Voting and Elections
Chair: Laurie Veninger (Organizing Group member) | veninger@aol.com
Let’s Get Out the Vote!
Voting and Election Update
Several of IOC members worked on the Cape and Islands Vote! three day library voter registration drive! Now that we are trained in registering voters, we are finding locations to set up shop through out the summer! We have already arranged tables at Truro’s Farmers’ Market and at the UU Church in Ptown. If you know of an event or location where we might register voters let us know! We are looking for volunteers to staff these throughout the summer and the fall!
Other registration efforts include a souvenir postcard campaign which has a QR Code that links to a voter registration website through Indivisible. The QR Code lets citizens of 37 states register online through TURBOVOTE. These cards can be distributed at events throughout town or in bars or shops. If you know a business owner who can help or if you want to distribute, please get in touch! Even if you only have 10-15 minutes, you could make a big difference handing out these cards to crowds!
Phone banking for MA State Senator Julian Cyr is ongoing every Wednesday evening from 5-7 in Eastham. Once you learn how to do it, it’s easy to do from home too! We will be holding more training sessions soon!
We are looking into how to help with the Barnstable County Commissioner race and other Cape Cod races for the MA State House of Representatives. As you may know, Barnstable County Commissioners represent all Cape Codders, although it seems one of the current Commissioners has a lot of animosity toward our community. In order to neutralize this Trumpian Commissioner, we want to help elect Ron Bergstrom to the BCC. Other Cape Cod districts have incumbant Republican State Reps and we want to help Democrats Jack Stanton (5th district), Paul Cusack (2nd district) and Joshua Mason and Steven Leibowitz (1st district). See below for more info. If you would like to help develop materials to distribute in these other Cape Cod towns, please let us know. If you are available to distribute leaflets to voters in these districts after Labor Day, please get in touch! We need you! Perhaps IOC members can help other Cape Codders flip their State Reps!
LOCAL RACES WE ARE FOLLOWING
As mentioned at our last meeting, there are several local Cape Cod races where we might be helpful at flipping the seat from Red to Blue. Here is a list of local candidates and a little information about why it might be important to help with these races:
- Ron Bergstrom is running against Leo Cakounes for Barnstable County Commissioner. Having him on the Commission would be so important since Ron Beaty is there for two more years. Bergstrom is currently on the County Assembly and is knowledgeable about county government. One issue that is important, Cakounes supports the Barnstable County Sheriff becoming an arm of ICE, Bergstrom does not. He needs to raise money to run a strong campaign against Cakounes – his website: votebergstrom.org
- Jack Stanton is challenging Randy Hunt who is endorsed by MA Citizens for Life and gets excellent grades from the NRA! Jack’s website is here: https://www.electjackstanton.org/ and you can find him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Jack4StateRep/
- Paul Cusack is challenging Will Crocker who hasn’t even finished his first term and gets low grades from Planned Parenthood and good grades from the NRA – find Paul’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Paul-Cusack-586854171690127/
- Joshua Mason is challenging Tim Whelan who has mixed grades from Planned Parenthood and excellent grades from the NRA – find Joshua’s website here: https://electjoshuamason.com
- Julian Cyr is being challenged by John Flores whose off-Cape super-pac has already sent misleading attack leaflets to Cape residents. Website: https://www.senatorcyr.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Julian.S.Cyr/
- Sarah Peake is working for us and is not being challenged this election. Website: https://www.sarahpeake.net/ Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/sarah.peake.37
- Dylan Fernandes is the newest Cape Cod representative and he is working for us. Website: http://www.dylanfernandes.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RepDylanFernandes/
Immigration
Chair: Alison Dwyer | alisondivine@yahoo.com
The mission of the Immigration Committee, a subgroup of Outer Cape Indivisible, is to be aware of both national and local legislation around immigration rights and respond to this legislation, to make local members of the community aware of legislation and inform them of their rights, providing direct support where needed and possible, and finally to monitor local elected officials and police as they respond to issues around immigration.
Our actions and goals include:
- Visiting detention centers with supplies
- Keeping tabs on our local sheriff
- Creating a line of communication with other local groups- such as Safe Communities Coalition and Outer Cape Indivisible
- Create an Emergency Alert System
- Outreach/Education
Immigration meetings are held every other Thursday at 1 pm at St Mary of The Harbor, Commercial Street, Provincetown.
NEW: A Fundraiser on 8/25/18 on the UU Church lawn:
Love Knows No Borders! On Saturday morning, August 25, 9-12, join the Immigration Group, Indivisible Outer Cape, in raising awareness and funds for immigration rights. On the lawn of the Universalist Unitarian Church there will be fresh baked goods and coffee, an arts and craft table, yoga from 9:30-10:30 (accompanied by the melodious sounds of Kurt’s harp!), a lemonade (and sage advice!) stand, a place to create your own buttons to express your own way of resisting, and information/voter registration table, and various other surprises throughout the morning. Music and activities will be ongoing. Join us as we raise funds for Justice in Motion, The Florence Project, the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Community Action Committee of Cape Cod and the Islands, and the Detention Center Fund. Resist! Please contact melissa.yeaw@gmail.com if you can contribute fresh baked goods.
