After a packed general chapter meeting on Friday night at the Kirks' home, many Progressive Needham members got up early the next morning to Caucus with the Needham Dems. 

It was a mini-reunion the next day, with many first-timers, as well as many people who had caucused before, but not in many years. 

From our friends in the Progressive Needham chapter, a useful graphic on caucuses--and, below, some suggestions about how one might organize/engage to affect the electoral landscape

From February 3 to March 4, local Democratic town and ward committees across the state will be holding caucuses to elect delegates to the 6/2 Mass Dems Convention. 

Find your caucus location here: massdems.org/convention/2018-caucus-dates

Caucuses are one of the opportunities activists, organizers, and regular ol' concerned citizens have to exert some pressure on a "machine" (the electoral and Political Party apparatus).

By attending your caucus, you can vote for progressive delegates, and/or run as one yourself.

Bring the Progressive Mass Endorsement Questionnaires for Governor to your caucus (and, as they come in, those for for other statewide candidates). "Who are you supporting for Governor?" is going to be a popular topic of discussion! It's a great resources to share, browse during the boring bits, and give you material to ask follow-up questions. 

Check in with your Progressive Mass chapter and fellow members to ask if the group wants to organize for your Caucus. (There may already be a plan. If there isn't, offer to help get one started! Turn great ideas into action!). 

Below are some broad suggestions to get started on electoral work, in addition to Caucusing, whether on your own or with a group.

OTHER GRASSROOTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT/SHAPING THE ELECTION

ongoing! - AMPLIFY/ADVOCATE:Use our materials materials (questionnaire, platform, agenda) to frame discussions and debates. Ask candidates follow-up questions. Raise issues you’re not hearing enough about. Remember, before you give your support,a candidate has a great incentive (trying to earn it!) to hear out your questions and concerns!  

ongoing! - ORGANIZE/EDUCATE your Community on progressive issues (including,sharing materials like questionnaire, platform, agenda). Work with your PM Chapter to host candidate andissue forums (volunteer to be organizational lead! great ideas need people to turn into action!).

soon - PM ENDORSEMENT: By joining together in endorsements as an organization, our members increase all of our voices/power, individually,locally, and as a progressive movement. Our endorsement is comprised of individuals’votes. Weigh your vote thoughtfully. Organize other members for the candidate you believe is the best candidate (or for non-endorsement, should that be your conclusion).

feb. 3-mar.4—DELEGATES & CAUCUSES: Run for delegate. Support delegates who caucus for progressiveplatform/issues, organize caucuses for candidates/issues you value as progressive. Once delegates are elected, reach out to yours: work to persuade them to vote for PM-endorsed candidates at convention.

IT'S BEEN A YEAR, this 2017. And as a community, we have risen to its challenges. But, it's not enough to fight back: we must lead a progressive path forward. While we fight, we must also create and nurture the infrastructure to be stronger the next round (there will always be a next round).

Progressive Mass started as a group of organizers--old hands and many, many newbies--who saw how much valuable time and energy was wasted rediscovering wheels and reduplicating work, over and over. Our conclusion: progressives lacked an infrastructure to support grassroots organizing and activism--and an umbrella organization to produce and share resources, research, plans, infrastructures, coordination, tools. It's not flashy, but it's important. 

And so, 

• If you believe that local neighborhood teams, regular people, are driving big changes, and that this power, when coordinated and focused, is stronger together...

• If you've found valuable any of these--the scorecards, the drill-down analyses (eg, this), the legislation tracking, the calls to action at critical junctures, the endorsements and candidate questions, the tweets, the information, the resources, the convenings and conference calls, the connecting and the camaraderie...

• If you're tired of Top Down political parties that barely fuss around the edges and think we need a people-powered revolution in politics....

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.

UPDATE: Please use THIS ACTION SCRIPT--  PROGRESSIVEMASS.COM/TAKEACTION

NAVIGATE

- Get Ready! Numbers and Info

- General Calling Script

- Script Add-Ons

- Record Your Call

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Getting Ready

• A: Know your State Rep. and State Senator's names (look up here)
  • IT HELPS: Write down (Save in your contacts!) their phone numbers --
    • or you can call the SWITCHBOARD (617) 722-2000 and ask to be connected to your legislators
• B: Review the general script below
  • EXTRA MILE: Check if they're CO SPONSORING the bill (check here--look for both your Rep and Sen!)
• C: Review the call reporting form below

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Calling Script / General Outline

Mostly, today's calls are going to end up as Voicemails or short messages with aides.

For Legislator brief check-ins your message should be a version of:

"Hello, I'm ____ from ____ . I want REP/SEN to fight for passage of the Safe Communities Act this session. I am paying close attention and these issues of [DUE PROCESS] [PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITIES] [YOUR REASONS] are important to me. I will check back soon."

