Volunteer Opportunities through Election Day!

Democrats in Berks, Chester, and Montgomery County have joined together in organizing the Tri-County Democratic Coordinated Campaign, with an office at 260 E High Street, Pottstown, PA.  Everyone needs help with calls, door knocking…. feel free to reach out to them. Participating candidates are conducting canvassing, phone banking, fundraising, training, and other activities from this office. All are welcome to come by! For additional information, contact Marcia Longeway (484) 644-3986.

In Upper Perkiomen Valley, there will be one final GOTV (Get  Out The Vote) effort next weekend, November 3rd and 4th, 2018.  The Area 2 Democratic Committee will have door hangers for Red Hill, Pennsburg and E Greenville Voters-  1000 to be distributed!

One side will identify all our candidates in that area, Andy Lee to Gov.  Wolf. The other side will have a sample of the “goldenrod” – a copy of the sample ballot listing Democratic candidates, that are handed out at the polls by volunteers for the Democrats – with a request for the recipient to take it to the polls with them. Please email area2dems@gmail.com or updemclub@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering.

ELECTION DAY!!!!    Folks are needed to help at the polls!   Most needed right now are volunteers for Green Lane Borough, and the three polling places in Upper Hanover Township. Volunteers will be handing out sample ballots and candidate information, and answering the occasional question about using the voting machines, voting in general (e.g. identification cards are NOT required to vote), and being present if anyone has trouble voting (and then calling Area2 or the county voting office). Volunteers can help outside any polling spot (not just where you vote), for a one or two or more hours. Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Please email area2dems@gmail.com or updemclub@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering.

Campaign and Voter Registration Volunteers Needed!

Local democrats will be canvassing and dropping off door hangers for Linda Fields (the Democratic candidate running against Bob Mensch for PA State Senate) this week and weekend here in the Upper Perk Valley. If you would be interested in helping out the campaign for a few hours, please contact Colleen Dunlap at cdunlap20@gmail.com who is organizing this weekend’s effort on the campaign’s behalf.

And in nearby Lehigh Valley, on this last weekend before PA Voter Registration closes for the November 2018 election, the Future Coalition is organizing voter registration drives;

“We’ll be at together at street fairs, festivals, and farmers markets with clipboards, T-shirts, signs, a giant inflatable T-rex, a boombox and costumes (BYOC a.k.a. bring your own costume). We’re in this together! With you, we can make sure hundreds of young people can vote in this year’s once-in-a-lifetime midterm elections.”

Check out the details and signup to volunteer this weekend at https://fcregistrationweekend.splashthat.com/

 

If you know of any other campaign volunteer efforts locally, or are organizing any efforts, please let us know and we’ll happily help spread the word (and hopefully get you some volunteers!)

FAIR Districts Pa Events (end gerrymandering movement)

Several local informational events have been scheduled by and for FAIR Districts PA, who will talking about gerrymandering (drawing congressional and state house district lines based on party voter registration to restrict/deny competitive races); How To Make Your Vote Count. 

New comers and current members are welcome!
Join FDPA Montgomery County for a presentation about gerrymandering in Pennsylvania and learn about the ways you can help reform the redistricting process. There will be a brief presentation and then, based on attendance and interest areas, we will break into 2 to 5 groups. This will be a great way to meet other members in your district. You will learn about the various ways we are engaging legislators and the media to draw attention to the need for redistricting reform.

Lansdale Public Library (301 Vine St, Lansdale, PA)  – Wednesday, September 20, 2017; 7 p.m.

Pottstown Public Library (500 E High St, Pottstown, PA) – Tuesday, September 26, 2017; 7 p.m.

Upper Perkiomen Valley Library (350 Main St, Red Hill, PA) – Wednesday, September 27, 2017; 7 p.m.

While the current occupant of the White House and the members of the Republican Party in Congress have record low approval ratings, and current predictions and polling show Democrats getting the majority of the votes in 2018 midterm elections, it is still quite possible that the Republicans will retain control of the House due to gerrymandered districts. This is why the districts were drawn and why it is so important to both win state house races (in most states, the state legislature draws the district lines every 10 years, after the census count) and to revisit and change who and how congressional districts are created.

Check out these articles; Democrats are projected to win more than 54% of the vote in the 2018 House elections, but only pick up 12 seats thanks to heavily gerrymandered Congressional districts. and this New Yorker article and book review about how, while gerrymandering has always been around to some degree, the Republicans took it to an all new, unprecedented level of distortion and contortion (which accounts for the most bizarre looking districts crossing county lines and dividing neighborhoods); Drawing the Line: How redistricting turned America from blue to red.

 

 

UPDC Member, Louise Doskow, will speak at Philadelphia March for Science!

Louise Doskow, a local member of the Upper Perkiomen Democratic Club, and active member of the Democratic Party, has been invited to be a speaker at the April 22nd, 2017 March for Science in Philadelphia! She has been told that she has 2-3 minutes to talk (must be a lot of speakers planned for the day – up to 2 hours worth, according to their Facebook page!).

