A global pandemic and political turmoil can’t slow Indivisible East Bay down! Our monthly All Members Meeting via Zoom on June 28 was jam-packed with our usual full agenda. Kicking off with intros, we reprised the popular icebreaker from our June 13 Voter Outreach Palooza by sharing ideas for the first bill we each want to pass in 2020. Highlights again included racial justice, Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, and democracy reform.
Our first speaker was Governance Committee member Nancy, who got us excited about the Adopt-A-State campaign from Vote Save America, where volunteers can “adopt” battleground states and connect to targeted voter outreach efforts. So far IEB members have adopted Florida, Arizona, and other states – check out Nancy’s presentation here and contact Nancy at nancylatham63@gmail.com if you want to join!
Next up, GC member Anne talked about what “defund the police” means, highlighting police budgets in local cities, and some alternatives to policing that various communities are discussing. You can see her presentation here.
After a break for announcements, we took a poll on what Senate and House races folks are following closely. We saw lots of interest in unseating Mitch McConnell, and in several swing state races. Next, we stretched and rested – some of us even did yoga! – before moving into breakouts.
Our four breakouts focused on Law Enforcement Accountability, Vote by Mail, Legislative Hardball, and 2020 Election Activism. Can’t decide which of those sounds best? We couldn’t, either:
- At the Law Enforcement Accountability breakout discussion, members talked about results from the recent Oakland City Budget meeting, non-police alternatives for addressing crime, and some of the community partners focusing on this work, including the Anti Police-Terror Project. Notes and additional resources are here. Want to get involved? Contact Anne at aspevack@gmail.com.
- Participants in the Vote by Mail breakout discussed VBM efforts around the country. If you’re interested in getting involved, e-mail info@indivisibleeb.org with the subject line “Vote by Mail.”
- The Legislative Hardball breakout included discussions of Attorney General William Barr’s many impeachable offenses; representatives’ positions on impeachment; and some actions to take right away. Full breakout notes are here. If you want to get involved, e-mail info@indivisibleeb.org with the subject line “Legislative Hardball” – you can be in email contact or be added to our “Legislative Hardball” channel on Slack, or both.
- At the 2020 Election Breakout, new and experienced activists talked about IEB’s current phone & text bank and postcarding efforts, as well as the new IEB Adopt-A-State contingent. Participants were ready to get started right away! If you’re interested in any of this, contact those involved here:
- For info to get involved with phone banking, contact Charlotte (mcgoldrick.charlotte@gmail.com)
- For info on postcarding, contact Fiona (fiona.IndivisibleEastBay1@gmail.com)
- For info on text banking, contact Ted Landau (ted@tedlandau.com)
- For info on Adopt-A-State, contact Nancy (nancylatham63@gmail.com)
Missed the AMM, but think it sounded great? Never fear – we’ll be back on Sunday, July 26 at 1 PM. In the meantime, check out our upcoming events here and here.
If you participate in any of our planned events or activities, remember to send us a picture we can include in our IEB-in-Place photo project. We’d love to see you at work!
“Zoom All Members Meeting”, photo by Heidi Rand
