Not Having It: Rep. Calter claps back at Mass Fiscal

Mass Fiscal is sending out postcards to voters designed to mislead and provoke a backlash against the Safe Communities Act. We were delighted to receive Rep. Calter’s comprehensive and emailed response to his constituents.

Bravo and thank you Rep. Calter, for being a strong advocate for due process, keeping our communities SAFE, and rejecting xenophobic fear tactics. 

The email is quoted in full below: 

As you may be aware, Mass Fiscal Alliance sent out post cards to residents that misrepresents the substantive elements of House Bill 3269, The Safe Communities Act. Because Mass Fiscal Alliance has a total disregard for truths that do not support its radical political agenda, I now need to set the record straight.

The legislation I co-sponsored does not even address the issue of Sanctuary Cities. It is an act that ensures that our Massachusetts tax dollars are devoted to protecting our communities and not to the enforcement of Federal immigration laws that fall under the sole authority of ICE(Immigration and Customs Enforcement). 

To learn more about what The Safe Communities Act does and does not do, please read below:

On January 23, 2017, the Trump administration introduced an aggressive immigration enforcement agenda that relies on the conscription of state and local law enforcement and facilities to identify and detain immigrants. This agenda is already having far-reaching consequences in our communities, and raises major public safety, public health, economic and civil rights concerns. A federal court has already ruled that such coercion is unconstitutional because-among other things-it violates the 10th amendment prohibition on commandeering state resources for federal purposes. 

It is no coincidence that The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was the first in the nation to find that state laws don’t allow us to hold a person on an ICE detainer; doing so violates Massachusetts statute.

Massachusetts has often led the nation in advancing due process and civil rights. Any attempt to take away those rights and revert to a system that supports politically-motivated anti-immigrant policies would be a huge step in the wrong direction. The values that make our Commonwealth a great and welcoming place to live point us toward progress, not retreat.  

In response to President Trump’s unfunded executive orders on immigration, I was pleased to co-sponsor H3269, THE SAFE COMMUNITIES ACT. This legislation if enacted, would ensure that Massachusetts tax dollars are devoted to protecting our communities, not enforcing federal immigration laws, which are the responsibility of Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE). Over 400 localities, including California, Connecticut, Illinois and Rhode Island, and eight MA cities have similar policies. 

Recently, Mass Fiscal Alliance sent out post cards targeting co-sponsors of The Safe Communities Act. Those post cards are now showing up in mailboxes across the State.

You may remember MassFiscal Alliance as the Boston-based, dark money SuperPAC that sent numerous attack mailers in the last election cycles. This group targets Democrats around the state and has made distorted claims against many officials (for example, concocting a story in 2014 that legislators had voted to prioritize services for illegal immigrants over veterans [Ed. Note: such a vote is #FakeNews]) .  

The citizens of the 12th Plymouth district have always been more interested in facts, as opposed to politically motivated rhetoric. You will hear from Mass Fiscal Alliance often in the upcoming election cycle.

I ask only that you understand their political motives and research their claims.

Please compare the claims made in their recent mailings to the substantive elements of the Safe Communities Act, to which I am a co-sponsor. 

The Safe Communities Act : What it DOES & Does Not Do 

  1. It DOES prohibit the use of state databases or records for enforcement of any federal registry program based on religion or other protected characteristics. 
  2. It DOES limit state and local agencies’ involvement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by barring them from arresting or detaining a person solely for federal immigration enforcement purposes, or participating in inquiries, investigations or raids based solely on immigration status. When police become ICE agents, immigrant victims and witnesses of crime are afraid to call police, which makes us all less safe.
  3. It DOES prohibit collaboration agreements between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS) and Massachusetts law enforcement agencies that deputize state and local officers as immigration agents and co-opt state and local resources for federal purposes, but without any reimbursement of costs.
  4. It DOES ensure basic due process rights for immigrants detained in state and local and state correctional facilities, such as to be informed, in a language they understand, that they have a right to have their lawyer present for any interview by ICE agents. 

