cuts will take place.
    Taken as a whole, it’s reasonable to interpret this list of problems as a concerted effort to suppress the enumeration, and hence the opportunity and power, of groups of people to which this administration has been consistently hostile. (The House Oversight Committee has largely been trying ensure that the Census functions property, so the problem is within the Commerce Department.)
    What can we do? One of the things we learned in our Save the Census study group is that it might be a little too early to get involved at the state level. However, at the right time — probably starting around September 2019 — there will be several things we can do:
    • Join the Save the Census action group on our Slack channel, which is where we post articles and other information to stay informed on Census progress. (Actually, you can do this now! Just email the group’s leader, Elaine Clisham.)
    • For Twitter users, here is a handy list of Census-related accounts to follow.
    • Make sure the Murphy administration establishes a Complete Count Committee, which will act as the coordinating body within the state to make sure as many of us are counted as possible. The Murphy administration is new and probably still getting its Census legs under it, so for now we should watch and be ready to get involved as soon as some infrastructure is in place.
    • Volunteer as an organization to go to local groups — houses of worship, community organizations, business organizations, etc. — and speak on the importance of the Census, and on things those groups can do to help ensure a complete count.
    • Write letters and op-eds for local publications on the importance of a complete count.
    • Make sure candidates for office have the Census as a priority.

  • Education in Crisis – Teachers Be Dumb Bunnies?

    Statistically, the United States spends more money on its students of any other country, and yet, seems to rank between average and below average among the members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Assessment) in 2015, the U.S. scored its best in 20 years since the inception of TIMSS — but there are teachers who are unable to make ends meet, who work additional jobs, who have out-of-date or no school supplies, larger classroom sizes and no classroom supports.
    How does that work for our children?
    In what has become known as “Teacher’s Spring,” teachers and parents across at least six, typically red, states said, “Enough.” Beginning with West Virginia, they began walking out and straight to their respective state capitols after years of pleas falling on deaf ears and collective bargaining avenues shut down. Their efforts have triumphed somewhat, with a number of changes for the better. However, in the current climate and with the DeVos-led Dept. of Education, support for public education is far from secure.
    From the East to the West – Teachers and Parents rise up for Education
    Seriously, don’t mess with “Dumb Bunnies.” Governor Jim Justice (R-WV) who ran on the Democratic ticket then switched parties, learned this the hard way. Governor Justice made the mistake of calling teachers “dumb bunnies” at a town hall meeting. Those “dumb bunnies” came for him and they were mad as hell.
    Being called dumb bunnies however, was the least of their grievances. On February 22, 2018, 34,000 West Virginia teachers organized and went on strike for 9 days. Teachers, backed by 270,000 parents, showed up at the West Virginia State Capitol donning bunny ears and carrying a list of demands. The nine day strike succeeded getting five of the demands met, and garnered a 5 percent pay raise for the teachers. More importantly, the WV teachers’ strike inspired a cascade of actions in other states: Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina followed suit with their demands.
    The Oklahoma teachers strike began on April 2, 2018. Oklahoma teachers earn the least among teachers in all the states — only $.67 to the dollar as compared to other college graduates. Their demands included a restoration to budget cuts that led to decrepit, outdated textbooks and severe neglect of school building infrastructure. Teachers relied heavily on donated supplies from parents. Cutbacks resulted in broken chairs, duct-taped textbooks and a four-day school week.
    The Oklahoma State Senate agreed to restore $40 million in funding and provide a $6,100 raise for teachers. Not all of the OK teachers’ demands were met. Alicia Priest, president of the Oklahoma Teachers Association, is calling for teachers to hit the polls for the June 26 primary and again for the general election in November.
    Arizona teachers began with Walk-Ins on April 9th, then totally walked out and to the Arizona State Capitol on on April 26, wearing red T-shirts with #RedforEd. The strike lasted until May 3rd, ending with concessions that increased salaries for support staff and a decrease student to counselor ratios. Governor Doug Ducey (R-AZ) conceded a 9 percent raise in 2019 and an overall increase of 20 percent by 2020.
    The April 13th strike in Kentucky closed all districts as teachers pressured Republicans to override Governor Matt Bevins’ (R-KY) veto of a bill that would help close funding gaps in education. It was the Public Pension Overhaul Bill (SB 1), however, that fueled the walk-out, which would mean an extension to their retirement dates to fund their pensions.
    To add insult to injury Governor Bevins said, “I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today, a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them.” Really, Governor Bevin? Let’s say that if teachers had been treated fairly in the first place there wouldn’t have been a walk-out.
    In Colorado, Senator Bob Gardner (R-CO) proposed Bill SB 264 that would fine and jail teachers for striking. The bill met its demise April 30 after the subcommittee withdrew it due to wide criticism, although Gardner says will consider re-submitting the bill in 2019. Just a day after Arizona teachers struck, Colorado followed on April 27th with a 16-day strike that resulted in a 2 percent pay raise and a promise of further discussion regarding similar issues of their pension and lack of funding. Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO) signed a $28.9 billion budget into law that would allocate $225 million to the state pension, and will increase K-12 education funding by $150 million annually. It should be noted that Colorado teachers salaries have dropped 17 percent since 2003. In 2009 Colorado amended its constitution to include funding for schools that was supposed to keep pace with inflation. The state has not met this requirement observing a $6.6 billion shortfall in funding.
    North Carolina’s legislators met their day of reckoning in mid-May as teachers marched, demanding better pay and funding. Two-thirds of the districts were shuttered as a result. The NCAE stated it would like to see funding that is more in line with the national average, additional health workers, counselors and increased pay for all district employees and no additional tax cuts for corporations. Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) is proposing an average 8 percent pay raise to meet the national average in fours years time. The budget proposal of $75 million would help lower class size and help with construction costs.
    Save Public Education, Support Teachers, Care for the Future
    What we know to be true about the kind of information provided by the OECD is that it can become weaponized and used in ways that work for or against education, and often as rhetoric for political campaigns. What’s most important here, what must be a core value as a nation is how we the public choose to filter and utilize this information for the benefit of our children’s education. Education must always be a top priority of our legislators. Teachers must always have the ear of our government. Teachers are on the frontline to the future. Teachers are building that future of creators and innovators. What’s in the best interest of the teachers, is in the best interest of our children, our communities and our nation. To respect and support our teachers is to respect and support our children.
    “The sooner the progressive movement understands that, to save our democracy, people must rebuild robust unions—that means a strong embrace of teachers and education and public-service workers—the sooner we all start winning.”
    Sources:
    https://www.thenation.com/article/the-west-virginia-teachers-strike-shows-that-winning-big-requires-creating-a-crisis/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/14/602462055/union-leader-calls-for-an-end-to-oklahoma-teachers-9-day-strikehttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/the-teachers-won-how-arizonas-strike-unfolded-10403354http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-kentucky-teacher-strike-20180414-story.htmlhttp://wchstv.com/news/local/ky-educators-concerned-with-pension-bill-fix-and-worry-about-possible-strikehttps://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/04/15/602671694/kentucky-governor-apologizes-for-comments-on-teachers-strikehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Colorado_teachers%27_strike?scrlybrkr=7ca05b2c#https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/16/611674008/teachers-take-school-funding-fight-straight-to-north-carolinas-capitolhttp://observer.com/2018/01/how-american-students-truly-rank-in-international-testing/?scrlybrkr=5e3cf011

