VALENTINE CELEBRATION IN DEPOT PLAZA

(MVCAN co-sponsor)

Photo: Love Lives in Marin

Our MVCAN Civil Rights/Immigration Team as been busily working with our community partner, the Marin Interfaith Council, to put on this fun and moving event. Join us as we celebrate the importance of inclusion and welcoming everyone in our community. This is a great local opportunity to celebrate a special Valentine’s Day in Marin.

Marin Interfaith Council/ Love Lives in Marin and MVCAN present:

Love Includes Everyone: A Musical Rally

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 4 pm - 5 pm

Depot Plaza, Mill Valley
(In front of the Depot Bookstore/Café at 87 Throckmorton Ave.)

Dynamic speakers:

Fatima Hansia - Islamic Center of Mill Valley

Sashi McEntee - Mill Valley City Council Member

J.C. Farr, III – Principal, Tamalpais High School

Musical Performances:

Group Ukulele Jubilee & Ukulele Friends

Ohana Freedom Singers—Gonna Take Us All

For more information, see: LoveLivesinMarin.org

MVCAN PHONE BANK TRAINING 102

MVCAN Electoral Team Leader Susan Bolle leading a phone banking training

We trained more than 65 new volunteers to text and phone bank last Saturday! Join us this Saturday for more opportunities to train.

Phone Bank Training “102”

Saturday, Feb. 10, 1 pm - 3 pm, Sausalito

This is higher level phone bank training for those who have called voters before or those who have taken Phone Bank 101. The training includes personal story creation and use of the auto-dial for Beto O'Rourke's Senate race.

Register here for more details and directions on Phone Bank Training 102.

Please bring your charged cell phone AND your laptop, iPad or tablet.

Please note: The Feb. 10 Text Bank Training is full! The same training will be offered Mar. 3 and Mar. 17. (Stay tuned for opportunities to sign-up.) There are still spots for Phone Bank Training 102 – for those who have phone bank experience and would like to kick up their game. See above. Register here.

Regular Phone and Text Banking

To attend regular working phone and text banks Feb. 17, Feb. 24 and Mar. 3, register here. We will be calling voters in CA-10 and other races. We'll continue to text for Beto O'Rourke in TX but may add additional campaigns.  For more details and directions, register here. All attendees must bring their charged cell phones AND laptop, iPad or tablet.

CANVASSING IN MODESTO WITH SWING LEFT MARIN

Join with other MVCANers and sign up to canvass in Modesto on Saturday, Feb. 24. Volunteers will be laying the groundwork for unseating Jeff Denham (R)-CD10 in Nov. 2018, by visiting Democratic voters in Modesto as part of a locally-based effort to activate them prior to the election. Unlike the monthly Tracy canvasses, this action does NOT require a monthly commitment and can be done as a one-day event. We look forward to seeing you there and appreciate your interest in helping to Flip CA-10 Blue in 2018!

Canvassing in Modesto

Saturday, Feb. 24, 10 am - 2 pm

No previous experience is needed - training will be provided.

To register, please do BOTH of the following 2 steps:

1. Respond "yes" to participate to Bridget Gleason, Swing Left Marin co-lead.

AND

1. Register by going to this link.

If you have friends who wish to attend as well, please make sure that they register individually.

If you wish to carpool, contact Bridget Gleason from Swing Left Marin 510.910.4893. We will be leaving from the Larkspur Ferry terminal at 8 AM.

DEMOCRACY CAFE

Graphic: Fabrice Florin

Democracy Cafe on Youth In Action

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2pm - 5 pm

O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, 616 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley

Get your free ticket now at https://democafe.eventbrite.com/   .

(Donations are welcome, if you would like to help pay for this event.)

Come make art, music and poetry with young peopleWe will feature music and poetry by singer/songwriters Matt Jaffe, Patrick Maley and poet klipschutz.

A group of high school activists led by Jake Cohen will engage us in a group discussion on how young people can take political action.

You are also welcome to come create your own political signs — and brainstorm ideas for our next political parade float.

Democracy Cafe is a new, independent group in Marin, offering a series of free art, music and social events. It is hosted by a group of Marin artists and activists led by Fabrice Florin. Democracy Cafe builds community and drives social change through creative expression and civic engagement.

MVCAN RAPID MOBILIZATION: IF TRUMP FIRES MUELLER

MVCAN ACTION OF THE WEEK: CODE RED MOBILIZATION ALERT SIGN-UP!!

Please sign up today so that you will immediately, without delay, receive the national text alert from MoveOn.org when Code Red is activated. After you click sign up go to the right-hand side of the page and select “San Rafael” from the list of cities in California. Then page down and  click on “Sign Up to Attend” hosted by Danny A (MVCAN’s Danny Altman). When the national MoveOn alert occurs, it will also trigger us to send a MVCAN alert to our members via email.

Firing Mueller or any other outrageous act of obstruction by the Republicans would be a constitutional crisis for our country. It would demand an immediate and unequivocal response to show that we will not tolerate abuse of power from Donald Trump. People’s responses in the minutes and hours following a power grab will be critical in dictating what happens next, and whether Congress will do anything to stand up to Trump.

IF MUELLER OR ROSENSTEIN ARE FIRED, WE NEED TO TAKE TO THE STREETS!

On a national level, MoveOn.org has organized a rapid response plan for this scenario, with progressive organizations nationwide signing up to host peaceful “Nobody is Above the Law” rallies. There are now more than 700 rallies planned, with with more than 200,000 people pre-registered! Join nearly 900 Marin residents who have already signed up for the alert!