What The Safe Communities Act DOES NOT Do:

  1. It DOES NOT stop police from investigating crimes or prosecuting anyone who commits a crime. On the contrary, it encourages immigrant witnesses and victims of crime to cooperate with police investigations, and ensures that police resources are not diverted from fighting crime.
  2. It DOES NOT stop police from collaborating with federal agencies, including ICE, as part of criminal investigations, such as joint operations to stop gangs or drug traffickers. 
  3. It DOES NOT keep ICE from getting information about people who are arrested-by default, all booking information is shared with numerous federal authorities, including the FBI and ICE, as required by federal law. 
  4. It DOES NOT keep ICE from conducting investigations, raids or arrests in Massachusetts communities, or interfere with those activities. 
  5. It DOES NOT jeopardize any community’s federal funding, because the bill is carefully tailored to comply with all relevant federal laws. Indeed, although the bill was drafted well before U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions defined what constitutes a “sanctuary” jurisdiction, the provisions of the bill fall squarely outside that definition.
  6. It DOES NOT declare Massachusetts as a “Sanctuary State”.

While I am always willing to debate issues of public policy, we should not have to debate facts.

Mass Fiscal Alliance has no regard for the truth and is only interested in supporting its own idealogical agenda. That is the case with the mailing regarding The Safe Communities Act.

Because Massachusetts and local governments cannot afford another unfunded federal mandate, hundreds of organizations have endorsed The Safe Communities Act, including the League of Women Voters and several labor unions.  

Thank you to those who have called seeking clarification and to those who have taken the time to read this piece.If you wish to discuss this on any other policy matter, I invite you to visit my district office or call me. 

The House Can Strengthen Criminal Justice Reform

Mon, Tue, Wed of this week (Nov. 13-15), the Massachusetts House will start voting on a comprehensive criminal justice reform. The House bill, as expected, is not as comprehensive or as progressive as the Senate bill.

We must work to make it better before the vote on its final form: we must contact our State Representatives, NOW, loudly, and in as large numbers as we can. 

The House will be voting on amendments Monday through Wednesday. 

It’s vitally important representatives hear that you want to see a stronger bill that delivers on the promise of comprehensive criminal justice reform. Mass incarceration has proven socially a socially and economically damaging phenomenon, and it’s time for Massachusetts to move beyond it.

Email/call your Representative TODAY and tell them to support/oppose the amendments below (when you’re done–take a sec and let us know you called/contacted your Rep: it helps us know where we need to target more!). We’ll be tracking the progress on these measures in the spreadsheet below. SUPPORT these Amendments: 

  • Amendment #19 (Cahill), which allows for diversion for juveniles in the court system
  • Amendment #41 (Gonzalez), which allows for good time eligibility for those who are serving mandatory minimums which would be repealed by bill
  • Amendment #42 (Gonzalez), which eliminates price gouging from telephone companies and requires comparable rates for prisons
  • Amendment #48 (Atkins), which requires decent cell conditions, good time eligibility, and access to programming for those in solitary confinement
  • Amendment #67 (Meschino), which eliminates cash bail for juveniles
  • Amendment #89 (Linsky), which would raise the level of what constitutes a felony to $1,500 in line with the Senate bill (as opposed to the House bill’s $750)
  • Amendment #112 (O’Day), which would track the savings from reduced prison populations and reinvest half of it in job training, job placement, and other supports to further reduce unemployment and recidivism (justice reinvestment)
  • Amendment #142 (Holmes), which provides for alternatives to incarceration for the primary caretakers of dependent children
  • Amendment #144 (Balser), which would strengthen the data collection for and limitations on the use of solitary confinement, and protects the rights of those in solitary confinement
  • Amendment #148 (Khan), which would raise the top age at which a young person is treated as a juvenile in the courts to 19, making far greater rehabilitation and support available to them
  • Amendment #157 (Carvalho), which eliminates racially discriminatory mandatory minimum sentences related to  arbitrarily defined “school zones”
  • Amendment #160 (Khan), which would allow for the expungement of juvenile records
  • Amendment #194 (Keefe), which would repeal mandatory minimums for all non-violent drug sentences except trafficking in fentanyl and carfentanil.
  • Amendment #197 (Keefe), which eliminates parole fees and public counsel fees for people who are indigent

