IN THIS ISSUE

MVCAN News

Upcoming Events

MVCAN Community BBQ SUN July 16, 4-7 pm! See below

BRAND NEW! Exclusive to MVCAN Members:

WORKSHOPS FOR WINNING ORGANIZING TRAININGS START JULY 23 See below

Important Actions You Can Take NOW

Keep up the pressure on heath care!

Action Team Info

MVCAN NEWS

12 MVCAN MEMBERS MARCHED WITH JARED HUFFMAN IN THE CORTE MADERA/ LARKSPUR JULY 4TH PARADE as part of a large and spirited contingent. We continue to have a good relationship with our local representative because he is fighting for many things that we believe in.

Photo by Elliot Karlan

Photo by Lippy

SEVERAL MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED THE HEALTH CARE TOWN HALL SPONSORED BY STATE SEN. MARK McGUIRE AND STATE ASSEMBLYMAN MARC LEVINE. A packed house heard about Single Payer Health Care in CA from a panel that included the bill's authors, CA Senator Ricardo Lara and the CA Nurses Association. According to MVCAN's David Donnenfield, who was present, "The bill is important for the country because if it goes into effect, it becomes a proof-of-concept for the nation." He also predicts a "nasty and protracted fight". McGuire and Levine publicly declared their support for the measure.

MVCAN PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST TUESDAY ART WALK at Once Around in downtown Mill Valley. Highlights of the event included the unveiling of Tiburon artist Diane Green's new protest painting, The Wall, and the completion of the Mad Hatters Knitting Group's giant hat, which was displayed on Lytton Square.

Thank you Once Around and Louise Dockstader for supporting Resistance art and community. Thank you Mad Hatters for your creativity and contributions to MVCAN! We urge you to visit Once Around, 75 Throckmorton Ave., to see The Wall in person.




Top to Bottom: Diane Green, The Wall, Mad Hatter Traci Shiro, Louise Dockstader (left) and the Mad Hatters

Photos: Fabrice Florin // The Wall Photo: Diane Green

BBQ Poster Illustration and Design: Craig Frazier

MVCAN DUMP TRUMP MEMBER DAVID DONNENFIELD TRAVELED TO SACRAMENTO to volunteer as an observer in the CA Democratic Party Review Committee Audit to help ensure the fairness of Democratic Party elections in CA. MVCAN-backed CA Dem. Party Chair candidate Kimberly Ellis is still calling for a forensic audit of the election, and this audit was a precursor to Kimberly's audit, should her case move forward. David reports:

"We studied the ballots ... and recorded any irregularities, improprieties, and suspicious activity. I myself recorded numerous irregularities, from an invalid proxy ballot to a disqualified delegate ballot to markings with different colored inks. The Kimberly campaign released a memo yesterday that revealed that our process identified 223 issues worthy of full investigation. And that’s what happens next — these 'complaints' get referred to a review board made up of, you guessed it, Eric Bauman (Kimberly's opponent)'s supporters. They will determine the validity of said complaints and adjust the vote accordingly. Of course, much of this will be a judgement call, so look for the Ellis campaign to challenge these results and demand an independent audit. How long will this process then go on? We just have to take things step by step because it’s too early to prognosticate."

 

MVCAN ECO WARRIOR TEAM MEMBER BOB HARLOW TRAVELED TO SACRAMENTO to join members of numerous environmental groups to advocate against the "Big Oil friendly" Cap-and-Trade bill that Governor Brown appears poised to renew,  and to show support for the California Clean Energy Act of 2017. See below to actions you can take to support these issues.

SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS/IMMIGRATION TEAM HAVE BEEN HELPING TO ORGANIZE A RAPID RESPONSE NETWORK IN MARIN to provide information and support to immigrants subject to ICE detention and deportation.  MVCAN has nominated two representatives for Mill Valley's Tolerance Task Force, which is being put together by MV Mayor Jessica Sloan and Councilmember Sashi McEntee in response to racist incidents including Nazi graffiti sprayed around town. Lisa Ristorucci and Barbara Rowe are the nominees. Despite multiple appearances before the Mill Valley City Council, we have so far not succeeded in getting a vote in support of SB54, the legislation that would provide sanctuary protections for all Californians.  However our pleas have not fallen on completely deaf ears; both Mayor Jessica Sloan and Vice Mayor Stephanie Moulton-Peters have let us know they support SB54 and are drafting a letter expressing their endorsement.  

 

MVCAN'S MARTHA TURE HAD A LETTER PUBLISHED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES about the need for health care reform.

MVCAN'S EXTENDED LEADERSHIP IS BEGINNING ITS SERIES OF ORGANIZING TRAININGS. The Workshops for Winning Trainings are now open to all MVCAN Members! See below for info.

MVCAN MEMBERS CONTINUED TO PHONE AND TEXT in local phone banks and from home to save the Affordable Care Act.

See below for more actions you can take to protect the ACA.



UPCOMING EVENTS

FEATURED EVENT: MVCAN COMMUNITY BBQ IN BOYLE PARK Sun., July 16!

The 1st 50 attendees receive a free Activist sweatshirt, courtesy of  Women Activist Tops and MVCAN member Burr Leonard, or a copy of  "Resist" the new political publication from The New Yorker's Françoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman, courtesy of MVCAN Member Lippy!

Put the next MVCAN Monthly Meetings in your calendar:

Sun., Aug. 6, 5-7 p.m., location TBA

Sun., Sept. 10, time and location TBA

In lieu of a monthly meeting in July, join the MVCAN BBQ - bring your family & friends!

