FEATURED IN THIS WEEK’S MVCAN NEWSLETTER (3/14/21):

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIONS

  1. JOIN US FOR OUR MARCH MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING - Sunday March 21, 5pm - 6pm, Zoom link below

  2. LOBBY SENATOR FEINSTEIN: SIGN PETITION ON THE FILIBUSTER

  3. SIGN UP TO START POSTCARDING TO VOTERS IN VIRGINIA

  4. DONATIONS NEEDED: CONTRIBUTE BABY SUPPLIES TO NEW MOMS IN THE CANAL DISTRICT

  5. JOIN US FOR MVCAN IMMIGRATION/CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM MEETING - Weds. April 7, 7pm - 8pm

  6. SPECIAL REPORT ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION ISSUES IN MILL VALLEY

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JOIN US FOR OUR MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING

Sunday March 21, 5pm - 6pm


We have a great program planned for next Sunday’s meeting!

Get updated on Mill Valley racial justice issues and the new iteration of the former City Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, now called the Mill Valley Force for Racial Justice.

We’ll have an update from Airlift with an exciting presentation and Q and A from a grassroots group - Pennsylvania Stands Up - about their 2020 success in swinging the election and future plans for this year.

In an update from the Electoral Team, Susan Bolle will discuss recent national voter suppression initiatives and effective responses we can mount.


HOW TO JOIN THE ZOOM MONTHLY MEETING - SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 5PM

JOIN ZOOM MEETING

Please note there is a new meeting ID for the March 21 meeting.

Meeting ID: 978 6426 9908

Passcode: mvcan

Please join us for an exciting and relevant meeting!

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ASAP: SIGN SENATOR FEINSTEIN’S PETITION ON THE FILIBUSTER - IT’S TIMELY AND TIME SENSITIVE!

Participate in the advocacy and lobbying campaign to change Senator Dianne Feinstein's position on the filibuster.

Indivisible Marin and others have launched a coordinated campaign to convince Senator Feinstein to commit to vote to swiftly end the filibuster. The messaging strategy is to highlight the urgency of passing the “For the People Act" (voting rights bill) given that its mandated “independent redistricting commissions” must be formed in time to prevent gerrymandered Congressional district lines that last the next decade.

Passing the "For The People Act" will very likely determine whether Democrats hold on to the House of Representatives in 2022 and more throughout the coming decade.

IMPORTANT Time dependent: the petition with names to date will be delivered to Feinstein's office by Monday, March 15, (but you may continue to sign it thereafter.) There will be a press conference Tuesday, March 16.


SIGN THE SENATOR FEINSTEIN PETITION:

Sign the petition for CA constituents. Since it is a very public form of advocacy, it could really move the needle - IF we get a high number of signatories. With your help, it will circulate far and wide across the state.

Feinstein's office confirmed to us directly that they count petition

signatures equally to phone calls and emails when tabulating constituent

sentiments. So please sign!

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SIGN UP TO POSTCARD TO VIRGINIA

Start Now to Meet the Deadline of April 17!

Send postcards to voters in Virginia - It’s starting again! Remember that Virginia has elections for the entire state government in November of odd years. It is imperative that Democrats there hold on to their thin “trifecta” so that they can continue their great strides and enact a more progressive legislative path.

We are thrilled to announce that we're again teaming up with Reclaim our Vote (ROV) to write postcards to over 460,000 Virginian voters of color. We will be sending postcards to voters who have been deactivated from the Virginia Voter rolls and need to re-register in time for the June primary.

IMPORTANT: Reclaim Our Vote requires the use of their specially designed postcards and culturally sensitive script.

HOW TO GET ROV POSTCARDS:

The ROV postcards are being offered at the discounted price of under 5 cents per card at Network NOVA's BADASS Boutique.

Because of the fast turnaround time for this campaign, we suggest you order your ROV postcards today! (Note: you will be ordering the postcards from BADASS Boutique, but you will need to get the addresses for Virginia from Bob Haar. See below.)

HOW TO GET POSTCARD ADDRESSES:

Please email Bob Haar at politicalbobh@gmail.com for any questions and to let him know how many addresses you want, and he will email them to you.

The script and county specific voter registration information will be provided when you get addresses.

POSTCARD DEADLINES:

All postcards must be mailed by April 17 to give voters plenty of time to re-register before the May 18 voter registration deadline for the June 8, 2021 primary.

To familiarize yourself with ROV and their postcard writing process, ROV asked us to make sure you watch their Postcard Video.

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IMMIGRANT CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND & INFANT SUPPLIES


"High-risk, high-poverty essential workers are facing multiple challenges that other groups are not," says Omar Carrera (above) who runs the Canal Alliance in Marin.

Your donation to the Canal Alliance will help hardworking and vulnerable immigrants put food on the table, pay for rent and utilities, and cover other urgent expenses. The Canal Alliance has been helping its community with great effectiveness and efficiency for many months now - let’s help them carry on!

Click here: DONATE TO CANAL ALLIANCE.

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE DiRECTLY HELPING INFANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES:

Donate needed infant supplies - the Canal Alliance is collecting DIAPERS (size 5-6), BABY WIPES, and VISA gift cards to help them bridge this difficult time.

The Canal office is open only for limited hours so donations can be dropped at the home of Barbara Rowe in Strawberry. Please call or email for address at barbrowe@aol.com, 415-686-1549. (Leave a phone message if she doesn’t answer.) Also, contact Barbara if a Terra Linda drop-off is easier for you.

From Barb Rowe, “Thank you so much for responding to the needs of young families in the Canal during this Covid pandemic. We have been able to take many diapers and baby wipes up that you have donated.”

