Winston-Salem Category
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Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Holiday is Over
Despite taking a little time off for the July 4th holiday, we came back energized and ready to go, getting a lot accomplished even with two shortened weeks. We spent a significant amount of time at the Green Bean Coffeehouse meeting with people and we were able to get a lot accomplished. We met with several elected officials – a State House Representative, a Mayor and a County Commissioner. They gave us their support for our endeavors this summer and offered a few contacts to meet with in the surrounding areas. But beyond just meeting those elected officials, who were a lot of help, we were also able to make some contacts within the college campuses nearby – particularly in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. During our college outreach, we were able to distribute information about our organization, discuss issues that are important to voters, as well as distribute college voter registration and GOTV guides.
Also, we spoke with the director of the Upward Bound program and successfully conducted 16/17 year old early registration during several of their classes. We attended a redistricting meeting on the campus of GTCC in Jamestown where the current Rucho map was being discussed. We are disappointed that a meeting is not being held closer for the residents in and around Forsyth County to attend.
Overall these two weeks have been very productive. We are continuing to meet with community leaders and elected officials, as well as continue our outreach to the various community service agencies in the area.
As Democracy Summer dwindles down, our main priority is making sure the citizens of the state are informed, and know that they can rely on us to provide any information that they may need in the future, because our motto is to establish a government that is “Of, For, and By the People!” We are ready to serve.
Kayla and Khadijah
Central North Carolina Team
Posted in Democracy Summer 2011, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | Comments Off
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
The Ride to Raleigh to Rally
On July 13, 2011, two vans from the Triad loaded up to attend the “Respect Our Vote, Protect Our Vote Rally” at the General Assembly to help prevent a devastating change to our voting rights. On this day they were expected to make a decision on HB-351, which is the bill requiring a government issued Photo ID and SB-47, a bill that would put an end to pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds and many other important voting rights issues.
In the Senate chamber, the Senators were reviewing the bills that Governor Beverly Purdue vetoed and they were debating whether to override her veto or sustain her veto. However HB-351 and SB-47 did not come up for review on this day, however they decided that July 25, 2011 will be the date they will discuss and vote.
Subsequently, they did discuss one bill that will affect many teachers in the state of North Carolina. The bill was vetoed by the governor who clearly felt that this bill poses an injustice to North Carolina educators and their right to payroll deduction of association dues. This bill is clearly an attack on our education system, just like the budget which cut funding for education, which will contribute to the laying off of our valued teachers, lowering the funding for financial aid which most students use, and as an end result, Universities and Colleges would have to increase the cost of attending as well as cut major courses and classes.
In conclusion, the days that are approaching are going to shape North Carolina into something no one can predict, except that we know it is not for the better. Let’s try to stop the injustice while we can so that citizens may predict a brighter future.
Khadijah and Kayla
Central North Carolina Team
Posted in Democracy Summer 2011, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 27th, 2011
With the impending doom of what could happen with SB-47, I find it important to reflect back to July 1st, 1971. This coming Saturday will be the 40th anniversary of the 26th Amendment being passed, which changed the legal voting age to be 18, instead of 21 (which it had been previously). Now, young teens face close to the same challenges teens then faced, being treated as if their citizen duty, to vote, is not of importance. Even though the reasons for the 26th Amendment were slightly different (“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote!”), the consequences remain the same. Young people should be whole-heartedly involved in the political process. In reality, by stripping them the ability to pre-register is not only taking away Civics education – that the law requires, but is also closing them out of the system. Even though July is most notably remembered for United States independence, it is important to reflect on the gains that teens made in the political world during the month too. With July 1st approaching we should not be making regressive policies that make teens even less heard, but we should be educating our future, and ensuring that young people have the voice that our ancestors worked so hard to fight for – that is what July is about anyways, right? As the legislators reconvene in July, I ask them to remember the 26th Amendment and the positive impact it had for not only young people, but the country as a whole. July should be a time for celebration for the country (young people included), not a time for regressive legislation!
Kayla and Khadijah
Winston-Salem Team
Posted in Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2011, Greensboro, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
As we begin our fourth week as Democracy NC Summer interns, it is important for us to reflect on all that we have accomplished. I think it is safe to say that this program/organization/internship has given all of us an opportunity to create social change that we might not have been able to achieve otherwise. We have been able to meet influential and important people in many different communities, we have been able to help the elderly who need a way to voice their opinions and needs, but most importantly we have helped to educate the citizens of this state of some important, vital issues.
