INDIVISIBLE Lambertville NJ / New Hope PA

Category: GOTV 2020

  • Just the Facts on GOTV effectiveness

     Contributed by Olga Vanucci.

    • Door-to-door canvassing is the most consistently effective method of voter mobilization, and the success of canvassing can be attributed to the personal, face-to-face delivery of the GOTV messages.
    • Personalized messages delivered in a conversational manner over the phone may be as effective as canvassing.
    • Impersonal GOTV methods, such as mass email and robo calls, are chronically ineffective means of mobilizing voters.
    • The manner in which the messages are delivered–personally and conversationally–is more important than the content of the messages themselves.

    Source:  https://isps.yale.edu/node/16698

  • Resolved to Win: Vision 2020

    Contributed by Deb Kline.

    The first month of the year finds many of us setting goals and making plans for what we hope to personally achieve or accomplish in the coming year. The goal of these exercises is to somehow make life better for ourselves. January seems a likely month to start anew, especially after we’ve tipped the scales of excess over the previous two to three months.  

    Psychologically, 1/1/2020 seems to hold so much promise. Not only a new year, but a new decade, and why not put a stake in the ground? 

    There’s another date ahead that holds a lot of promise: 11/3/2020. That’s when millions of voters head to the polls and determine the direction of our country for the next four years. While it may seem that 11 months is a long way away, it’s now that we need to make our resolve, our commitment to do all we can to create the outcome we want to see. 

    John Norcross, a psychology professor at the University of Scranton who has studied resolutions for decades, says there’s a key ingredient that makes the difference in whether a person adheres or achieves his or her New Year’s resolutions. That is to first and foremost, believe that you can do it. In addition, being clear on what it is you want to achieve, eg. specificity, can move the needle farther in the direction of a positive outcome. Two other ingredients for success include going public with your intention and being around supportive people. 

    At our December Holiday Gathering, many of the attendees wrote on the Resolution 2020 banner what they intend to do this year to get our country on the right track. There are some great commitments, ranging from canvassing, to hosting a Meet and Greet, to texting voters and hosting postcard parties and lots more. (Yes, we have your names, too). If you didn’t get the opportunity to write on the banner, come to our Community Gathering – we have plenty of room! 

    If we want to save this country, all of us need to resolve right now to do whatever it takes to ensure that November 4 brings us the outcome which we have longed for since January 2017. We believe we can reclaim and rebuild our country based on the values of equality, honesty, integrity, caring and stewardship. It’s time we put this stake in the ground now: “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” 

    From my point of view, getting this president, his administration, and a number of the GOP supporters out of the way would certainly make my life better.  

  • Riding the Blue Wave in Bucks and Beyond

    Contributed by Lisa Bergson.

    November 17th.  The November Indivisible Lambertville/New Hope Community Gathering, held at Dig Yoga, opened with a nice, grounding meditation, followed by a few moments of celebration over the Democratic victories. We triumphed in Bucks for the first time in 30 years, winning the full row of county seats; Delaware County went Democrat for the first time since the Civil War; and historically red Chester County had another surprisingly positive outcome! Those are in addition to the great results in Virginia, Kentucky, and even Louisiana! 

    But we didn’t gloat for long. There’s still much work to be done if we’re going to wrest our Congressional seat back from Fitzpatrick and toss Trump in the dump truck of history.  At the Community Gathering, I learned more about a challenging initiative many ILNHers are pursuing, called “Changing the Conversation” (CTC). Understanding that a big part of the alt-right’s success has been in sowing divisions and distrust in our country, “Changing the Conversation” promotes ways to help us to connect with one another on a personal level, regardless of political persuasion. (It was noted that CTC works best with folks who are still at least a little uncomfortable with Trump’s behavior and ideology, as opposed to hardliners.)  

    We need to begin to establish common ground if we are to create a lasting and stable democracy built on tolerance and mutual self-interest.  “That wasn’t so bad,” said one very shy woman, who took part in a break-out group’s CTC role-playing. Through this practice, ILNH is taking actions that transcend the election and create paths for continued dialogue and understanding with those who may have felt shunned by liberals and progressives in the past.  

    May the healing begin.

