Weekly WAG
JOIN MVCAN in the Memorial Day Parade! No need to sign up. Come one and all to Old Mill School Monday at 10 am. More info below.
Photo by James Cacciatore of Edward Janne, JeanMarie Murphy, Paul Liberatore, Bamboodu Theater, Fabrice Florin, Suz Lipman, Charlene Lundgren Frischer, Danny Altman, Marti Roush
IN THIS ISSUE
What MVCAN Did This Week
Upcoming Events
Weekly Action Items
Action Team News
WHAT MVCAN DID THIS WEEK
3 MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED THE CA DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN SACRAMENTO to continue MVCAN's support of Kimberly Ellis for CA Democratic Party Chair. Ellis eventually lost the seat, pending an audit, by a mere 62 votes out of nearly 3,000, coming amazingly close for an upstart candidate running against the long-time chair of the LA Democratic Party, and generating a great deal of excitement and support at the convention. She garnered important endorsements from Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and others, in addition to MVCAN, who will continue to support her efforts, as well as the efforts of Democratic Party Chair Eric Bauman, and especially urge the party to uphold the principles MVCAN stands for. Thank you David Donnenfield, Kate Barrengos and Mike Cavanaugh (pictured below) for attending the convention, helping put Kimberly and MVCAN on the political map, and learning important skills for future efforts. Stay tuned for more about CA state politics.
Photos: David Donnenfield (Pink shirts are Kimberly Ellis supporters.)
5 MEMBERS OF MVCAN'S CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM MET WITH SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN'S STATE DIRECTOR to continue to advocate for an independent investigation of Trump’s Russia ties, in addition to her current work on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which will by its nature have to take place in the public eye. The most important message from Feinstein's office is that we all need to keep pushing for full-throttle investigations of Russian influence on Trump in the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. The fact that the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation won't necessarily help the American people understand what happened and what needs to be fixed.
MVCAN also urged Senator Feinstein to add to her office's caseload the cases of San Rafael residents Hugo Mejia and his colleague Rodrigo Nunez, who are being detained in jail without due process. MVCAN's Civil Rights/Immigration Team advocates this action you can take on their behalf. (Please see the full action below.) Representative Jared Huffman has been working hard on this case, and Senator Kamala Harris has joined in, and we think it's time that Senator Feinstein throw her influence behind this as well.
8 MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED A COMMUNITY IMMIGRANT DAY RALLY IN SAN RAFAEL IN SUPPORT OF HUGO MEJIA, AT WHICH CONGRESSMAN JARED HUFFMAN SPOKE. See above for more details about the case, and Congressman Huffman's advocacy. See Events, below, for a fundraiser for the Canal Alliance, and an opportunity to advocate for immigrants to the Mill Valley City Council.
Photos: Suz Lipman, Peter Graumann (pictured), Gail Donsky (bottom 2)
MEMBERS OF MVCAN'S CIVIL RIGHTS/IMMIGRATION TEAM ALSO JOINED THE CANAL ALLIANCE to represent MVCAN at Immigrant Day in Sacramento, where they demanded full protection of immigrants and celebrated immigrants as part of the fabric of California.
25+ MVCAN MEMBERS ATTENDED A FUNDRAISER THAT RAISED $5,000+ FOR SIERRA CLUB NORTH BAY. Congressman Jared Huffman addressed the crowd about his environmental work to preserve national parks and monuments from privatization and to fight the Dakota Access Pipeline and fracking on public lands. In addition, he fielded questions from MVCAN members about his support of Kimberly Ellis (he remained neutral) and his advocacy for women's rights.
Photo: Danny Altman
MEMBERS OF MVCAN'S CORE LEADERSHIP TEAM ALSO MET WITH CONGRESSMAN HUFFMAN'S AIDE to continue to support his work, including his new bill to strengthen ethical standards for political appointees in the executive branch, and his efforts on behalf of Hugo Mejia, and to urge his support of Kimberly Ellis for CA Democratic Party Chair.
MVCAN ATTENDED THE DEDICATION OF THE REDWOODS SENIORS FOR PEACE PLAQUE, which can be viewed at the corner of Camino Alto and Miller Aves.
MULTIPLE MVCAN MEMBERS PHONE BANKED for 3 Special Elections for House seats in Georgia (Ossoff), South Carolina (Parnell) and Montana (Quist), in addition to teaming with OFA Marin to text red state constituents in defense of the ACA. Note that there is no phone banking this week. MVCAN phone banking will resume Sat., June 3.
MVCAN MEMBERS ARE READYING FOR THE MEMORIAL DAY PARADE! MVCAN has been constructing a float under the direction of Fabrice Florin. It's not too late to join in! Join Thurs., May 25, 5pm to 8pm, to paint, assemble and decorate the final parts. Also, if you would like to sing along with us and hand out lyrics at the parade, please join us for a quick rehearsal and launch party on Sun., May 28, 2pm to 4pm. Sign up on Doodle. Then contact Fabrice on Facebook or email Laura Boles for more info and directions. Look for an upcoming story in the Marin IJ about the float and MVCAN!