OPPOSE these Amendments: 

  • Amendment #1 (Puppolo), which would allow for more restrictive bail if someone is brought in again while they are out on bail
  • Amendments #4 & #7 (Frost), which establish mandatory minimum sentences for assaulting a police officer, peddling a dangerous myth of a “war on cops” and putting a chilling effect on protest
  • Amendment #8 (Linsky), which calls for jail time for anyone who disrupts a court proceeding
  • Amendment #13 (Linsky), which allows for viewing sealed records for youth program volunteers
  • Amendment #23 (Lyons), which creates manslaughter charges for anyone providing a drug that results in death, thus making individuals less likely to call for emergency medical help in such situations
  • Amendment #39 (Velis), which allows for the keeping of pregnant women in solitary confinement  
  • Amendment #40 (Velis), which strikes out time limits for solitary confinement
  • Amendments #53, #115, & #174 (Jones), which would expand the state’s wiretapping law and curtail privacy rights
  • Amendment #124 (Jones), which strikes the CORI sealing provisions of the underlying bill
  • Amendment #126 (Jones), which strikes the increase in the felony threshold for larceny in the underlying bill
  • Amendment #127 (Jones) & #137 (Lyons), which give local law enforcement authority to hold people in custody based on a detainer from ICE.

Your outreach is URGENT and CRITICAL. Please, use your influence with your networks and talk them thru doing this, too, ASAP. We’re trying to make it easy–but we need the numbers to be effective! 

The Senate Criminal Justice Reform Bill: Amendments, Analysis, Action

SOME NOTES OF ANALYSIS:

1- This bill is a big win for progressives–and it happened only because of advocacy. Making your voices heard, organizing in your communities, reaching out consistently and continually, from bill cosponsorship to amendments, gives our progressive legislators the support push for the most progressive reforms that they can. Your advocacy pushes those who would not otherwise be with us to take a hard stance–or at least not go unnoticed when she/he fails to lead. 

Let’s take a moment to thank the progressive leaders on the Hill who made this victory possible, and recognize the tremendous role that all of our activism played in making it so. BIG rounds of applause!! 

When our legislators take risks, we need to show we have their backs and appreciate them: reach out to your Senator and express your gratitude for the Senate adoption of a strong, progressive bill* that reduces mass incarceration and moves our whole system towards more justice. (We’ll have some template/draft language to make it easier, but in the meantime, a quick heartfelt “thanks” email or call is simple and can go a long way).

(*FWIW: not every legislator worked for this outcome–10 senators voted against the final bill–and many, many more voted to weaken the bill or even worsen the status quo (see: the noxious “#BlueLivesMatter” super-penalty provision (which we’ll address in subsequent follow-up posts). Still: expressing your happiness with the outcome — regardless of how the senator voted– is itself important: it shows that their constituents value progressive steps forward (and they know how they voted in opposition to those aims). That said, be sure to extra-thank our progressive leaders. We’ll have a fuller analysis and vote breakdown soon.)

2- This is not yet law; this is one chamber (Senate) that has acted. The MA House will pass its own CJR bill. The House is less progressive than the Senate: ongoing advocacy with your State Reps continues to be important, and, like yesterday, during amendment time–critical and urgent. 

3- Advocacy around Amendments are where the differences are made between a decent bill and a boldly progressive bill. Engagement during these moments is crucial.

Unfortunately–the process is very difficult to organize and mobilize advocacy/action around: amendments are drafted in a short turnaround, the list can be extraordinarily dense, and the actual window of advocacy unfolds rapidly. 