For calls to the Governor, the message is a version of:

"Governor Baker's Friday statement against Safe Communities was outrageous. I am calling to register my firm support for the Safe Communities Act. I am deeply disappointed in the Governor's position and I will be watching. It is unconscionable that he ally himself on the side of Trump against due process and dignity for all of our immigrant neighbors."

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SCRIPT ADD ONs

Ask for In-District Meeting: We are encouraging organizers to schedule in-district meetings with your legislators -- the request for face-to-face conversation shows you're really serious and you're not going away.

ADD IN: "I would like to schedule an in-district meeting to discuss this with (REP/SEN ___ )"

Your Legislator Has Not Shown Support Yet: They have not yet co-sponsored, they have avoided making a commitment in the press or at forums.

ADD IN: "I would like to hear more about what the legislator's reservations are"..."And I'd like to schedule a meeting to discuss this in-district"

Your Legislator Is Against: They have actively stated their opposition.

ADD IN: "I know that the legislator is in opposition, and as a constituent I want him to know that I am in SUPPORT of the Safe Communities and I urge him/her to change her/his position. I would like to schedule an in-district meeting where we can discuss this issue in more depth."

Your Legislator is a Stalwart Advocate: They are out in front, and are pushing their colleagues to get on board.

ADD IN: "I am calling to express my gratitude for his/her leadership, and that members in our community support and appreciate it too."

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RECORD YOUR CALL

Keeping track of our efforts is an important part of an effective grassroots issues campaign. Thank you for taking a minute to record your calls below. There are sections for your Rep., Sen., and Governor.

be sure to scroll down on the embedded inner frame
OR, open in a new window: progma.us/scacall

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(Ed. Note: our Progressive Mass Legislative Priorities for 2017-18 is a multi-issue agenda that encompasses many of the MA bills raised at the forum. Print it and take it with you for any interaction with your MA State Legislators!)

Re-post from our chapter, JPProgressives', site. Join our list and we'll connect you to chapters in your area! (or help you start one!) 

This past weekend gave a pretty clear visual of how much power we have when we organize together. And we all know that showing up to march was merely the first step of many.

The next is engaging with the political process -- via electoral, issue and legislative work -- as well as the work of community organizing-- building communities of trust, making outreach and strengthening our progressive infrastructure. We're committed to both. 

This week, we are releasing our 2017-18 Legislative Agenda, and we will be asking progressives to make some noise about how Massachusetts should become a leader again in bold progressive policy. 

The Opposite of Trump

We all want to DO something to stop the coming wave of Trump's -- and the traditional conservatives' -- cruel and incoherent policies on immigration, health care, women's bodies, education, and their accelerating privatization and corporate kleptocracy. 

While many emerging activist networks are urging outreach to Congress, we'd like to propose that, in Massachusetts, we'll get a lot more mileage fighting Trump -- and making real change, helping real people who are vulnerable -- BY focusing on Massachusetts:

At least not when it comes to Trump's Cabinet nominees. In their rush to confirm, they have skipped over some crucial steps of the vetting process. If we don't make them slow down and do their jobs properly, we may end up with a Cabinet who will serve only themselves, not the American people.

"Why is my tap water so thick?" A short Sam Bee segment on local elections. 

What happens locally matters. 

Check out our resources to help make it easier to make sense

Scorecards

Legislative Agendas

Issue info, education, updates on our blog

Organizing and Connecting at the Local Level: Chapters and Building a Statewide Progressive Network

Report from the field  -- JPProgressives convened a community conversation on mass incarceration, following the lead of their chapter members. Engaging with neighbors, activists, advocates and legislators, JPP is doing the work of bending the arc towards justice. By joining the Jobs Not Jails coalition, the JP chapter of Progressive Mass will continue to represent progressive grassroots commitment to social justice, and help lead the organization to productive engagement and action. The chapter invites you to join the JNJ rally on Dec 13. More details are below.

Criminal Justice Reform is a core objective of our Progressive Platform. The Massachusetts Legislature will reconvene in January. Our Legislative Agenda will once again indicate which bills need our advocacy to get us closer to the goal of undoing the injustices of mass incarceration. Stay tuned for more from us on the legislative front. 

 More Than 150 Neighbors Attend Forum in Jamaica Plain to Discuss Mass Incarceration

This year, a standing room only crowd of nearly 200 people filled the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain for a forum on the problem of mass incarceration.  The event was organized by JP Progressives, whose members had previously established mass incarceration as their top social concern.  The forum was co-sponsored by 10 other organizations, including the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Mildred Hailey Tenant Organization, Black Lives Matter Boston, and the Jobs Not Jails Coalition.

The keynote speaker at the event was Rahsaan Hall, Director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program.