The Philadelphia March for Science starts at City Hall and ends at Penns Landing.

We will assemble at 10:00am on the south side of City Hall (Juniper Street). The March will kick-off promptly at 11:00am and will go down Market Street to Front Street, Front Street to Chestnut Street and then over Chestnut Street to Penn’s Landing – Great Plaza.

Entertainment will begin at 11:30am featuring local band, The Really Cooks, and the March for Science PHL speakers will begin at 12noon. The event will end by 2pm.

Confirmed speakers at the Saturday event include Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Derrik Pitts, Chief Astronomer and Director of the Fels Planetarium at The Franklin Institute, Beth Goldstein-Huxen, Math Teacher, Gerrymandering Educator, and Voting Rights Activist, and our own Louise Doskow, Public Education Advocate and Defender of Science Education and former chemist and medical researcher.

Sounds like a great way to spend Earth Day to me!

2 Major Marches in April

The March for Science will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017 (Earth Day) in 428 spots around the world.

The goal of the march itself is to highlight the valuable public service role science plays in society and policy and demonstrate the deep public support for science. The March for Science movement has goals that extend long past gathering a crowd on April 22.  As a lasting national organization, we will encourage marchers to uphold our shared values and take specific actions, including strengthening the bonds between scientists and the public, engaging in ongoing science education, fighting discrimination in our own institutions and our communities, and insisting their legislators propose and enact evidence based policies.

March locations include Bethlehem (1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Payrow Plaza), Doylestown (noon – 2 p.m. starting at Starbucks, 10 N. Main Street),  Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

In Philadelphia:

Folks will assemble at 10:00 a.m. on the south side of City Hall (Juniper Street). The March will kick-off promptly at 11:00 a.m. and will go down Market street to Front street, Front street to Chestnut street and then over Chestnut street to Penn’s Landing – Great Plaza Entertainment will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the March for Science PHL speakers will begin at 12 noon. The event will end by 2 p.m.),

In Washington DC :

Participants can begin congregating at the National Mall at 8 AM. Our event will kick off at 9 AM with a teach-in and rally and end with a march through the streets of DC. Co-hosted with the Earth Day Network, the rally will be a call for politicians to implement science based policies, as well as a public celebration of science and the enormous public service it provides in our democracy, our economy, and in all our daily lives.

The rally will feature main stage speakers and several large teach-in tents around the Mall where scientists, educators, and leaders from a wide variety of disciplines will discuss their work, effective science communication strategies, and training in public advocacy.

The following week, on Saturday, April 29, 2017, the People’s Climate Movement is organizing to March for climate, jobs, and justice to mark the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, focused on standing up for social, economic, and climate justice to be held in Washington, D.C.

On the 100th Day of the Trump Administration, we will be in the streets of Washington D.C. to show the world and our leaders that we will resist attacks on our people, our communities and our planet.

(They) are still confirming final details on exact march route and meeting locations, but it will be in the vicinity of the White House, Mall, and Capital — all highly accessible areas of Washington D.C.

I have heard of at least one bus trip going from our area down to the D.C. March on April 29th – Call Joan Rosiak at 215 234 9138 ASAP if you want to find out if there are any $40 seats left – there MAY still be room.

Joan R Update on Local Activism

I (Joan) urge everyone to attend any meeting that includes a speaker from Fair Districts PA. Their volunteer speakers explain gerrymandering in very understandable ways, with appropriate detail, and then the speaker outlines what Fair Districts PA  (FDPA) is proposing. This is an issue that must be dealt with in the near future (due to the 2020 census coming up), so there IS some urgency to this, as well as importance. (There will be a meeting in Collegeville at Ursinus College, 601 E. Main Street, on Monday, April 3, 2017 at 7 p.m. Fair Districts PA speaker Dr. Mark Schafer will discuss the history of gerrymandering in PA, its impacts on various communities, and Fair District PA’s proposed plan for redistricting reform. )

Huddles are grassroots groups, that, to my knowledge, were spawned by Indivisible.com (a good website to visit!). One huddle I’ve attended is in the outskirts of Phoenixville and they (FB private group is called “Mountain Movers of Chester and Montgomery Counties”) organized a FDPA speaker to speak at a Pottstown church. This was very successful 35 people were in attendance. They are planning other events, contacting politicians etc, and they have a bus hired for the 4/29/17Climate Change and Justice march in DC. –> Call me at 215 234 9138 ASAP if you want me to find out if there are any $40 seats left – there MAY still be room.

There IS another huddle I’ve heard of but  not yet attended any mtgs or any of their events. Their FB page is also private: “Indivisible Mid-Montgomery County”. They were meeting in Schwenksville I heard, but I have no confirmation of that. (One can also put in one’s zip code at Indivisible.com and discover public groups within 5, 20, 0r 50 miles.)

Also, I have my name on the primary ballot in Upper Frederick for the “Inspector of Elections” position. A small role, but, if any of our members lives in Upper Frederick, would you please ask them to vote for me (Joan Rosiak)?

guest blogger – Joan Rosiak