Though the Senate bill passing is a truly positive step forward, we must be attentive to the fight over amendments, for every legislative battle for progressive advancement in Massachusetts. Now that it has passed the Senate chamber, it is easy enough for your Senator to take credit for voting for this historic advancement. But,

  • …did she or he ALSO try to weaken the bill by voting for poisonous, regressive amendments like weaponizing drug overdoses (amendment 28, adopted without a roll call) or reducing the felony threshhold (amendment 5, voted down but with 5 Dems voting for it)? 
  • …did she or he stand up for progressive advancements like eliminating minimum mandatory sentencing? Did she or he vote down the peacocking “tough on crime” (and terrible for communities!) provisions like creating a “superpenalty” for shooting a law enforcement officer? 
    (again: we’ll have a fuller vote breakdown soon)

These amendment votes don’t carry headlines or even make much notice beyond a very brief window in aftermath. But these inflection points are exactly where we must take the measure of our lawmakers: when it comes time to do the harder things, to make the real reforms, do they stand up? Do they fight for us and our communities? Or, do they only go along with the easiest route toward the minimal standard of progress (and are happy to take the credit for the larger victory, nevertheless)?

4- Lack of Sunlight is a democracy-jammer; it makes our work together harder–and more important. It is really difficult to get at these important distinctions. We’d argue that the abysmal transparency of the MA Legislature as a whole is likely a feature, not a bug, and serves to keep these distinctions as obscured as possible. 

For the progressive citizen-advocate, we’d like to reiterate some of our motivations and goals as an organization of, by and for progressive citizen-activists/advocates:

  • – We’re trying to make this process less opaque, and to make the moments where your advocacy really does shape important policy (the difference between bad, meh, good and ground-breaking), as easy to access and engage as we can.
  • – Keeping track is important and difficult, but we’re building tools (see our scorecard) and providing information (see below) for all of us to not only see/assess these important distinctions, but to more easily refer to them, create a history of them, and therefore more readily keep legislators accountable.
  • – When Progressive Mass makes these calls to actions on amendments — we need your help in encouraging others to understand the critical importance of acting. It’s all dense and complicated; we need to build the community of citizen-activists who ‘get it’ so we can be louder, faster, and at a moment’s notice.
  • – All of this work is takes intensive labor, hours, and dedication by our all-volunteer Issues Committee (affectionately known as the PMIC). It can be exhausting!

Our vision is that someday we have the resources to do all of this even better.

Member engagement and contributions are critical to getting there.

If you have found this work, our tools, and our analyses helpful, please consider making it official by becoming a member, or convert to a monthly member investment, or make an additional contribution to show your support. (THANK YOU: for your support and for your commitment to take the actions, ongoing, to make the change we want to see).

SUPPORT: 

  • Amendment 1 (Cyr), which would guarantee equal protections for LGBTQ prisoners
  • Amendment 8 (Barrett), which would protects the ability of prisoners to have in-person visitations
  • Amendment 76 (Keenan), which calls for treatment for imprisoned drug addicts
  • Amendment 100 (Hinds), which would require police to undergo implicit bias training
  • Amendments 114 and 124 (Creem) and Amendments 134 and 135 (Eldridge), which would curb the abusive practice of solitary confinement
  • Amendment 129 (Creem), which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences
  • Amendment 149 (Creem), which would allow current prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for crimes for which mandatory minimums have been repealed to be eligible for good conduct credits earned on and after the effective date of the law.
  • Amendment 152 (McGee), which would create a Justice Reinvestment Trust Fund to allow the savings from the decrease in incarceration to be redirected towards job training and programming for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration.

