INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Category: Call to Action

  • The 28th Amendment: An American Promise

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    Heather Santos from American Promise will lead the June 4 Springboard event on Dark MoneyJune 4 Springboard event on Dark Money. The organization is dedicated to achieving passage of the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, which affirms that We The People – not special interests, corporations or unions – govern the United States of America. The proposed bill has more than 100 sponsors. The 28th Amendment has been proposed to the House of Representatives (HJ Res. 2) and reads as follows: (more…)

  • Dark Money Impact: Winning PA-01 in 2018

    Contributed by Kierstyn Pietrowski Zolfo.

    The next SpringBoard event will focus on the role of dark money in our political system. While people may have different conceptions of what dark money means, for the purposes of this exploration it refers to any political donations that are made to groups – political action committees (PACs and SuperPACs) and so-called, “social welfare organizations,” also known as 501(c)(4) group, who are allowed to engage in political lobbying and political campaign activities.

    Of particular concern to our area is the part that dark money played in the 2018 election in PA-01 and the re-election of Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. The PA-01 congressional race was among the top 5 most expensive House races in the country for 2018, and while some of that can be attributed to direct spending by Democratic candidate, even more of that came from dark money on the GOP side.

    Many politicians have their own PACs that are affiliated with their name and candidacy. Such groups raise money by holding events with the politicians present and giving speeches about their political goals… but then they step out of the room while the money folks gather up the donations.  One such event was held on Washington Crossing Road in October 2018, with then-House Speaker Paul Ryan present to fundraise for his PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF). The CLF opened their district office in Bucks County in September 2017 to prepare for the 2018 race. By the end of the campaign cycle, the CLF had spent over $4.4 million – that we know of – to support Brian Fitzpatrick.

    While Paul Ryan’s PAC was the largest of the candidate-affiliated groups to pour money into PA-01, it certainly was not the only one spending money in Bucks County. The Great America Committee (VP Mike Pence), Majority Committee (then-House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy), Eye of the Tiger PAC (then Majority Whip Steve Scalise) and Citizens for Prosperity (Sen. Pat Toomey) were among nearly a dozen groups to spend on this race in 2018.

    Another way that dark money was funnelled into this race was from millionaire backers. Two individuals in particular played outsize roles in bringing dark money into PA-01: Elliott Broidy and Sheldon Adelson.  Both of these men used the intricacies of campaign finance law to pour outside money into our area to help Brian Fitzpatrick, but each did so in different ways.

    Sheldon Adelson concentrated his efforts on giving directly to PACs.  A review of his expenditures during the 2018 cycle show a shocking amount of money changed hands. This is just a sampling of his donations as reported on Open Secrets, some of which found its way here.

    Recipient Date Amount
    Congressional Leadership Fund 05/03/18 $15,000,000
    Congressional Leadership Fund 09/12/18 $10,000,000
    National Republican Congressional Committee 06/30/18 $237,300
    Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) 10/16/18 $125,000

    Adelson also gave directly to Fitzpatrick’s campaign, and a number of smaller donations to many of the politician-affiliated PACs, who in turn gave to Fitzpatrick.

    Elliott Broidy has a name that may be familiar to those of you who closely follow Trump news.  He is the third client of Michael Cohen (the other two being President Trump and Fox News host Sean Hannity). This former Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee paid a Playboy Playmate mistress to have an abortion, has major financial ties to Manafort-aide Rick Gates, and most recently had his house raided by the FBI in an investigation about conspiracy, money laundering, and covert lobbying on behalf of foreign officials.

    Broidy orchestrated the first round of attacks on Democratic candidate Scott Wallace in June 2018.  Wallace was ‘welcomed’ into the general race with over a half million dollars in RJC advertisements smearing Wallace unjustly as an anti-Semite. That set the tone for the race, but since it was done by an outside expenditure group on behalf of Fitzpatrick, instead of from Fitzpatrick himself, the candidate was able to claim plausible deniability from this awfulness. It should also be noted that Broidy donated to many of the same PACs that received funding from Adelson, who in turn spent money in PA-01.