    November 22nd.

    My husband and I took a holiday out west, venturing to our favorite little Italian restaurant in Carmel. There we found ourselves engaged in a political discussion with a wealthy, older couple from Sonoma at the next table. The wife startled us. “Bucks will decide the election,” she declared, adding, “I think Trump’s going to win.”

    “Don’t worry; we’re working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I assured her.

    “I may come join you,” said the husband.  Chances are he won’t be alone.

    December 4th.

    Today, while driving about, I caught snippets on the radio of the constitutional scholars at the House Judiciary hearing as they weighed the threat to our democracy that Trump’s violations pose. “That’s right,” I repeated aloud to my dashboard, as they precisely detailed how his self-serving, tyrannical behavior apes that of the monarchy we fought the Revolutionary War to throw off and then established a divided government with checks-and-balances to prevent. 

    That our congressman, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, has joined the lemmings, marching in lockstep down the gangplank with Trump, puts him at sharp odds with the people of PA-01.  More, he supported the hugely unpopular billionaire’s tax cut that has only served to exacerbate the instability and injustice of income inequality. Fitzpatrick’s only chance of prevailing with yet a third term would be for us to make a poor choice of candidate to challenge his incumbency. https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/a-bucks-county-dem-makes-the-case-against-rep-brian-fitzpatrick-is-she-right-friday-morning-coffee/

    The good news is that we have a host of excellent, highly qualified folks vying to take him on. I was fortunate to have an opportunity to hear each speak at a meeting of the Solebury Democrats on the 2nd.  And, all of us will get to check them out, along with many of our newly elected officials, at the upcoming New Year’s Revolution Community Gathering and Holiday Jam on December 15th. To set the stage, consider (in alphabetical order):

    • Christina Finello.  Bucks native Christina’s feisty, down-to-earth approach belies her joint law degree and Ph.D. in clinical psych from Villanova Law and Drexel.  “She’s rough around the edges, but brilliant,” one political pro confided. A working mother of two, Christina devoted her career to public service, including the past 10 years as Director of the Bucks County Department of Housing and Human Services and, since 2017, as the only Democrat on the 7-member Ivyland Borough Council. 
    • Skylar Hurwitz. A technology entrepreneur and environmental policy advocate, 27-year-old Skylar returned to his native Bucks a year ago, where he is determined to make a difference. Skylar’s campaign is well underway, with intensive fundraising and a full platform of detailed proposals, ranging from taxation to energy to Middle East peace, to name a few. “What he puts his mind to, he does,” a Democratic fundraiser, whose wife taught Skylar, told me.
    • Judi Reiss. Out in front when it comes to campaigning, Judi, a retired Trenton school teacher and grandmother of five, is well along in building support for her candidacy.  Forged in the national tragedy of September 11th, 2001, when her 23-year-old son was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center, Judi began to emerge as a public advocate for justice and tolerance. She has since served as a supervisor on the majority- GOP Lower Makefield Township board, where she worked to preserve open space and address issues of public transit. More recently, Judi was elected county Prothonotary. 
    • Debbie Wachspress. Pennsbury School Board member, longtime peace proponent with the Langhorne-based The Peace Center, and mother of three, Wachspress helped start the Lower Bucks Indivisible.  More, she was the first in her family to attend a 4-year college and went on to work as a key policy analyst at the EPA when concern for clean air and water was paramount, as well as a national leader in the Million Mom March for gun safety.  

    See what I mean?  We’ve got the folks, and we’ve got the numbers. Now, we just have to pick the best candidates — not just for Congress, but also to flip the State House, which is presently dominated by Republicans. (More on that in our January column.)

    At the Solebury meeting, there was also a worthwhile conversation on “lessons learned” from the election and changes afoot in how we vote.  Under the new Election Reform law, we can vote by mail for up to 50 days before an election (even becoming a permanent mail-in voter) and register to vote up to 15 days, previously 30, before an election.  We can no longer vote for a single party with the push of a button, but we will have presumably safer machines, with electronic and paper ballots. These changes do require an earlier effort to GOTV, with canvassing and community organizing big priorities. 