March with us in the Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade! Bring the kids! Help us sign up new members! (info below)
Photos by Fabrice Florin of Marti Roush, Charlene Lundgren Frischer, JeanMarie Murphy, Danny Altman. (Fabrice, pictured.)
UPCOMING EVENTS
TUES 5/30 MILL VALLEY COMMUNITY MEETING 5:30-8:30 pm, Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto. Mobilize with MVCAN: Be there by 6:30 and if possible be prepared to speak in favor of Senate Bill 54, The California values act, which has been passed by CA. From the Courage Campaign:
The California Values Act (SB 54) is an urgent bill that would stop state resources from being used to aid Trump’s hateful anti-immigrant agenda.
Join the Mill Valley City Council to get an update on current city initiatives and events. Meet with Councilmembers and staff and share your questions and concerns. 5:30-7:00 Informal discussions with City Councilmembers, Department Heads & Staff. 7:00 - 8:00 Presentations, questions & answers. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. MVCAN will attend the City Council meeting Mon., 6/5 (info below). We advocate attending both meetings to make our concerns known to the city and fellow citizens.
WED 6/1 STANDING FOR JUSTICE: AN EVENING IN SUPPORT OF THE CANAL ALLIANCE 7 pm, Tam Valley Community Center, 203 Marin Ave. Join Roy Zimmerman, musical political satirist, and others in a benefit performance for Canal Alliance. Proceeds will fund programs that provide education and legal services for immigrant families in Marin. More info and purchase tickets here.
SAT 6/3 MARCH FOR TRUTH RALLY 2-4 pm, Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco. Join Indivisible SF and rallies across the U.S. to call for a fair and impartial investigation of Trump, and restoration of faith in our electoral system and the Office of the Presidency. More Info here.
MON 6/5 MILL VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING, 6:30 pm - exact time TBA, 26 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley. Please show your support at the next MV City Council Meeting, when the Civil Rights/Immigration Team urges the Council Members to endorse California SB 54, the California Values Act. Marin County Supervisors have endorsed the bill, which has passed in the Senate and is now in the Assembly's Public Safety and Judiciary Committees. Let's stand together to urge Mill Valley to join other Marin cities in ensuring the inclusion and safety of all our residents.
Learn about events, activities, meetings, and other ways to get involved on the mvcan.org event page. Bookmark this page so you can always find MVCAN's events.
WEEKLY ACTION ITEMS
For months now, even after hearing damning testimony, Republicans in both the House and Senate have failed to take seriously the threats to national security posed by the Trump administration’s ties to Russia. Although the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel is a welcome step towards protecting the integrity of the investigation into the Trump Administration’s collusion with Russia, it is highly probable that Trump’s next move will be to nominate one of his cronies to lead the FBI. A less than impartial FBI director will be in a prime position to hinder and throw obstacles in the way of a fair and rigorous investigation.
What to Do – Action Item 1
Contact Senators Feinstein and Harris.
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein: DC (202) 224-3841, SF (415) 393-0707, LA (310) 914-7300, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
- Sen. Kamala Harris: DC (202) 224-3553, Sacramento (916) 448-2787, SF (415) 355-9041, LA (213) 894-5000, SD (619) 239-3884, Fresno (559) 497-5109
ACTION 2: Hugo Mejia, a San Rafael construction worker and father of three, is STILL being held in a general population jail in Elk Grove, CA. May 24th is his 22nd day of detainment. His lawyer and Congressman Huffman are working relentlessly on his behalf.
ACTION 3: Make these calls today to continue to support legislation that has made California a leader in the Climate Change movement! The MVCAN Eco-Warriors are currently focusing their efforts on passing these important carbon pricing bills:
WHAT TO DO: Call Senator Mike McGuire to ask that he support SB-775: Tel 916-651-4002. More telephone numbers for Sen McGuire here. Send emails to: senator.mcguire@senate.ca.gov
AB 378 requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to take into account the social cost of carbon in their policies and to prioritize direct emission reductions. It also requires that no individual facility be allowed to increase it’s greenhouse gas emissions beyond the average of 2014-2016 levels.
WHAT TO DO: Call Senator Assemblymember Marc Levine to request that he support AB 378: Tel (916) 319-2010. More telephone numbers for Assemblyman Levine here. Click here to send an email.
ACTION TEAM REPORTS
Much of MVCAN's work is done in one of 9 action teams. See various team accomplishments and initiatives in Upcoming Events, above. 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.
Education is focusing on vouchers and Education Secretary DeVos' plan to privatize, Early Education funding, and the relationship between property taxes and school funding. 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. Read more. Note: No phone bank this week. The next phone bank is Sat., June 3.
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 supports and fundraises for Planned Parenthood and its clinics, opposes anti-abortion bills, and engages in other advocacy around women’s rights. Read more.
NEW TO MVCAN?
Visit MVCAN.org to learn about the organization, teams and strategies; 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.
Love the Wag and web site and want to assist? Contact Suz Lipman to learn how you can proofread or copy-paste from home and make a huge difference to multiple Resistance members and actions.
Thank you for all you do!
– June, Bernard, Suz, Danny, Eileen, Nitsa, and everyone at MVCAN