OPPOSE:

  • Amendments 5 (Tarr) and 25 (Moore), which would reduce the felony theft threshold to $1,000
  • Amendments 18 (Rush), 60 (Tarr), and 121 (Tarr), which would re-impose mandatory minimum sentences that take discretion away from judges, where it belongs
  • Amendments 24 (Moore) and 87 (O’Connor), which would expand the use of invasive surveillance technologies
  • Amendment 29 (Moore), which would eliminate valuable juvenile justice improvements
  • Amendments 28 and 37 (Tarr), which would make anyone who shares drugs that result in death guilty of manslaughter, thereby creating the possibility that, in the event of an overdose, people sharing drugs would be hesitant to call for help
  • Amendment 40 (Tarr), which would leave in place a harsh 1980 law that denies prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes all possibility of participating in programs aimed at reducing recidivism while they are incarcerated
  • Amendments 42 and 80 (Tarr), which would retain current parole fees

ACT NOW to Turn the Tide on Mass Incarceration

URGENT ACTION: Contact Your Senator to strengthen the Criminal Justice Reform bill: 

SUPPORT: Amendments 1, 8, 76, 100, 114, 124, 129, 149, 134, 135, 152

OPPOSE: Amendments 5, 25, 18, 60, 121, 24, 87, 29, 28 37, 40, 42, 80

Tomorrow (Thu 10/26), the State Senate will be voting on comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform legislation.

The bill has many good, thoughtful provisions that will make a real difference in people’s lives and address the serious issue of mass incarceration in Massachusetts—ending mandatory minimums for many crimes, reducing the CORI sealing time, ending the imprisonment of people unable to pay fines and fees, among others.

However, there are still areas that need improvement. And that’s where you come in.

The Senate will be voting on a number of amendments, a major opportunity to strengthen the bill.

Please email or call your state senator today and urge them to SUPPORT:

  • Amendment 1 (Cyr), which would guarantee equal protections for LGBTQ prisoners
  • Amendment 8 (Barrett), which would protect the ability of prisoners to have in-person visitations
  • Amendment 76 (Keenan), which would enable access to appropriate treatment for opioid addiction for addicts while incarcerated
  • Amendment 100 (Hinds), which would require police to undergo implicit bias training
  • Amendments 114 and 124 (Creem) and Amendments 134 and 135 (Eldridge), which would curb the abusive practice of solitary confinement
  • Amendment 129 (Creem), which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences
  • Amendment 149 (Creem), which would allow current prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for crimes for which mandatory minimums have been repealed to be eligible for good conduct credits earned on and after the effective date of the law.
  • Amendment 152 (McGee), which would create a Justice Reinvestment Trust Fund to allow the savings from the decrease in incarceration to be redirected towards job training and programming for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration.

Please also urge your senator to OPPOSE:

  • Amendments 5 (Tarr) and 25 (Moore), which would reduce the felony theft threshold to $1,000
  • Amendments 18 (Rush), 60 (Tarr), and 121 (Tarr), which would reimpose mandatory minimum sentences, taking discretion away from judges
  • Amendments 24 (Moore) and 87 (O’Connor), which would expand the use of invasive surveillance technologies
  • Amendment 29 (Moore), which would eliminate valuable juvenile justice improvements
  • Amendments 28 and 37 (Tarr), which would make anyone who shares drugs that result in death guilty of manslaughter, thereby creating the possibility that, in the event of an overdose, people sharing drugs would be hesitant to call for help
  • Amendment 40 (Tarr), which would leave in place a harsh 1980 law that denies prisoners serving mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes all possibility of participating in programs aimed at reducing recidivism while they are incarcerated
  • Amendments 42 and 80 (Tarr), which would retain current parole fees

Endorsing Orgs: Plug in to Make a Difference

Salem YES on 1

Dear Safe Communities Act Endorsing Organizations,

As we articulated last month, the Safe Communities Coalition has concluded that a positive, Yes on 1 outcome in Salem is critically important. A reversal of Salem’s “welcoming” policy would reverberate across the state, critically harming our efforts to pass the Safe Communities Act, as well as undermine support for trust/welcoming/sanctuary policies in other Commonwealth municipalities.

Salem is putting our values to a vote, and if we can’t show that there is strong public support for these policies, we will face an even greater challenge in the State House.

So many of the endorsing organizations have stepped up and contributed volunteer time and effort on canvasses and phone banks already. It has been a beautiful example of what we can do when organizations come together in coalition to work on a larger goal.