    With PA-01 as one of the most contentious swing districts in the country, and with our location in an expensive media market, we are going to see more and more dark money and outside money coming in to affect our local races. We need to stay on top of this issue, and develop effective messaging strategies to counteract the effect of all this outside money, or else we will be overpowered in future races.

    Call to Action: Mark your calendars for the next Springboard event on Dark Money and be sure to attend! June 3, 2019 – Location TBD

  • SPRINGBOARD to Immigration Advocacy and Reform

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    Review and Action from ILNH’s First Springboard Meeting

    The first-ever ILNH Springboard Meeting hosted Johanna Calle, director of the NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), who spoke to a crowd of 20 Indivizzies and friends about the issues facing immigrants on the federal and state level.  The Alliance is a statewide coalition of more than 40 faith, labor and community organizations that promote policies in NJ to advocate for and support documented immigrants and those seeking status.  

    Johanna spoke about the changes in immigration policies over the past 20 years, noting that the window of opportunity for an immigrant to gain residence in the U.S. has increasingly narrowed. Today, an immigrant seeking permanent residence requires that they must be directly related to a U.S. citizen, i.e., spouse or child. She also explained that many ‘unlawful’ immigrants are those that have overstayed a travel visa or had an expired Green Card, in which case they are banned from the U.S. for ten years.

    “The reality is, the immigration laws are broken,” said Johanna. Her own family came to the U.S. in 1995, and was able to get Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, open a business. But that all changed after September 11, 2001, when laws began to tighten following the terrorist attacks.

    The need for wholesale immigration reform is widely recognized across the political spectrum, but broad disagreement on how to go about it has necessitated that advocacy groups focus on smaller pieces of the issue to make headway. In the meantime, organizations like NJAIJ are putting efforts into helping those at risk avoid deportation, and advocating for policies that limit the level of reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).  

    Currently, NJAIJ has two focus areas: In addition to family unity and protection from deportation, the organization is advocating for the expansion of driver’s licenses to immigrants seeking status. With the campaign, “Let’s Drive NJ,” the organization works to bring NJ in alignment with the other twelve states which allow undocumented immigrants obtain licenses. Doing so will help increase public safety, help the state’s economy and increase the well-being of families. A note here that although the NJAIJ is a NJ-based organization, Pennsylvania has a similar program working to expand access to driver’s licenses.

    The Springboard meeting on March highlighted the many actions Indivisible members can advocate for on the state and local levels of government. This is very good news.  Possible activities of our group include monthly postcard parties, urgent PRN post card parties, organize trips to the Elizabeth Detention Center, monthly calls to state/local officials, etc. In addition, we will be maintaining ongoing contact with Johanna, to stay updated and send out alerts to Indivisible when there is an action that needs to be taken.

    On the schedule: A follow up meeting of the NJ Immigration Advocacy team to organize actions will be on April 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lambertville Free Public Library.

    Eye Openers:

    • ICE has funding to detain 40,000 people; however, it currently holds 50,000. There is a huge funding gap that needs to be made up.
    • NJ has the third largest number of immigrants in the country and the fifth largest number of undocumented immigrants.
    • Detention pays: In NJ, counties and corporations are paid $170 per day for each person who is housed in a detention center.
    • NJ counties Essex, Hudson and Bergen, are currently receiving funds for detention housing that go directly into the county budget.
    • Witnesses and victims of crimes who fear their personal detention or deportation avoid reporting incidents to law enforcement as ICE patrols the courts and works with local police and organizations.
    • Language is important: Use “fair and welcoming” instead of “sanctuary.” The latter implies that immigrants are safe and that the municipality may be breaking the law.
    • “Affiliation” with a gang is a factor leading to deportation; however, young people have been picked up simply for wearing a personal item of clothing that happens to be one of the colors of a gang.  
    • Undocumented immigrants pay taxes and Social Security, but are blocked from receiving any of the benefits.
    • At the federal level, NO new laws have been passed with regard to immigration policy and access to citizenship. All changes have been made at the administrative, Department of Homeland Security level.

