How we can Act Locally to change the National balance of power

[Barry]

Along with the many blessings we enjoy daily by living in Sonoma County, is the dilution of our vote to make a difference. Since we live in a 50% +1 majority rule country, vs proportional representation, all our extra votes are "wasted". Jared Huffman won our district with a 52% margin.

Below is a good article from the Sonoma West about our local Sister District group, which seems quite active. I'm sure there are other local groups working on similar efforts to flip red districts to blue.

Please chime in and let us know about the other local groups and what they are up to and how to plug in.



Can the Sister District Project turn red states blue?
By Laura Hagar Rush, staff writer, [email protected] Sep 27, 2017

The Sister District Project channels the money and organizing power of blue states to progressive candidates in red states

Sitting alone at your kitchen table, wearing your “Resist” button, and writing postcards to members of Congress--who may or may not be listening--is a lonely way to wage resistance. A growing number of west county activists have found a friendlier way to fight. They are joining with neighbors as part of a new national organization called the Sister District Project, a political action committee that channels the money and organizing power of blue districts to progressive candidates in close, “winnable” races in red districts across the country.

Sebastopol and west county are part of Jared Huffman’s congressional district—one of the bluest districts on the map—and there’s a large and active Sister District group here. There are 350 members of the Sister District Project in Huffman’s district, with 70 active members in west county, “captained” by three West County women Karen Walker, Mary Radu, and Audrey Jaxon.

“The Sister District Project is one of several groups that organized right after the election last year, including Swing Left, Code Blue, Flippable, and they all want to affect elections and swing them to the Democratic side,” says Walker, who lives amid vineyards just outside of Forestville. “The Sister District Project focuses on winnable state elections—governorships, state assembly and state senate races—with the goal of turning those states blue.”

The national Sister District office, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, matches local groups with candidates across the country, then asks candidates what kind of support they’d like their sister district group to provide, whether it’s fundraising, phone calling, letter writing, or people on the ground knocking on doors.

Continues here

[terijane]

Barry, thanks for your reference to the SWTN article! As a result, I just joined and am looking forward to focusing my frustration and random online donations to a local group I can contribute my time to. It's important to note that the Sister District Project is not a "women's" group. It refers to helping districts by forming a partnership (like a Sister City) with another political district. I hope that we don't limit our volunteer pool by just one gender!

[juna]

https://www.emilyslist.org/ is another way to change the vote.

[Goat Rock Ukulele]

If you really want to change things you may have to get your hands dirty. There are republican congressional districts within a two hour drive of Sonoma County that could be turned blue in 2018. Instead of planning that two week vacation to Italy what about taking a month off and setting up in one of those house races and getting every last democrat out two the polls. Take back the house in 2018 and this mess of a presidency will come crashing to the ground.

[Barry]

If you really want to change things you may have to get your hands dirty. ...Instead of planning that two week vacation to Italy what about taking a month off and setting up in one of those house races and getting every last democrat out two the polls. ...

I don't know about you, but my hands are "dirty". I'm on the Data team for Swing Left Marin, I've been to CA-10 (Modesto/Tracy) twice to canvass, plus my wife put on a major conference, Rock the Congress, for 250 north bay activists to help them collaborate in their work around the 2018 elections. I was the director/manager for the after-party networking session. We'll be starting planning for a similar conference in the East Bay when we return.

Oh, and it's a 3-week vacation I'm on, while writing to you.

[Icssoma]

wonderful idea. for those of you who aren't able to take a week off, calling from your home several hours a day is a great way to help an election as well.

If you really want to change things you may have to get your hands dirty. There are republican congressional districts within a two hour drive of Sonoma County that could be turned blue in 2018. ..

[Shepherd]

Enjoy your vacation, Barry. You deserve it. Taking such breaks are essential to our health, and to our contributions to changing the national balance of power, which is truly unbalanced. Please keep up your good work, which benefits our community and beyond.

I don't know about you, but my hands are "dirty". I'm on the Data team for Swing Left Marin, I've been to CA-10 (Modesto/Tracy) twice to canvass, plus my wife put on a major conference, Rock the Congress, for 250 north bay activists to help them collaborate in their work around the 2018 elections. I was the director/manager for the after-party networking session. We'll be starting planning for a similar conference in the East Bay when we return.

Oh, and it's a 3-week vacation I'm on, while writing to you.

[Mediajammer]

If progressives continue to cluster together in blue states, nothing will change. But if progressives started to move to say, N. Carolina, we could turn a red state blue.

[Barry]

If progressives continue to cluster together in blue states, nothing will change. But if progressives started to move to say, N. Carolina, we could turn a red state blue.

Are you planning on moving?
If not there are still ways to project our power to other states, such as sending money and volunteering with Swing Left, Sister District, and other organizations.