    More importantly, we have to walk the walk. As Carol Spiewak, the guiding light of the Solebury Democrats, points out, We have to show that when Democrats are in charge, good things happen to local residents.”

  • Get Out the Vote, Please

     Contributed by Amara Willey. 

    If you live in Hunterdon County and you’re thinking of skipping this election, think again. There’s a hotly contested race for sheriff that needs our attention. Tell your friends and neighbors to get out there and vote.

    The incumbent sheriff, Fred Brown, was recently the only New Jersey sheriff to go to the White House in support of President Donald Trump’s lobbying efforts to pass legislation increasing border security. He joined almost 50 other sheriffs in this endeavor. Dominick Puzio, who joined us recently at an ILNH meeting, is vying for his seat, has a common-sense platform addressing drug addiction and supporting local police efforts in all communities, regardless of sexual orientation, race, creed, color or religion.

    In New Jersey, the other key races are for Assembly and Freeholder. In LD16, Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman are looking to hold their NJ Assembly seats against their Republican challengers. LD15 incumbents Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Anthony Verrelli may have a bit easier time, but never, ever take anything for granted and be sure to get out and vote.  In Hunterdon County politics, Cullen McAuliffe takes another run to secure a Democratic seat on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. 

    In Pennsylvania, the races are for judges, who are elected officials. Charissa Liller, Jessica VanderKam and Jordan Yaeger have secured the Democratic Committee endorsement for the bench in the Court of Common Pleas. 

    Sources:

    https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/hunterdon-county/2018/09/05/hunterdon-county-sheriff-fred-brown-white-house/1202028002/ 

    https://www.puzioforsheriff.com/platform

    Mary Jane Legere with Patrick Artur, a senior and former first grade student of hers, at  a voter registration table outside the cafeteria at South Hunterdon Regional High School. They registered five new voters that day. History teacher, Christine Deiley, facilitated and is teaching her students the importance of registering and becoming active voters.

  • ILNH GOTV GEARS UP AND WE NEED YOU!

    Contributed by Elycia Lerman.

    It’s that time when we need to start pulling together to put the people in office who will best represent us elected officials. As an activist organization, each one of us needs to make a personal commitment to support Get Out The Vote – aka GOTV – efforts, and here’s an overview of what’s to come, with a request to make a pledge to be part of this year’s and next’s Blue Wave. 

    We’ve drafted our 2019 plans, and are outlining how we’ll cover the short distance to the 2020 election. Familiar efforts like canvassing, postcarding and voter registration will be part of the mix. We’ll offer educational activities to help people feel comfortable with traditional outreach efforts, such as canvassing, phone banking, etc., and calendar opportunities to partner with candidate campaigns and national efforts like MoveOn’s texting campaigns and PostCards to Voters. Our voter registration and VBM awareness activities will kick up, with tables on the street, at markets and other public places, and reminders to students and others about the correct process to vote by mail so they’re sure to be counted. 

    In addition to these basic tools, ILNH and other local activist organizations are working with an organization called Changing The Conversation Together to learn and use deep canvassing. Cindi wrote about this in the last newsletter, but in summary, this is a different tactic than canvassing for a candidate and instead, engages voters in value-based conversations on issues. Our pilot training and canvassing experience will take place on Sept 22, and will initially be focused on flipping PA CD01, which went for Trump in 2016, but Obama in the previous election. It is a full-day commitment, with two and a half hours of training, two hours of canvassing, then two hours of debrief from the canvassing. Once trained, the skills can be applied to any campaign. We still have room and hope you’ll join us!  

    If you’re as anxious as we are about turning the direction of the country around, and seeing more progressive values come to the forefront, you know that it will take all hands on deck. We’re hoping our volunteers will make a pledge – a number of hours, number of postcards, texts, etc – that you will commit to securing the outcome we truly want to see on a local, state and national level this year and next. As always, we’ll make it fun as we track all of our awesome efforts and watch the collective experience grow. Remember the Flipper Challenge from last year? 

    We also need people to step up and lead or manage portions of this massive effort. Consider joining the GOTV team. We have a new Slack GOTV channel to sign into (old ones have been archived). If you’re not on Slack and want to participate, send an email to info@ilnhclone.indivisible.blue or Elaine Clisham.