All of our Virginia candidates won their primaries AND our Quiet Evening at Home fundraiser brought in a whopping $1,065!! Thanks so much to everyone for helping out. Take a moment to just feel good today and celebrate. Kudos all around.

We are hosting it at our house. Emily and Bill

https://www.facebook.com/events/376075173036215/?ti=icl

Tomorrow is our last day to send around the link to our Quiet night at home fundraiser so I am posting it here. Minutes follow below the fund-raiser. Please send this on to friends so we can move closer to our goal of $2,000.

Help Flip The Virginia State House and Senate Blue in November 2019 with a 

QUIET EVENING AT HOME 

Virginia Primary Day: Tuesday, June 11th

No need to fight for a scarce East Bay parking space. No need to dress up. 

Just contribute $20 or more at our Act Blue link that will directly fund the Virginia campaign efforts in State Senate District 7 and House of Delegates Districts 83 and 85. For your donation you’ll receive

• One teabag to take you comfortably through the evening of the primary
• An authorized, collectable and handmade button from our Indivisible Elmwood group
• Information regarding 3 important Virginia elections so you can understand the primary results

In order to receive your gifts, let us know you’ve contributed and the address to which you’d like our appreciation to be delivered.

MINUTES FROM THE MEETING

1. Bruce discussed the results of the Indivisible survey we participated in. Anyone who wants the handout with a summary should get in touch with him. Indivisible has decided not to endorse for the primary (which we supported). Bruce will be posting updates on Indivisible activities on Thursdays.
2. Bill updated us on about the East Bay Activist Alliance activities (several fundraisers, phone banks starting, texting as well). He’ll be posting update about activities– lots is going on and in the future there will be even more events.
3. Judy gave us an incredibly informative summary of the attempt to replace the sheriff in Alameda and reform the requirements statewide so we can find better candidates. She will posting her summary of the process. For those not at the meeting, reading her summary will give you an idea of what they are up to and how important it is.
4. We decided not to sponsor our own event for the June 15th spotlight on Impeachment. Instead everyone is encouraged to join in the action in Oakland at 1:00 at the Ron Dellums plaza. We will also be posting information about debate-watching parties (we suspect there will be many in the area) for June 26 and 27th.
5. We are going to extend our auction of political memorabilia and also take some of the items in person to some future fund-raisers so we can make sure to get as much $$ from the event as we can.
6. Everyone is encourage to write some postcards for Tony the Democrat’s new campaign in Florida.
7. Due to travel plans, out next meeting will be on Sunday July 14th. In the meantime, people will be posting action items so there will be lots to do (posting will be 3-4 times a week so be sure to check regularly).

At yesterday’s meeting, I agreed to send a copy of the one-page sheriff eligibility criteria proposal and/or the longer overview document on our messed up sheriff system and what needs to change. If you want either or both of these, please let me know and send me your email.

Our Sunday discussion of Indivisible’s April survey included reference to the US Indivisible position on abolition of the filibuster.  Most Indivisible groups nationwide are in support of doing away with the filibuster if Democrats manage to take over the Senate in 2020.  You can read about it in depth here. There’s also a good discussion of the issue by Matt Iglesias on Vox: The Democratic debate over filibuster reform, explained.

At Sunday’s meeting we’ll present the fascinating results of this spring’s Indivisible survey on engagement in the 2020 presidential race. Indivisible has asked that their national survey results not be shared publicly on social media or anywhere it might become accessible to those outside our network. So to get the details you need to be there.  Join us!

1. Say no to fracking California by clicking on the National Resources Defense Council action page at act.nrdc.org and submitting a comment to the US Bureau of Land Management.
2. Spring cleaning? Donate your old shoes: https://soles4souls.org/get-involved/give-shoes/dropoff-locator/
3. Join us for our next meeting this coming Sunday, June 9th 4:30-5:45. Lots to do.

From Chloe Stryker, Indivisible Senior Regional Organizer, West Coast

• We are rolling out a 2-year Democracy Plan, take a look! We will discuss more on the National Activist call. 
• Debate Watch Parties/Recruitment
  • Toolkit
  • Register your party here: https://act.indivisible.org/event/local-actions/create/
• #ImpeachTrump Day on June 15th with MoveON and By the People
  • Groups can register events here, and Indivisibles can RSVP for events here.
• Dream and Promise Act Passed!
• Defund Hate – Updated resource page here.
  • The ask for Indivisibles is to call your MoC and tell them to sign onto the CPC letter, which closes on Thurs. This letter is led by Reps. Jayapal, Pocan, Castro, and Chu calling on the House Appropriations to #DefundHate.
• Prescription Drug Pricing – Pelosi will possibly put out a summary this week of the opposing bill, which Indivisible does not support (we support the Doggett Bill as it is more friendly for consumers).
  • Policy is working with Public Citizen to put out a press statement, and will be inviting partners from the prescription drug table to sign on (such as Ce3nter for popular Democracy, Housing works, etc.).
• Raise the Wage – Would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour. There are 200+ co-sponsors, but Pelosi won’t bring it to the floor until there are 218 co-sponsors.

And they look great, featuring the artwork of renowned political graphic artist Bruce Jackson. We have enough you can take some home.

1. Log onto Andy’s post and copy the fundraiser links, send them to friends. Donations are starting to come in but we need to step up the flow to meet our goal.
2. Time to get writing! We have our wonderful new postcards. If you need some, let me know and I will leave you a stack on our front porch. Tony is busy with campaign #161 Kelly Smith in Florida. Let me know if you need addresses. AND FROM INVISIBLE:
3. Tell your MoC to vote for the Dream and Promise Act, and oppose any motion to recommit. H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act, will get a final vote in the House on Tuesday. The Republicans are certain to offer a “motion to recommit” before the final vote, which is a last-minute, bad-faith procedural maneuver to try to split the Democratic caucus and sabotage the bill. Democrats need to hold strong, reject the motion to recommit, and pass H.R. 6!
4. Show up for a day of action on June 15th to demand an impeachment inquiry. Robert Mueller made it clear in his remarks last week: if Trump is going to be held accountable, Congress is going to have to meet its obligation as a co-equal branch of government. That’s why we’re joining with MoveOn and other partners for a June 15 day of action to demand an impeachment inquiry—if Congress doesn’t hold him accountable for his abuses of power, no one will.
5. Demand that your MoC sign on in support of cutting funding for Trump’s deportation machine. Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have received billions in additional funding to tear gas, separate, and cage families, and to terrorize communities. Members of Congress should sign the letter led by Reps. Jayapal, Pocan, Castro, and Chu calling on the House Appropriations Committee to #DefundHate by cutting funding to the agencies that carry out Trump’s racist immigration policies.
6. Tell your MOC to co-sponsor H.R. 1046 to stand up to Big Pharma and cut drug prices. Drug companies charge people more for medicines in the U.S. than they do anywhere else in the world, but Congress has a chance to act to rein them in. House Democrats should co-sponsor H.R. 1046, which would allow Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies to ensure that people don’t have to choose between their medicine and other necessities.
7. Sign up for the National Call on Thursday. June 6 is the next monthly Indivisible National Activist Call! All group leaders, group members, and other Indivisible activists are welcome. We’ll be rolling out our 2-year strategy to defeat Trump and defund hate. You won’t want to miss this.