MISSION STATEMENT: To build and sustain an inclusive proactive community that will protect our environment, our freedoms and our basic human and civil rights. We are committed to an indivisible St. Johns County with liberty and justice for all.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Indivisible St Johns Newsletter April 12, 2020

YOUR WEEKLY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTER
WEEK OF APRIL 12, 2020


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Joe still needs our help to get on the ballot!

                                                                
ELECT JOE McANARNEY for
County Commissioner District 1

Please made your contributions payable to Joe McAnarney Campaign.
Contributions in excess of $100 must indicate an employment profession.

Help us get Joe on the ballot.
Please download the attached Candidate Petition, 
sign one and have your neighbor/friend sign the other
and mail to:

Joe McAnarney Campaign
P. O. Box 600332
St. Johns, FL 32260

Please download PETITION here
This is a double petition so two people can sign and save paper.

Good news!  As many of you know, the Supervisor of Elections
is now accepting electronic petitions so the signatures do not
have to be original ink.  Now it's easier for people to fill out
the form, scan it and email it to electjoemack@gmail.com



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We still need 3 volunteers for Pct 209

You're only stuffing and addressing envelopes from home! 


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Your 4 weekly to-do's:
  1. Use this resource to demand accountability and action from your state-level elected officials. The federal government has put out three coronavirus relief packages so far, but there is plenty more that your state and local governments can do to create a more robust and equitable response.
  2. Call your senator and tell them to prioritize a Coronavirus People’s Bailout. We need a package that prioritizes protecting our democratic systems, providing accessible health care for all, and direct economic support to everyone. Call your senators now to demand they support the People’s Bailout.
  3. Call your representative and tell them the same. Millions of people could be left behind while corporations rake in trillions of tax-payer dollars. The House needs to make this right. Call your representatives now and demand that they support the above provisions be included in the next coronavirus package.
  4. Email your representative and two senators and demand they prioritize a People’s Bailout. Use our tool to send a letter to your three members of Congress, which outline
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VOTE FORWARD!
Last week, Indivisible launched a new partnership with VoteFWD; a nationwide letter-writing campaign to reach voters in key states before the November election, maximize impact, and increase turnout.
We fast-tracked VoteFWD because so many folks are stuck at home and looking for ways to stay engaged and active. This is a great way to focus on the things we can control, like building voter turnout in key states ahead of November.
Here’s how it works:
  1. Sign up to write letters by clicking here.
  2. Then, VoteFWD provides you with names, addresses, and a template to write letters to voters in important states.
  3. Save your letters and send them IN SEPTEMBER so that voters receive them at the perfect, most-strategic moment and still have time to register for Vote By Mail if they choose.
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Adam Morley also needs our help
District 24 constituents ONLY! 


Message from Lauren Trice, the campaign manager for Adam Morley, 
candidate for Florida State Representative, District 24. 

Due to Covid19 petition gathering efforts for Adam Morley have stalled. BUT just this week they announced that they will be accepting digital petitions as long as the signature matches the voter. Please follow this link to the petition, fill it out (select “draw” for your signature and do the best you can. DO NOT select "style". Your signature MUST match your actual signature as closely as possible for the petition to be accepted), submit it and encourage your friends to do the same by sharing this link:

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Save the US Postal Service
By Ted Lam
Deadline: Now –
There are reports that without an infusion of funding, the US Postal Service might have to shutter its operations by June. Without the USPS functioning properly, there’s little hope that vote by mail will be widely available between now and November’s elections. The House of Representatives asked for money for USPS during the last stimulus negotiations, but the money was dropped from the final bill.
Members of Congress are now debating whether to provide the Postal Service with money in the next round of stimulus, and Democrats are fighting back. The bicameral Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020, H.R. 6202 and S. 3440, are intended to address the risks to American voters and elections posed by COVID-19 and other natural disasters. To date, none of our Members of Congress have cosponsored these bills.
The Republican Party has long wanted to privatize USPS. The Current Occupant, having spent many a tweet criticizing the USPS, was also opposed to providing it with necessary assistance in the recent $2 trillion stimulus bill. When Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) was asked “if he believed the Trump Administration is deliberately allowing the Postal Service to fail,” he answered, “I don’t know that it’s a strategy, but I think they would not be bothered by the collapse of the Postal Service.” 
Voting by mail in 2020 depends on a functioning post office. Vote by mail is not a panacea for elections. It takes time and care to set up and, improperly executed, can lead to voters being disenfranchised. But during the pandemic it’s hard to see how we can conduct elections safely without it. We risk disenfranchising people from closed polling places and enormous numbers not being able to vote in the fall. We only have to look at the horrifying dilemma voters in Wisconsin faced this week: abandoning their right to vote or joining crowded lines with the risk of catching COVID. Allowing the USPS to fail could mean countless other states would face an equally terrible choice in November.
What you can do:
Call your Senators and Representative to tell them you want them to make sure the next stimulus bill includes necessary funding for USPS, and that you want them to cosponsor the Resilient Elections bills (H.R. 6202 and S. 3440). 
What to say to your Senators:
My name is _____, my zip code is _____, and I’m a member of Indivisible St Johns. The next COVID stimulus bill must include the original House’s $25 billion to help fund the USPS, and eliminate its $11 billion debt and $3 billion annual borrowing cap. Without the USPS millions won’t be able to vote safely while the pandemic lasts. Don’t let the USPS be shut down or privatized – don’t let what happened in Wisconsin this week happen in the rest of the country! And please also co-sponsor the Resilient Elections During Quarantines bill, S. 3440.
§  Sen. Marco Rubio: (email);  • DC: 202-224-3041
§  Sen. Rick Scott: (email);  • DC: 202-224-5274
What to say to your Representative:
My name is _____, my zip code is _____, and I’m a member of Indivisible St Johns.  The next COVID stimulus bill must include the original House’s $25 billion to help fund the USPS, and eliminate its $11 billion debt and $3 billion annual borrowing cap. Without the USPS millions won’t be able to vote safely while the pandemic lasts. Don’t let the USPS be shut down or privatized – don’t let what happened in Wisconsin this week happen in the rest of the country! And please also co-sponsor the Resilient Elections During Quarantines bill, H.R. 6202.
§  Rep. John Rutherford (Dist. 4) DC: (202) 225-2501
§  Rep. Michael  Waltz  (Dist. 6)  DC:  (202) 225-2706   

Ion Y. and Heidi Rand contributed to this articleTed Lam is retired from the USCG and currently works as a civil engineer. Ted is a member of the Indivisible East Bay Governance Committee and is co-lead of the Indivisible CA-11 team.Heidi Rand fights the evil empire with skills gained as a Ninth Circuit staff attorney and

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Rosie says "We Can Do It" - Text Resist to 50409

COVID Keyword
Send "covid" to Resistbot to get information on what's happening in your state. From the latest testing numbers, to restrictions/closures on bars and restaurants, court, public gatherings, elective surgery; to resources for mental health, medicaid, public assistance, unemployment, taxes, testing, and more.

Covid Predictive Model & Petition
We've teamed up with doctors and data scientists who've modeled the outbreak. It is frightening. You can see projections for your state, and how mitigation strategies could flatten the curve. Send "covid model" to the bot to see it. If you want, the bot can send this information to your state government. It's already worked in many states.
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And, then there are  those postcards from the edge! 


 We Are,  We Are… PERSISTENT!!!post card
Indivisible St. Johns also Putnam & Flagler Counties.
Telephone / Post Card Advocacy  
Topics and Talking Points   April 2, 2020 

Gov. DeSantis told us to stay home.  What a wonderful time to…
Write to progressive-leaning registered voters who are unlikely to vote. That’s about 2.7 million citizens. (612,000+ in Florida).
Receiving a hand-written Vote Forward letter will make them more likely to cast a ballot.
If you’d like to help people vote, writing letters now is a simple, effective way to volunteer
from the comfort and safety of your home. Write the letters now; mail them in September.
Data from previous Vote Forward campaigns shows this does increase turnout!