The Immigrant Rights subgroup offers a variety of resources on immigration concerns and laws. They meet on Thursdays and currently promote local, monthly, and FREE Immigration Counseling. This service is provided by immigration lawyer and Coordinator of the Immigration Resource Center, Collin Mickle. Mickle will be in Eastham at the Children’s Place the first Wednesday of every month to answer questions regarding immigration policies and rights. Call 508-771-1727 x 140 to make an appointment.
Immigration Resources:
Health Care & Immigration Status Rights
¿Cuáles Son Mis Derechos Si La Policía Me Para En Mi Carro?
WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE STOPPED BY POLICE, IMMIGRATION AGENTS OR THE FBI
LGBTQ
Chair: C-Sue Mrazik | 1stDieselFemme@gmail.com
Through keeping IOC members informed of legislative actions destroying equality under the law for LGBTQI communities, this subgroup plans to communicate actions members can take to resist! Contact C-Sue if you want to participate or have information about actions related to LGBTQI rights.
Update on upcoming ballot initiative:
While we may not be surprised by court cases when they occur in other states (like Masterpeice Cake Shop v Colorado), we are shocked to learn about an effort here in MA to roll back LGBTQ rights. This November, Ballot Question #3 attempts to repeal MA public accommodation law (S.2407) which guarantees the rights of all people, regardless of gender identity, access to public places. The law was passed in 2016 and conservative groups, based in Washington, DC, immediately began work to repeal it. They intend to make MA the testing ground for the country by using fear and hate in the name of protecting wives and daughters from trans men in bathrooms (no such actual case has ever been recorded!). The wording of the ballot question is especially worrisome and may confuse voters who must vote YES to keep the bill in place.
This issue is going to heat up over the summer and IOC members are currently in touch with the ACLU and Freedom for All about holding an event or forum here on the Outer Cape. Please get in touch if you would like to help!
Healthcare/Women
Chair: Laurie Veninger (Organizing Group member) | veninger@aol.com
Current budget proposals continue to decimate our healthcare. Protections of the ACA (like for pre-existing conditions) are eroding and Medicaid faces further budget cuts. Now Paul Ryan’s budget is also considering massive cuts to Medicare and Social Security. The Trump administration’s threats to Title X, which funds care for sexual and reproductive health centers, are also coming true and will leave many poor women and men without birth control or care for STDs.
Cape Cod Women for Change (another Indivisible!) has been conducting surveys of local Cape Cod candidates and their positions on issues that concern women. These issues vary from reproductive issues, to gun reform, to sex education, to affordable housing. The results will be made available soon and might prove very useful at helping with the races in other parts of the Cape.
At the CCWFC forum on June 21, attendees heard from ACLU representative Whitney Taylor and NARAL representative Gena Frank about current bills in MA legislature that need our support. One particularly concerning issue is to repeal an antiquated MA law outlawing abortion or intentional miscarriage. This law is null so long as Roe v. Wade stands, but should it be defeated, we will have a difficult time protecting a woman’s right to govern her own body and financial future.
Emotional Support
Chair: Gail Morrison | gaiamore00@gmail.com
The Indivisible Outer Cape Emotional Support Collective offers resources, connections, and safe compassionate spaces designed to support, energize, empower and sustain all people who are concerned with issues of peace, justice, tolerance, truth, freedom of expression, and environmental preservation.
Gun Reform
NEW! We need you! Since our successful seven site Stand Out for Students on March 14, 2018, Indivisible Outer Cape and Lower Cape Indivisible are in talks about how we can collaborate to move forward with meaningful gun reform. Initial meetings will be starting soon, so if you are interested in representing IOC and working on this important issue with our neighbors from Lower Cape, please email Laurie Veninger at veninger@aol.com and we can put you in touch!
Environment
Michael Holt will be starting a book club in September to discuss the issue of climate change! The details are here:
If you have a great idea for a project that has to do with the environment, and you want to create a group to work on it, please contact the IOC subgroup liaison Maddie Veninger at maveninger@gmail.
She can explain how you set up and help get you started.
Until we have some active members working in this area, the IOC subgroup liaison is working with several Outer Cape environmental initiatives to keep you updated and involved, including:
350 Cape Cod Contact: Chris Powicki | chrisp@weeinfo
350 is looking for Outer Cape Codders to help with an event in September called “Rise the Climate, Jobs & Justice”
Outer Cape Solarize Plus (OCSP) Contact: David Mead-Fox | dmeadfox@gmail.com
Climate Mobilization Outer Cape (CMOC) Contact: David Mead-Fox | dmeadfox@gmail.com
Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative (5 C’s) Contacts: Sandy Bayne | sandybayne@comcast.net and Moncrieff Cochran | capecodclimate@gmail.com
Protect Our Cape Cod Aquifer (POCCA) Contact: Laura Kelley | L.Kelley@poccacapecod.org
Outer Cape Energize Plus (OCEP) Contact Dee Morehouse, deemorehouse@gmail.com