In the last weeks before the Nov. 7 election, we’re asking you once again to appeal to your members and networks.

TAKE ACTION THIS WEEKEND:

Join the Salem 10/29 Statewide Virtual Phonebank — all you need is a phone, laptop and internet connection. Sign up at the link!

Criminal Justice Reform – It’s time to make this happen!

By Caroline Bays, Progressive Watertown

Last week, the Senate unveiled the eagerly anticipated Criminal Justice Reform bill. While those of us interested in comprehensive reform did not get everything we wanted, the final Senate version represents a significant step forward in returning some real justice to our criminal justice system. 

So what’s in the bill, and what can you do to help? 

 Here are some of the key provisions:

  • Removal of mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenders for non-violent drug violations including drug trafficking near schools, drug paraphernalia ownership, and heroin possession. The bill does not remove heroin trafficking mandatory minimums and rolls fentanyl into the same category as heroin.
  • Expansion of diversion eligibility.
  • Elimination of some court fees, such as the indigent counsel fee, and parole fees, although probation fees are not repealed as we had hoped.
  • Complete overhaul of the bail system in accordance with the SJC ruling earlier this year, ensuring bail will be more affordable to all defendants.
  • Protections for inmates in solitary confinement, who will be regularly reviewed and given the opportunity to be released from solitary if they can show that they are ready to return to general population.  The bill also improves access to programming and guarantees rights to the LGBTQ prisoners.
  • Raise of the age of criminal majority from 18 to 19 and that of criminal culpability from 7 to 12. The bill also allows for consensual sex between teenagers close in age and decriminalizes disturbing a school assembly. It expands diversion availability for those up to age 26.
  • Sealing of criminal records (CORIs) after 3 years for misdemeanors and 7 years after felonies and seals juvenile records after 1 year.
  • Lift of the felony theft threshold to $1,500 from $250.
  • Requirement for the court to make written findings before sentencing a primary caretaker. 

While this bill may not give us all we wanted, especially in terms of repealing all mandatory minimums, it still represents significant reform in Massachusetts. If we want to keep this bill intact and have true meaningful reform, we must act now. The House in Beacon Hill is not on board with these changes, and we face an uphill battle to keep these reforms in the final bill.


So – call or visit your state representative today! Let him or her know that it is important to support the reforms outlined in the Senate’s bill. The House is already showing signs of writing a much more conservative bill, so it is really important to make your voice heard NOW!


And please come join us at the State House on Thursday, October 12 at 11:00 a.m. for a rally to support the legislation!

Call to Endorsing Orgs: Focus Salem

Dear Safe Communities Act Endorsing Organizations,

In all the news on a national and state level concerning immigration, the Safe Communities Act Action Committee wants to bring to your attention a local fight for immigrant rights with major implication: the Salem is for Everyone campaign.

Salem is in a heated fight to protect their Sanctuary for Peace Ordinance which was passed in March 2017 and codifies existing Salem City and Police Department policies that protect the rights of all Salem residents, regardless of immigration status.

Anti-immigrant forces want to repeal, and have successfully put the Ordinance on the November 7th ballot and are marshalling their forces to convince voters to repeal it.

The Safe Communities Act Action Committee believes that a positive, Yes on 1 outcome in support of the Ordinance is critically important not just for Salem, but for the passage of the Safe Communities Act, as well as trust/welcoming/sanctuary policies across the state. If we can’t show that there is strong public support for these policies, we will face an even greater challenge in the State House.

Please alert your networks and invite your members to join our coalition effort in Salem!

Safe Communities Coalition Canvassing for Salem

As a coalition, we are organizing 2 canvassing days with Yes on 1 Salem: Saturday, October 7, and Saturday, October 21 from 1pm-5pm.

October 7 Safe Communities Canvass for Salem

1pm-5pm

First Church, 316 Essex St. in Salem

We will be joining Yes on 1 to canvass North Salem on this date. Join forces with Salem locals to knock on doors! All routes will be walkable or you will be paired with someone with a car.