  • What About the Children?

    Last month, a local incident involving ICE brought the immigration issue to our front door. More recently, two stories about children lost after being taken into custody and young children separated from their families at the border populated the headlines and pulled at our hearts.
    First, a clarification: The two stories were often conflated into one, with many believing that nearly 1500 children separated from their families at the border were then lost by the system – in some cases, to human traffickers. While there is no excuse for taking children into the care of an agency and then losing track of them, the 1500 children were those that arrived at the border without a parent or guardian – aka unaccompanied minors. The children were subsequently processed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) and turned over to a sponsor. However, it appears that there may have been little effort to do background checks on or follow-ups with those sponsors. Congress says it is looking into the agency practices and need for safeguards.
    The issue of separating migrant children from their families is another concern. Earlier in May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new, “zero tolerance” policy that includes criminal penalties to deter illegal border crossings. If a parent is with a child when apprehended for ‘illegal entry’, he or she is taken from the parent. That said, many parents have legally presented themselves to border officials as they were seeking asylum and had their children taken away. The stories are heart-wrenching: Hundreds of children – by some reports more than 700 — have been separated from their families since October and this policy will drive a steep increase.
    Once taken, the children are placed in the custody of the DHS’s Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement – the same office that handles unaccompanied minors arriving at the border. The adults are sent to detention centers to await trial.
    There is no law mandating separation, according to a fact-checking article in the New York Times. Further, the current administration has pointed to the Democrats as the instigators of such a law – another untruth in a long line of lies propagated by this current government.
    According to The Hill, Senator Diane Feinstein plans introduced a bill in that would prevent the separation of children from their immigrant families at the border
    “It’s hard to conceive of a policy more horrific than intentionally separating children from their parents as a form of punishment. … This is not what the United States of America should be,” Feinstein said in a Thursday (5/31) statement.
    Of deeper concern, the ACLU has uncovered evidence that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have physically, sexually and verbally abused migrant children – this is a clear violation of U.S. law and international human rights laws that protect migrants, refugees and asylum seekers regardless of their country of origin. “The violations are numerous,” says the ACLU.
    The law requires that CBP release unaccompanied children within 72 hours, and that all allegations of child abuse are reported to law enforcement, child protective services or the FBI. But the government has failed to hold the officials accountable, and the escalation of anti-immigrant policies and hateful rhetoric are likely to exacerbate the treatment of immigrant children.
    Call to Action – Contact your Senators and Representatives!

    Demand the DHS step up efforts to find children who have been lost due to the lax agency practices, that they increase accountability and strengthen background checks for sponsors.Call for an end to the practice of separating young migrant children from their families. Support Feinstein’s legislation and call for a similar bill in the House. Demand that the CBP be held accountable for any abuse, that officials who have been in charge of the agency who turned a blind eye to the abuse be fired immediately.