    Noteworthy:

    • In NJ, new rules went into effect on March 15, implemented by the NJ Attorney General, called the “Immigrant Trust Directive.” This trust outlines when the state’s 36,000 police officers can ask people about their immigration status and cuts back on cases where police can cooperate with federal Immigration agents. The rules also limit when county jails can detain prisoners who are in the country illegally.
    • In the U.S. Congress, HR 6 was introduced in the House the week of March 11, and deals with Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status. Representatives Tom Malinowski and Bonnie Watson-Coleman are co-sponsors.  

    In Pennsylvania – organizations that provide support and advocacy for immigrants include:

    Immigrant Rights Action/Grupo de Acción of Doylestown is a way to get involved with local actions. The group has developed packets to enable constituents to talk to their legislators, and works in conjunction with other groups to provide local trainings for allies and immigrants. The organization recently incorporated and has established office space to meet with community members. Group meetings on the first Wednesday of the month. Reach out to Sue Ann DeVito if you would like to join.

    MILPA spearheads the legislation for Pennsylvania drivers licenses. When the legislation is introduced, we will need to call state legislators for support.  Chris Rabb, State Representative (200th HD) , is working on introducing a bill.

    Shut Down Berks is a coalition working on shutting down the Berks Detention Center. They organize vigils, rallies, postcard parties and legislative advocacy. Follow their page on Facebook to see upcoming calls to action.

    PICC (Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition) has many resources to help the community on their website. The activist tab has a plethora of information, and areas you can take action. Recommended: sign up for their STOP THE HATE CALLS.

    Welcoming The Stranger is in Bucks County and has free classes and resources for immigrants and refugees.

  • ILNH FYI – Your Activists in Action

    ILNH FYI – Your Activists in Action

    Environment Action Group: ILNH joined several other environmental groups to sign a letter to the governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania calling for stringent review of the PennEast Pipeline project, saying that the application for PennEast to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) do not demonstrate that the pipeline meets the requirements of law. Subsequently, Governor Phil Murphy announced his support for a full fracking ban in the Delaware River Basin and issued a letter to the DRBC expressing his position that proposed rules should be amended to ban all fracking activity, including the import, treatment, and discharge of fracking wastewater.

    “The ILNH Environment Team has always supported a complete fracking ban in the Delaware River Basin and will continue to work alongside activists, NGO’s and our state to ensure our river basin is untouched by the environmental and public health dangers of fracking,” said Liz Peer, ILNH Environment team lead. “We thank Governor Murphy for his leadership on this important matter.”

    During our first Facebook Live meeting back in January we talked about the new SpringBoard Meetings that are being planned for deeper dive education and activism on specific topics. We’re looking forward to the first of the series with Civil Rights taking the lead on Mass Incarceration. Look for more information about the expert, date and location on the ILNH Facebook page. And BTW, if you’re interested in being a Coordinator or Activator for a particular topic, see Sarah Gold or Maddy Berlin.

    Meet the ILNH Board: Did you know that Indivisible Lambertville/New Hope has a Board in addition to our Operating Team? The Board oversees the ILNH activities to ensure that they fall within our vision, mission and values. Less sexy, but more importantly, the board is accountable for making sure that activities stay within the scope of a 501(c)(4) organization so that we maintain our non-profit status. In addition, the board is responsible for certain state and federal filings, and carefully tracks finances, etc. They also work with professionals to ensure accountability for legal requirements and responsibilities pertaining to our non-profit status.  Current Board members include Susan Shapiro, Mark Zenkus, Elaine Clisham, Elycia Lerman, Karen Mitchell and Cindi Sternfeld. Positions on the Board are held for two years, and can be served in succession