Parking: Leave extra time. Parking is challenging in Salem in October. You can try for street parking on parking is available a few blocks away at the MBTA garage. Taking the Train: First Church is just a few blocks away from the MBTA station.

The Campaign has invited all volunteers to meet at Mercy Tavern, 148 Derby St. for drinks/bites to eat after and enjoy October in Salem!

RSVP to the Action Committee for September 7th.

October 21 Safe Communities Canvass for Salem

1pm-5pm

First Church, 316 Essex St. in Salem

We will be joining Yes on 1 to canvass South Salem on this date. Join forces with Salem locals to knock on doors! All routes will be walkable or you will be paired with someone with a car.

Parking: Leave extra time. Parking is challenging in Salem in October. You can try for street parking on parking is available a few blocks away at the MBTA garage. Taking the Train: First Church is just a few blocks away from the MBTA station.

The Campaign has invited all volunteers to meet at Mercy Tavern, 148 Derby St. for drinks/bites to eat after and enjoy October in Salem!

RSVP to the Action Committee for September 21.

Carpooling: Sign up to request a ride or to offer rides for both dates!

Can’t make these dates? Sign up for canvassing on other days here.

Follow Yes on 1! Salem is for Everyone to stay up to date on their entire campaign and ways that you can support their work.

Other action opportunities from Yes on 1:

Spanish Day of Action:

October 14 10:00 am and 1:00 pm – North Shore CDC, 96 Lafayette St. (upstairs) Salem

Yes on 1 will be canvassing The Point neighborhood (Salem’s primarily Latino neighborhood) in two shifts, 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. Opponents went into this neighborhood to get residents to sign their referendum petition, misleading people that it was “for Sanctuary.” We need to combat that. If you speak Spanish, that is great! Feel free to come even if you don’t.

Parking: Street parking should be available in the surrounding blocks. The routes will be walkable.

Phone Banking: If you are looking for remote support, the Yes on 1 Salem campaign is working to set up remote phone banking! Contact salemsanctuarynow@gmail.com to work out how you can set up a phone bank for your group.

This is an opportunity we cannot pass on. Thank you for your continuing support for the Safe Communities Act.

SCA Action Committee:

Progressive MA

Indivisible

JALSA

MIRA

ACLU

32BJ

Salem: For Want of a Nail

THE best hopes of pushing back against the Trump agenda is to pass solid, good policy at the State Level. 

On the Administration’s xenophobic anti-immigration policies, our hopes are in the courts — where we are winning– and in the states, with good ‘Safe’ and ‘Trust’ communities legislation as has been so recently passed by Illinois (!!) and California. 

Massachusetts, Illinois is surpassing us in #Resisting autocracy and state oppression.

Our State Legislature must take up the mantel of justice and adopt an urgency that is so far shockingly absent.* 

To catch up with Illinois, Massachusetts must pass the Safe Communities Act, which is, dumbfoundingly, languishing in committee and without enough champions among our Legislators. With your grassroots outreach and our Safe Communities Coalition’s advocacy inside the building, we are making progress — but time is running out... 

…And we are looking at a loose horseshoe nail in Salem.

The Safe Communities Coalition has concluded that losing the Salem welcoming city ordinance would send already nervous legislators running away from the goals of justice for all. All Beacon Hill eyes are watching Salem. A no vote there, on a municipal initiative, could close down the SCA for at least next two years. We must do everything to make sure SCA passes NOW. 

A driving philosophy at Progressive Mass is that taking action, organizing, in our communities is the sine qua non of progress and justice.

So simple, so powerful: Act Locally. 

Gather up your neighbors and friends, and join us to knock on doors and get on phones to help Salem voters make a vote for justice, with a YES ON 1 vote. Schedule a phone bank in your community and invite your friends. Your work will go farther than any other activity this season.**

Right now, we focus on securing a horseshoe nail.