This week we traveled back to Surry County to speak with the director of voter registration and a history professor on Surry Community College campus. Even though they both said that Surry Community had hosted several successful drives on campus before, they were willing to accept our campus GOTV campaign packets and our Respect Our Vote flyers. On Tuesday Khadijah made another trip back to the Spring Garden Bakery to sit in and participate in their weekly chat about democracy, “Demo-chat.” There she was able to get a few signatures on our “Cut the Strings” petition.
Also on Tuesday, we spoke at the Minister’s Conference in Winston, where we were trying to get the word out about our organization and the film series we are trying to get going. We seemed to make a good impression on those that were in attendance, and they were willing to take several ROV flyer packets and our flyers about the film showing. In addition, we were able to meet with a few people that are part of the Beloved Community Center in Greensboro. They have a similar summer program to ours; however, theirs just focuses on certain communities in Greensboro. They seemed very interested in working with us and having some sort of film series in mid-July, where we would help their interns set something up for the community that they are working in.
As the summer progresses, Khadijah and I are learning al about the grassroots organizing process. We are continuing to meet new and influential people, who will hopefully be contacts that we will know for a long time.
Khadijah and Kayla
Winston-Salem Team
Posted in Democracy Summer, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 17th, 2011
On June 15th, all of the Democracy NC team met in Raleigh at the General Assembly. (We missed you Shaniqua!) We decided to make our “Lobby Day” the day after the legislators had spent a long night previously voting on legislation and issues, such as the budget and voting rights legislation. To be honest, Khadijah and I did not know what to expect upon going to the General Assembly. Overall we both though it was a fun experience, especially being able to meet and speak face-to-face with certain legislators, such as Rep. Alexander, Rep. Rosa Gill, Rep. Rodney Moore, and Rep. Larry Womble.
All of the legislators that we spoke with, despite all of the angst against the bad legislation, seemed to be staying positive for the most part. Rep. Jennifer Weiss (HD 35) compared the bad legislation to “whack-a-mole on steroids.” The legislators expressed the importance of what we, as a group were doing, both as young people and grassroots activists. They also spoke a little about the issues that were being passed in both chambers – bad legislation like the Voter ID Bill, shortening early voting, eliminating Sunday voting and so on.
This was a great experience and it gave each one of us a chance to truly see the democratic process at work. From sitting in on the redistricting committee meeting, to meeting with individual legislators, to sitting in both of the chambers – it was an overall great learning experience. Just being there makes a person realize how important of a role it is to be involved. As Rep. Womble said; “Politics rule you from the day you were born to the day you die.”
And if you have not seen the Winston-Salem Chronicle, the team was featured twice. We were able to publish a letter to the editor that focused on the voting rights legislation that is being discussed now in the legislature and we were featured with the Rec Center that we went to speak to! I must admit it was a pretty good week, one that we can definitely be proud of our successes as a team!
Khadijah and Kayla
Winston, Salem Team
Posted in Democracy Summer, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 2 Comments »
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
As the Democracy NC journey continues, the Winston-Salem team continues to have fun while reaching out to new and different people. This past Saturday, June 11, Khadijah participated in the People’s Assembly rally held in Greensboro; the march began at the Greensboro Four Statue on the NC A&T campus and came to a close at the Greensboro Courthouse. The members of the march wore a surgical mask to prove that these issues being discussed were “toxic” to the city (environment). The rally was successfully organized to allow influential and affluent community members to express their concern for certain issues that are being discussed within the Greensboro City Council and state; such as Police Corruption, White Street Landfill, Educational Disparities, $5 Million Energy Grant, Elimination of Early Voting Sites, and Redistricting. In attendance was Reverend Gatewood, Reverend Cardes Brown (President of the NAACP Greensboro Branch), the Alpha-alumni, the Delta-alumni, and Democracy NC. Overall the rally presented a strong, united front on the issues at hand, and the people at the rally were able to get their point across in a positive, strong way.