Action 1 Call: Gov. Ron DeSantis   (850)-488-7146
Hunger makes Floridians vulnerable to COVID 19. 
• Suspend all SNAP work requirements. (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Food Stamps)
• Be flexible with requirements on child and senior nutrition programs.

• Make SNAP work: raise benefits, waive in-person applications. 

Action 2: Sign the petition today on SNAP. It goes to federal and state decision makers tomorrow.  Mazon, the Jewish response to hunger, is a leading advocacy organization.

Call St. Johns County Commissioners: Paul Waldron, Chair, 
Jeb Smith, Vice-Chair, Jeremiah Ray Blocker, James Johns, Henry Dean (904) 209-0300
Call a Moratorium on BOCC Deforestation “Development” meetings
during COVID 19 crisis. You know there’s broad public anger about clear cutting.
Will you please postpone the April 7 meeting until after the crisis?  

ACTION 3 Call: Gov. Ron DeSantis  (850)-488-7146
Sen. Bill Galvano, President, Florida Senate  (850) 487-5229
Speaker Jose Oliva, Florida House of Representatives   (850) 717-5110
Florida’s unemployment system should help workers; not multiply their misery!
Florida’s 12 weeks benefits and $275 checks are about the stingiest in the U.S.
COVID 19 jumped unemployment claims from 6,000 to 74,000 in one week!
Will you immediately increase benefits and remove unnecessary barriers?
Action 4: Sign the AFL-CIO petition  Florida Workers Need Relief Now

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FROM RECENT NATIONAL DATA, WE NOW KNOW:



Thank you Mike Konopacki for stating it so well.



As always, we love to hear from you! Drop us a line that you are safe and healthy. 
Let us know if you need anything!

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Indivisible St Johns Newsletter Week of April 5, 2020

YOUR WEEKLY RESISTANCE NEWSLETTER
WEEK OF APRIL 5, 2020



SO HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED LAST EVENING

AT OUR APRIL INDIVISIBLE ST JOHNS

ZOOM MEETING!

(1) Indivisible’s matching grant for 4/6-5/31 is really important for us, especially now! Since we’re relegated to canvassing by phone/mail/postcards, we need this money for postage and envelopes. Please consider a one-time donation or set yourself up monthly. You won’t miss that $5-!0 and will be doing so much good.

(2) Blue Wave precincts for April -- 208 and 209. A HUGE thanks to everyone who got that huge precinct of 207 done safely and on time! A sign up Genius link is here for you to participate. You will just be signing letters, stuffing and addressing envelopes, postage provided. Great way to pass the time and you’ll be doing so much good.

(3) Postcard Group's efforts to sustain Growers Alliance. See the enclosed flyer. We can always use a couple extra bags of their fabulous coffee, and or buy a gift card. Martin and Purity have done great work and been supportive of us for a couple years. Time to help them out. Please copy that flyer and send to your lists.

(4) Vote Forward Project, involving sending letters to voters in Florida who haven't voted in awhile. These letters can be done ahead of time at your leisure as they won’t be mailed out until September. We will be including Vote By Mail instructions. More in upcoming newsletters.

(5) Joe McAnarney, candidate for County Commission, District 1, was our guest speaker. If you don’t know Joe yet, check out his upcoming website and Facebook page. The website will be up soon with a donate button. We’ve had his link to his petition in our last two newsletters. It’s hard to get signatures now with the virus crisis but everyone can download, print, sign and mail to the address in the newsletter. He needs almost 1900, has about 143, by early May so we need to get busy.  HE NEEDS OUR HELP AND WE NEED HIS HELP!