    Census 2020: Ensuring accuracy – The Complete Count Commission will hold the second Public Meeting of the Census 2020 New Jersey on Wednesday, February 20th at the Passaic County Community College’s Main Campus Auditorium in Paterson. The goal of the Complete Count Commission is to encourage full participation in the census to ensure an accurate and complete count of New Jersey’s population. An accurate count is critical to how we are represented in government and is directly related to the amount of federal funding that will flow into New Jersey annually. We want to make sure that we receive our fair share.

    An important core component of this process will involve the organizing and asking the help of advocacy groups and everyday people a sustained campaign within our communities aimed at attaining the highest possible Census response rate. This is an All New Jersey project and its success will very much be determined by on the ground community advocacy and participation.

    If you plan to attend, are interested in attending, or would like to provide testimony, please respond at this link: https://www.state.nj.us/state/njcounts-meeting-rsvp.shtml

  • H.R.1 – The Opening Act for the 2019 House of Representatives

    Contributed by Hui Chen.

    The first act of the newly Democrat-controlled House is to give power back to the people and bring ethics back into our government. H.R. 1 – the For the People Act – covers three main areas of reform:

    • Campaign Finance: requiring disclosure of information such as “dark money” and super PAC political donors, of political spending by those who do business with the federal government, of sources for political ads on Facebook and Twitter. It would also provide a matching-fund program for House candidates who agree to raise only small-dollar contributions.
    • Ethics: requiring disclosure of tax returns for candidates for president and vice president – and current holder of those offices; enhance oversight and enforcement power of the Office of Government Ethics; strengthen ethics in the legislative branch by prohibiting members of Congress from using taxpayer money to settle harassment and discrimination cases, and in the judicial branch by creating a new code of ethics for the United States Supreme Court.
    • Voting Rights: creating an automatic voter registration system to change voting from an opt in to an opt out process, promoting early voting, same-day, same-day voter registration, and online voter registration.  It would enhance election security against foreign interference, and end gerrymandering by moving the Congressional districting power from state legislature to independent commissions.


    How would these proposed measures help our democracy?
    Campaign finance reforms helps make our elected officials answer to us as much as they answer to big money. Running for office is a very expensive endeavor. Everything from signs to brochures to television ads and campaign events costs. It’s a reality that creates continuous pressure for those in office to feel beholden to their financiers. The disclosures proposed by H.R.1 would give us transparency to those relationships so that our officials know we would be watching them. The public matching fund for small donations will also shift more power to individual donors like us.

    Government ethics fights corruption and makes sure no one is above the law. Federal government workers, like all other professionals, must abide by strict ethics rules. These rules are there to ensure they conduct government business without the conflict of interest: that laws and regulations are enforced, and contracts and projects awarded, not for their personal benefits or pleasure, but in the interest of the public. The proposed measures under H.R.1 would apply at least some of these rules to elected officials, and to Supreme Court justices.
    Voting rights helps every voter be counted. Our entire democracy is premised on people’s ability to vote. Over the last election, we worked hard for every vote. The proposed measures under H.R. are to make sure every voter gets the best chance to exercise that vote, and that when those votes are counted, they are free from manipulation.


    Call to Action: What can you do to support H.R.1?
    H.R.1 is a large package, and pieces of it are now going into various House committees for deliberation. Find the topics that speaks to you and which committees will be addressing them. Learn the issues, talk to your network, and express your support on social media, in public, and to your representatives. Remember, the overall message of this bill is about democracy and ethics.

    Hui Chen is a member of ILNH and a former prosecutor and expert consultant with the US Department of Justice who publicly resigned due to concerns about ethics in the Trump Administration. As an expert in organizational ethics, she is a regular columnist in Bloomberg Law and commentator on MSNBC. Twitter @HuiChenEthics.