After spending all day Monday research Social Service Agencies for our research project, creating/learning how to use twitter, and attending a Young Democrats meeting in Surry County, Tuesday consisted of meetings and running around. Early Tuesday morning we attended a small gathering of socially active people in Greensboro. This small group is moderated by Marnie Thompson, the founder of Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC), which meets every Tuesday at Spring Garden Bakery at 8:30am. The group discusses different topics every week but they relate all of their discussions back to social justice, activism, and democracy. Both Khadijah and I felt that this type of group meeting was interesting and invigorating. The people there were a range of different ages but were all able to come together for one purpose – promoting democracy, which we both found inspiring. Upon attending the meeting, we were given an article to read on whether social activism, even though fulfilling, was a career path someone would be able to take after college, based on the amount of pay. It was interesting to hear such a variety of views among such a small group – but nonetheless, it was a lot of fun. We were also able to meet Elizabeth Shiemann, a fellow with Kate B. Reynolds Charitable trust who was interested in our day to day work at Democracy NC. We also helped a group of senior citizens send in their letters to Gov. Perdue asking for a veto of the voter suppression bills coming out of Raleigh.
Overall, the week has been pretty productive already and Wednesday we head off to Raleigh to visit the General Assembly! Let’s hope that the legislators are as willing to work with us as the citizens of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Surry County have been!
Khadijah and Kayla
Winston-Salem Team
Posted in Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Thursday, June 2nd, Khadijah and I got a chance to speak to some senior citizens at Independent Living Center off of Akron Drive in Winston. The citizens that attended expressed a lot of concern about the new legislation being introduced. They also expressed other fears, such as community centers not getting the necessary funding, less and less people with health care, and the possibility of losing their Medicare. Even with all of their concerns, the members of the Independent Living Center showed that they remain hopeful, trusting that their elected officials will stand up for their needs, and protect what they have fought so hard to achieve. They even asked for our assistance in writing letters to the governor, which we provided.
On June 6th we traveled north to Dobson, and were invited to speak with the Senior Democrats of Surry County. There were a few more people at this meeting, and to say they were a lively bunch would be an understatement. We did get a chance to speak with them about the Photo ID bill and some other voting restrictions that are being proposed. We were also able to touch base on our “Cut the Strings” initiative that is focused on our support for public campaign financing – and successfully got some signatures from our petition. Just like the seniors at Independent Living Center, the Senior Democrats are worried about other issues being currently debated now as well. They seemed to show the most interest in ensuring that the voter’s right to vote remains protected, and they seemed more than willing to support any type of “call to action” proposed to do just that.
These speaking engagements really showed that people are very concerned about this legislation being proposed, which are changing voting laws and only making it harder for many groups to get out and vote. However, after both speaking engagements, Khadijah and I were invited back to speak or help with initiating voter registration. We accepted an invite to come and speak to a local branch of the NAACP, at their next meeting, regarding the Photo ID bill. So far the Winston-Salem team has experienced working with a range of people, youth to seniors, and we are truly realizing that the people WANT change. It is our job to inform and educate the people of the issues and how they are/will be affected. No matter their age, race or party, that is exactly what we intend to do!
Making a difference, one person at a time.
Kayla and Khadijah
The Winston-Salem Team
Posted in Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
So far the internship has been a blur and pretty fast paced. Khadijah and I have been trying to find contacts, get organized, get numbers, set up events, all while preparing for speaking events and one-on-one meetings. Because our office is not equipped with internet service, making these conn
Around lunch time on Wednesday we met with James Burroughs in our first one-on-one meeting. He is the president and executive director of Democracy at Home – an organization based in Greensboro. It was refreshing to see another young face being so politically and civically active. He was able to give us some helpful advice pertaining to event coordinating and public or community gatherings and forums. However, the more exciting and fulfilling event was with a local recreation center in Winston.
At the rec center we spoke to about 15 kids, all ranging from age six to sixteen. We spoke about the importance of voting and ways that they can become engaged, even at such a young age. All of the kids were well educated and versed on certain political aspects, as far as the presidency, and it was refreshing to see so many kids knowledgeable. It was interesting to hear, though, that the kids felt young people still would not get involved in politics even if they were knowledgeable, and political information was given to them. Also, the kids felt that the current political arena really lacks role models that young people can look up to – inherently decreasing their likelihood to be interested.