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS INCLUDE:

JUST ANNOUNCED! WORKSHOPS FOR WINNING - EXCLUSIVE TRAINING - OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS

Want to strengthen your change-maker muscles so you can make a bigger impact? Participate in MVCAN's upcoming Workshops for Winning, Sun., July 23, 4:30-7 pm; Thurs., Aug. 3,  6:30-9 pm; and beyond! Participate in one or more workshops of your choice. For details and to RSVP, click here.

You'll learn how to keep volunteers, run effective meetings, choose winning strategies and activities, create compelling messaging, and more!

 

Additional events and actions can be found on the MVCAN.org Event Calendar and the MVCAN Team Pages. Please continue to check mvcan.org.



WEEKLY ACTION ITEMS


ACTION 1:  Action on the  Health Care  bill in the Senate is still of the highest priority. We must keep up the pressure!

If you can't attend one of the ACA phone banks (see below) please call.

The CREDO call action we are using has generated nearly 24,000 calls! Click here to link to this convenient automated tool that dials Republican senators that are swing votes. Script is included.

Call key Republican senators: Stop Trumpcare




ACTION 2: Make phone calls and send texts to protect the ACA.

We must keep the pressure up by calling swing Republicans and sympathetic voters in their districts who can directly lobby their representatives. New phone banks just announced!

Monday, July 17

4-6 p.m.

Home of  Elyse Foster, Mill Valley

RSVP to Elyse for address.

Wednesday, July 19

4-6 p.m.

Home of Carol Korenbrot, Tiburon

RSVP to Carol for address.


Please continue to check MVCAN's Facebook page for updates about new phone banks as they are scheduled.



ACTION 3: FROM MVCAN's ECO WARRIORS:

The Cap-and-Trade bill, AB 398, is out this morning, and it’s our worst nightmare. It has Big Oil's influence throughout and has to be stopped. The bill is replete with offsets, allowances, and tax breaks, and would prevent local Air Districts from regulating GHGs!

We must join our environmental justice allies in making sure that no cap-and-trade extension “preempts” Air Districts (yes, our own BAAQMD) and the Air Resources Board from exercising their authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. AB 398 currently proposes to leave all greenhouse gas regulation to an intentionally weak market mechanism. It’s obviously a counter-move to the almost-successful four-year effort to get BAAQMD to cap local refinery emissions. Regional air districts are the lead agencies for controlling stationary source pollution, and the only organizations with the decades of experience and resources to successfully monitor and regulate the local and global pollutants that are released together from refinery smokestacks.

It can be voted on as early as Thursday at 4 pm on the Senate floor!

Please make these quick calls today to State Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Marc Levine and ask them to oppose AB 398:

Senator Mike McGuire
phone:  (916) 651-4002          
Assemblyman Mark Levine Phone: (916) 319-2010  

(These are quick calls. The staff is just taking a count - pro or con)


AND JUST IN from the Eco Warriors:

MILL VALLEY VOTES TO GO DEEP GREEN THIS MONDAY, JULY 17TH!!  JOIN US for this historic vote!

This is one of the moments our team has been working toward! Please join us this coming Monday, 7/17 at 6:30 p.m., Mill Valley City Hall, 26 Corte Madera Ave., to show our support for Deep Green.

NOTE THAT WE NEED AS LARGE A SHOWING AS POSSIBLE to encourage Mill Valley to opt up to 100% renewable energy. One designated person will be speaking for our team during the public comment session and they will be asking for those in favor of Deep Green to please stand up, so the more people who stand, the better.

  • See the MV City Council Agenda here (DG is item #7).
  • Read the Report on 100% Renewable Energy Options that the Council will be reviewing here.


Thank you for taking these important actions!



ACTION TEAMS

Much of MVCAN's work is done in one of 10 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. Read more.

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. Read more.

Dump Trump's 25 active team members work on ways to remove Trump from power, with special focus on Russia collusion. This topic is hot! Read more.

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

The Economic Action team is here to answer the question: “Where can my money make the biggest difference?” They are focused on finding high leverage “investment opportunities” in the emerging Resistance movement. The team's recommendations will spotlight organizations that are laying the groundwork now for electoral victories in 2018 congressional races. Read more.


Education will be working on a series of salons to discuss critical education issues with MVCAN members. We anticipate these will begin in the fall. Read more.

Electoral works to elect candidates for the 2017 state house and governor races, and other targeted races from now through the mid-term elections, following the recommendations of the flippable.org team, who are analyzing and selecting winnable races. The Electoral team uses phone banks and travel to targeted districts to talk with voters through phone calls and door-to-door canvassing, voter registration, and campaign volunteering.

Please note: The Electoral Team will be taking a hiatus until Aug. 4. Please look under the Healthcare group listings for phone banks which will continue for the ACA throughout July. Read more.


Health Care is focusing on actions being taken to repeal the ACA, and on protecting health care coverage. They participate in advocacy and phone banking in conjunction with OFA Marin. Read more.

Tech supports MVCAN through technology. Read more.


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. Read more.


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.

Got a skill, talent and/or time? We need you! Contact Laura Boles and let her know how you might be able to help our growing Resistance group. We especially seek volunteers with web and video skills, and those who wish to welcome and orient new members. In a few hours a week, you can make a huge difference to multiple Resistance members and actions!


Thank you for all you do!

– June, Bernard, Suz, Danny, Eileen, and everyone at MVCAN


Please note: No Wag next week. The Wag will be published occasionally through summer.

See MVCAN’s website