    Sign the ACLU petition to hold the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection accountable.

  • GOTV PA – Lock in the Keystone State, May Edition

    Yard signs compete with new blooms for lawn space; our mailboxes are chock-a-block with candidates’ mailers; and pitches for fundraisers and donations crowd our in-boxes. The primary season is in full swing. And, with all of the excitement comes a different kind of swinging, as candidates rail against one another in full-throated, democratic competition.
    While many of us feel uncomfortable with this type of conflict, wishing for everyone to “play nice”, our expectations may be unrealistic. Elections have always been a contact sport, and today’s no-holds-barred ethos makes them all the more extreme. This writer and other ILNHers have spoken to campaign staff in an effort to tone down the negative rhetoric, basically to no avail. (I was told, “That’s politics” by one.)
    It may be wise for us to learn to accept the sausage-making aspects of the process and to, perhaps, view it as a means to “toughen up” our candidates to survive in the final combat with conservatives, known for their vicious and under-handed methods.
    On a more positive note, we wish to acknowledge our ILNH Community for your spirit, hard work, and generosity in support of our local progressives and the Get Out The Vote (GOTV) initiative. You answered our clarion…
    CALL TO ACTION: Wherever you live, now’s the time to organize your neighbors and community. One great way is to go on out and knock on doors. Another is to invite your friends and neighbors over for a fundraiser, be it a coffee klatch or a cocktail party. We need to get together and WIN!
    Enjoy the Spring, with an afternoon of Canvassing –Check out the Turn PA Blue Canvassing Guide.
    Host a Fundraiser – Our candidates need to raise a lot of dough just to compete against the GOP money machine. Turn PA Blue is looking for volunteers willing to host fundraisers for candidates in and outside their districts. It’s fun and easy and we will provide you with all the information you need to host a successful event. If you’re interested in learning more, please sign up HERE. For more information about how to host a candidate fundraiser, please check out the Turn PA Blue Fundraising Guide.
    For more on elections, events, and ways to get involved, please read on…
    Elections. Ride the Blue Wave into the May 15th elections! Here’s what is coming up in our area:
    178th District – Upper Makefield – Special Election and Primary on May 15th.
    ILNH member Helen Tai’s campaign is intelligent, ethical, and professional. A proud Democrat, Helen is dedicated to fully funding our schools and has received a Gun Sense Candidate designation, as well as an endorsement from the “Win Back Your State” PAC. Helen’s integrity has met a rabid and insidious response from her conservative opponent, Wendi Thomas. From the get-go, Thomas’s campaign has attempted to obfuscate its Republican support and blur its positions, while demonizing Helen. But, Wendi cannot hide from her own record as a member of the Council Rock school board, where she endorsed budgets cutting teachers and special education staff, while guaranteeing 3-year raises for already well-compensated administrators. Remember, Helen is running both to fill a temporarily vacant post and in the May primary for our November election. It’s confusing, true, but you need to vote for her twice. NOTE: Independents and Republicans can also vote for Helen in the Special Election. Worth repeating from our February newsletter, the one-seat Special Election poses a major opportunity to break into our State Legislature’s male-dominated, Republican stronghold. In fact, it has been 34 years since our district elected a Democrat! As her button says, “Give ‘Em Helen!”
    Check out: www.HelenTai.com
    10th District, PA State Senate. Lower Makefield’s Steve Santarsiero is running to fill the “number one pick-up opportunity in the State Senate for Pennsylvania Democrats,” according to his website, “…making it the most important State Legislature race in the State”. Until January, Steve served as Chief Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania for Environmental Protection. He has a 100% rating by Planned Parenthood PA Advocates, a strong commitment to education, and a proven commitment to public service through his many years in our local government.
    Events & Demonstrations*:
    Women’s Leadership Forum, Democratic National Committee – May 17th and 18th. Washington, DC.
    For more information, additional resources, and ways to get involved*:
    Bucks County Blue: Great source for info on all races and candidates in Bucks, including upcoming events and voter registration.
    Warwick First: Site for this fledgling group in an entrenched red community. Can we flip it? Ride the Blue Wave!
    Buckingham Voices: “Concerned citizens, empowered and in motion.” Smart, active team committed to educating and empowering folks in our area. buckinghamvoices@gmail.com
    Newtown Democrats: Newly energized by their victories in November, this organization is working to widen its reach.
    Solebury Democrats: Lively, up-to-date site, with excellent content.
    Indivisible: Provides a wealth of information and ready-made materials, ranging from Elections 101, Voting Rights, and Voting Suppression, Voter Registration, Endorsement Guides, and more.
    SwingLeft: Nationwide organization dedicated to flipping Congressional districts like ours.
    Flippable: Mounting a Blue Wave Tsunami across the states.
    With the Trump administration desperate enough to recently risk a global trade war over a single PA district’s special election, we know that they will resort to extreme propaganda and dirty tricks to keep their grip on us. We call upon you to Join the Resistance and Turn PA Blue!
    *Resources and calendar of events will be updated monthly.