ABOUT JOE: Joe is a retired architect and planner with over 40 years of experience working with land development codes and zoning standards.  He has lived in Julington Creek Plantation with his wife for over 15 years and moved here for the quality of life they saw --large areas of open space and wetlands, excellent schools and ease of traveling to work, shopping and cultural events.  We have all watched the county overdevelop in recent years. Joe is ready to be our voice and say "enough!"  He will be our voice and advocate for smart, balanced growth that places a high priority on quality of life issues we value including:
·  Protection of water resources, parks and green spaces
·  Attracting high paying jobs and providing schools that are adequately sized from the start
·   Affordable housing for all county residents and protection of property values
·   Support for our first responders, health care workers and police
Further, he’s researched and seen the gaps in the county’s planning process. He envisions a town hall of stakeholders to revisit the LAMP or come up with something new and do a holistic view of what we want for our county. We all know our current commissioners have huge developer funders and his road is uphill. Yet, we finally have a forward thinking, smart and experienced candidate to put the brakes on development until we have a sensible plan. Warren’s postcard group has been calling for a building moratorium. Joe said the commissioners have voted 5-0 to delay developers’ proposals. Warren noted updates from Joe would be helpful for his group and they will exchange information.
Now is the time to finally have a DEMOCRATIC voice on our County Commission! 
There was much more so if you have questions, reach out to Joe on Facebook. Get petitions signed and mailed to him by sending to your lists. We can do this.

(6) There will be more Zoom meetings on line . Please join us for the next one we set up!

_______________________________________________________________
                                                                
ELECT JOE McANARNEY for
County Commissioner District 1

Please make your contributions payable to Joe McAnarney Campaign.  
Contributions in excess of $100 must indicate an employment profession.

Help us get Joe on the ballot.  Please download the attached Candidate Petition, 
sign one & have your neighbor/friend sign the other
and mail to: 

 Joe McAnarney Campaign
P. O. Box 600332
St. Johns, FL 32260

Please download PETITION HERE
This is a double petition so two people can sign and save paper.
Good news -- as many of you know,  SOE is now accepting electronic petitions so the signatures do not have to be original ink.  Now, it's easier for people to fill out the form, scan it and email it  to electjoemack@gmail.com.   
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March was a difficult month for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic upended our daily lives and cut us off from family, friends, and coworkers. It also forced us to drastically change how we’re running this campaign.
Despite the challenges we faced, this team pulled off some incredible accomplishments!
  • We quickly moved to 100% virtual and digital activities. It doesn’t beat seeing you in person, but it’s lifted me up each day to stay connected with you.
  • Our team of hundreds of volunteers helped their neighbors and community organizations. People are struggling and helping them is the reason we’re in this race in the first place.
  • We collected 8,000 petitions to officially put my name on the ballot – a project that took hundreds of hours of volunteer work.
  • It’s been tough to ask for money with so many facing hardship, HOWEVER, we reached our fundraising goal raising more than we did last quarter. We’ve already raised more than any Democratic nominee in this district for a generation. We did this with your help! Thank you!
We’re all in this together. Let’s continue to flatten the curve, keep ourselves and our families healthy, and help those in need If each of us does our part, America will get through this crisis stronger than ever.
As a three-time cancer survivor, I live every day with gratitude. And today, I’m grateful for you.
Thanks,
Donna
 
Donna Deegan is a Democrat running for Congress in Florida’s 4th District that covers the First Coast in Nassau, Duval and St. Johns counties. Learn more about Donna and why she’s running.
Paid for by Donna Deegan for Congress.
Donna Deegan for Congress
1015 Atlantic Blvd., #56
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
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Needed:  Volunteers to address envelopes to voters from home 
to Precincts 208 and 209




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Your 3 weekly to-do's:
  1. Call your senator and tell them to prioritize a Coronavirus People’s Bailout. We need a package that prioritizes protecting our democratic systems, providing accessible health care for all, and direct economic support to everyone. Call your senators now to demand they support the People’s Bailout.  Rubio:  202-224-3041; Scott: 202-224-5274  or via ResistBot 50409.
  2. Call your representative and tell them the same. Millions of people could be left behind while corporations rake in trillions of tax-payer dollars. The House needs to make this right. Call your representatives now and demand that they support the above provisions be included in the next coronavirus package.  Rutherford: 202-225-2501 or via ResistBot 50409.
  3. Email your representative and two senators and demand they prioritize a People’s Bailout. Use our tool to send a letter to your three members of Congress, which outlines what a People’s Bailout would include.
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Our Times. . .



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As always, we love to hear from you! Drop us a line that you are safe and healthy. 
Let us know if you need anything!