MVCAN, along with our partners in the Marin Leaders’ Network, has a rapid response plan organized if Trump removes Mueller (or commits some other outrageous act). We are collaborating with all of the other Marin progressive groups in hosting a Marin-wide rally in a single location to have better visibility and also make it easier for the media and our elected officials to attend.

Event: “Nobody is Above the Law” Rally

Location:Court Street Plaza, 4th St (in front of Coldstone Creamery)  between A St. and Lootens Place, San Rafael.

Rallies will begin hours after news breaks of a Mueller firing. (If another major obstruction action occurs, please be on alert for a “GO” message from MoveOn.org   or MVCAN, delivered by email.)

• If Mueller is fired BEFORE 2 P.M. local time —>  events will begin @ 5 P.M. local time,

If Mueller is fired AFTER 2 P.M. local time —> events will begin @ noon local time the following day.

ATTEND SURJ: SHOW UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE EVENT

SURJ is a national group that supports white people in becoming more effective allies in the multi-racial movement for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for racial justice with passion and accountability.

Guest Speaker: Paul Kivel

Paul is a long-time activist and organizer for racial, gender and economic justice. He will discuss his landmark book Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice.  As many of you may remember, Paul headlined the first Race Matters healing workshop here in Marin in September 2017.  We are so fortunate to host him again, as the interest in racial justice in Marin is clearly growing!

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2 pm - 4:30 pm

YWCA, 4380 Redwood Highway, Suite A-1, San Rafael, CA

RSVP here.

This fundraising event is sponsored by SURJ Marin and YWCA of Marin.

MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING SAVE THE DATE! SUN. MAR 4, 4-5:30 PM

Marin Supervisor Kate Sears speaking at Jan. 7 MVCAN monthly meeting. Photo: Danny Altman

Save the date for our March 4 MVCAN monthly meeting. Our guest speaker will be Andrea Miller, the President of the National Institute for Reproductive Health and NIRH Action Fund. With the fight for reproductive freedom more urgent than ever, Andrea will offer a snapshot of the state of women's reproductive rights nationwide, talk about recent successes, and how we can get involved.

REPORT FROM THE MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING FEB. 4

Photo: Bill Jansen

Last Sunday, 80+ members filed into the community center for a briefing on what it will take for a BIG BLUE WAVE in 2018. (Thanks to all who showed up, despite it being Super Bowl Sunday and incredibly distracting beautiful weather!)

Our featured speaker was Matt Ewing, Chief Community Officer of Swing Left, who gave us the background needed to connect our 2018 canvassing strategy to that of Swing Left in Congressional Districts in California that are red.

Burr Leonard gave an inspiring personal account of what she had already experienced as an MVCAN member joining up with Swing Left Marin and Tracy GO (Grassroots Organizing) Team.

Updating us on Team Tracy events in CD10, Bridget Gleason and Linda Herman from Swing Left Marin described how to join in to make a regular ‘Monthly Commitment’ or a ‘Come When You Can’ approach to voter registration and canvassing in CD10.  

Ron Wynn shared what we could do for Airflift.fund -- the online philanthropy organized by MVCAN to fund local grassroots activists in winnable districts around the country year-round connecting with their own communities. With vivid pictures he showed how this was our chance to mobilize people we can connect with no other way. He made it clear that an essential part of the MVCAN strategy for 2018 is providing funds for people of diverse backgrounds to reach out and work on getting out the vote, reversing voter suppression, and organizing on college campuses year-round.

Read more about Airlift below.

With our time, our contributions, and our personal and group efforts we are mobilizing for Action!

Photos: Danny Altman

EXCITING NEWS FROM THE MARIN BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' MEETING

Photo: David Kunhardt

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE OPENING OF COASTAL WATERS TO OIL AND GAS DRILLING WAS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED at the Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 30.

Thank you to MVCAN Eco Warrior members, Jenny Tomkins and Marilyn Price, who spoke in support of the resolution by Marin Supervisors Kate Sears and Dennis Rodoni opposing the Trump administration's plan to open coastal waters to oil and gas drilling.

Here is the text of this important resolution:

"NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the County of Marin supports:

(1) a ban on new drilling, fracking, and other well stimulation in federal and state waters off the California coast.

(2) a prohibition of any new federal oil and gas leases in the Pacific, Atlantic or Arctic oceans and the eastern Gulf of Mexico — areas currently protected from new leases.

3) a rapid phase-out of all oil and gas extraction off the California coast on a rapid schedule... "

Thank you MVCAN members for attending the Rally and March in Sacramento Feb. 8 to protest off-shore drilling in CA!

Pictured: MVCAN members Jennifer Tompkins and Liz Schumacher

REPORT FROM MEETING WITH MILL VALLEY MAYOR

Photo: Eileen Fisher

Mill Valley Mayor Stephanie Moulton-Peters and City Council Member Jim Wickham met with MVCAN leadership last Thursday. Together, we identified areas of mutual interest–such as the upcoming Valentine Day’s celebration, "Love Lives in Marin" Campaign kickoff in Depot Plaza Feb. 14 (see above)–and agreed to work together and meet regularly to explore areas of mutual interest.

We also emphasized the MVCAN priority to get local government officials to think beyond our narrow borders to issues which impact Mill Valley constituents in a broader sense.  Our next meeting is scheduled for late March. Stay tuned!

AIRLIFT UPDATE