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MVCAN IMMIGRATION/CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM MEETING                              Weds. April 7, 7pm- 8pm

Come one and all and join our action oriented Civil Rights/Immigration team at their monthly meeting. The group will continue to work on issues related to Mill Valley racial justice activism, the Golden Gate Village, Marin County issues and more.

To join the Zoom meeting on Weds. April 7 at 7pm, click:

JOIN ZOOM MEETING

Meeting ID: 825 4335 1296

Passcode: 411985

If you have any questions, please contact info@MVCAN.org.

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MILL VALLEY DIVERSITY, EQUALITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) TASK FORCE UPDATE


Briefly, we’d like to review here some of the recent anti-racism efforts in Mill Valley, which will also be covered in the MVCAN Monthly Meeting, Sun. March 21.

In July 2020, the Mill Valley City Council authorized formation of a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force with 22 committed, activist members. Their comprehensive final report delivered powerful research and comprehensive recommendations to the city of Mill Valley in December 2020. (See the Full DEI Task Force Report: HERE.)

In a disappointing response to the DEI report, the city council responded in February with a 40-page staff report (Mill Valley City Staff Report) which shut out DEI task force members from meaningful collaboration during the report development. The city’s proposals as documented in the staff report were superficial, dismissive of the critical nature of the demands, and ultimately rejected virtually all key recommendations made by the BIPOC-led task force.  

Unfortunately, without exception, the five city council members unequivocally accepted the staff report recommendations, leaving out almost all of the DEI task force’s most critical recommendations. This unanimous vote took place despite scores of moving and convincing resident appeals, many from people of color, via public comments over 2 ½ hours at the February 18 Mill Valley City Council meeting (in addition to hundreds of similar comments made to the City Council since June 2020). See meeting link below. The city council members who voted against the DEI recommendations are: Mayor Sashi McEntee, Vice Mayor John McCauley, Councilmember Jim Wickham, Councilmember Urban Carmel, and Councilmember Tricia Ossa.

In rejecting the DEI Task Force recommendations, the city council took the absurd approach: enough is being done already, we have this well under control going forward, and you (DEI TF and BIPOC ) must trust us when we tell you that you don’t want or need a permanent DEI commission, formal race equity plan, or ANY additional Police oversight.

DEI Task Force Regroups to Form “Mill Valley Force 4 Racial Justice”

The members of the disbanded DEI Task Force have now formed a new community-based advocacy group called the “Mill Valley Force 4 Racial Justice,” which includes several MVCAN members. The DEI Task Force members also composed a powerful rebuttal to the city plan provided to the MV City Council (8 pages). See DEI Rebuttal.

To join the MV Force 4 Racial Justice, please email millvalleydei@gmail.com.

We Need a Change in Mill Valley City Leadership

For real changes to racial justice policy in our town, we need major city leadership change. We need city leaders who understand the gravity and urgency of the task. We need leaders who will focus adequate resources on these issues, as well as provide appropriate deference to the need to put people of color in leadership and decision-making roles.

Recent Press Criticizes Racism In Marin And Mill Valley

A series of negative press reports have come out about Mill Valley, which expose persistent structural racism and call out the City Government for its failure to enact the necessary changes to the status quo. We will use this public exposure and other inputs to continue pressure on the Mill Valley City Council to respond appropriately to resident needs.

MV City Council Meeting Feb 18

It’s a long meeting but really worth skimming sections to hear powerful advocate voices as well as the weak and dismissive responses at the end from City Council members. All five are utterly unable to acknowledge and act upon what they just heard.


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COMING SOON : SPECIAL 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER


Our jam-packed 4th Anniversary Issue of the newsletter will honor our work since MVCAN’s inception in November, 2016 and give thanks to the many wonderful activists who made it all happen.

So keep a lookout in your email!


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JOIN AN ACTION TEAM

WANT TO GET MORE INVOLVED in a specific issue or support area? Much of MVCAN's work is done in one of our 10 awesome action teams. Click the team name to read their latest news and find their next meeting.

Civil Rights/Immigration battles for justice and fair treatment of women, immigrants, working people and followers of all faiths.

Communications works on strategy, branding, messaging and program development for MVCAN. They are looking for bright ideas and people who want to make them happen.

Eco Team are engaged in change at the local, state and national levels, to impact the CA carbon tax, climate change, and community outreach and action.

The Economic Action team runs AIRLIFT, our first national project. AIRLIFT funnels money to grassroots groups in winnable 2018 districts. These are seriously vetted groups that work all year round in their communities–they get tangible results without blowing through millions of dollars. Read about Airlift in the Huffington Post .

Electoral The Electoral Team is hard at work to take back our country in battleground states all over the country this November...voters start voting in September! We're calling, texting and sending letters & postcards to defend our hard-won House seats, win the Presidency, and take back the Senate. Our team of experienced electoral leaders will help get you started to talk to voters to make sure they are registered and ready to VOTE THEM OUT. We feature Voter Communication training and we'll coach you every step of the way. Join us to take back our country!

The Events team creates special events to engage our friends and neighbors to take political action with MVCAN.

Health Care is forging ahead after their successful fight over the repeal/replace of ACA.

Tech supports MVCAN through technology.

Women's Rights fundraises and canvasses for NARAL and Planned Parenthood; supports women in public office(s); and engages in local, state and federal legislation for women's protection and rights.


NEW TO MVCAN?

Visit MVCAN.org to learn about the organization and strategies, join a team, read past MVCAN newsletters, and gain helpful Resistance tools.

WANT TO VOLUNTEER YOUR SKILLS OR TALENTS?

Numerous positions and jobs are available – one-time or ongoing.  Contact volunteer@mvcan.org.

Thank you for all you do!
– June, Bernard, Eileen, Rebecca, and everyone at MVCAN

MVCAN News brought to you by June, Annie and Eileen


We are Mill Valley and Southern Marin residents standing up for American values and democracy!