Khadijah and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids and hearing what they had to say. The meeting with James Burroughs was also a great learning experience because we actually were able to learn and speak with someone who has experience with what we will be doing a lot this summer. Even if people don’t want to believe it, the youth and young citizens are our future and they must have a voice in every aspect of society. The sooner young people realize they are important the better citizens and the more involved they will be later in life. If these past few days are any implication of what the summer will be like, the Winston-Salem team is ready!
Kayla and Khadijah
Winson-Salem Team
Posted in Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2011, Uncategorized, Winston-Salem | 7 Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Jim Caldwell, Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, at the "Hang the Net" event with Ray Robinson (at left) and Sean Maxwell.
This week was all about some Youth Voter Pledge cards. We hit the ground running on Monday and Tuesday by going to local recreation centers and talking to kids about voting. We were looking especially for high school students but when the “big kids” started signing the cards all the little ones wanted to do it too. So yeah, we ended up with a few voter pledge cards from some 12 year olds, but hey… can’t start early enough!
We had a one-on-one meeting this week with Mr. Tim Grant, director of Winston-Salem Parks and Recreation. He was very helpful and identified several upcoming opportunities for us to get into contact with lots of youth. He showed us all around the office, introduced us to everyone, and even referred us to a city-sponsored Youth Council that might be a good “focus group” for future youth-oriented Dem NC endeavors.
One of the events Mr. Grant told us about was the annual “Hang the Net” competition at Hanes Hoisery recreation center. The event featured Wake Forest basketball players, local street ball legends, Cameron Kent from WXII 12 News, and Coach Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts (see picture above). The event featured a three point shooting contest and slam dunk contest. We were able to set up a booth in the lobby and, with everyone lured nearby thanks to the free Frosty coupons, sign dozens of pledge cards to reach our goal.
This week also saw plenty of VAN phonebank action, as well as some short trips to Greensboro campuses to plan for fall GOTV. At North Carolina A&T University we met with Mrs. Nastasha Johnson at the Bluford Library, who then connected us into all the right people for our August plan to perform voter registration at the A&T Welcome Week.
I’m going to have to cut this blog post a little short since we have to get outta the office and back to Greensboro. We are doing some flier distribution today for next week’s Community Movie Night event with Mr. Darryl Hunt. We also hope to stop by the Beloved Community Center and liaison with Rev. Nelson Johnson, who is planning some GOTV efforts. We think there is a good opportunity for some collaboration.
We hope everyone is having a great week!
-Sean Maxwell and Ray Robinson
Posted in Civic Engagement, Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2010, Get Out the Vote, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem, Youth Vote | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 16th, 2010
Winston Lake YMCA Middle Schoolers
Another busy week has flown by, and it’s incredible that there are only two weeks remaining in our Democracy Summer experience. We had some great events occur this week which will go a long way to help our strategies for increased voter participation, youth civic engagement, and electoral reforms.
On Monday we traveled a few minutes down the road to the Winston Lake YMCA to speak with middle school kids who were participating in a Model U.N. club (picture above). We decided to employ a debate format that they already knew very well in order to get them thinking about youth participation in civic affairs. The students had plenty to say about problems in their schools and neighborhoods, they just needed someone to ask their opinion! We told them about the structure of the Forsyth County Board of Education and encouraged them to pay attention to local politics, current events, and to always stand up and voice their concerns. After this mini-workshop, Ray and I were destroyed in a quick pickup basketball game between us and two of the students. Our height advantage meant nothing and they seriously asked us if we were actually trying… embarrassing indeed!
Tuesday was probably the most eventful day of all this week. Ray and I had an informal interview with Jordan Green of YES!Weekly magazine, a publication in Greensboro that covers local events and politics. Mr. Green then came to our Guilford County GOTV meeting that evening. We had probably around 15 to 20 people show up to discuss ways to increase voter participation. It was a diverse group, from a rising 10th grader to a woman in her 80s. Everyone agreed that focusing on registration in turnout in the month right before an election was too little too late. The meeting generated lots of good feedback and some additional contacts in Greensboro to assist in Democracy NC’s mission. We will likely return to Guilford County to meet with some of the attendees who requested some GOTV and registration training.
Wednesday featured an extremely productive meeting with Dr. David Mount of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. He is Director of Community Outreach for the center, and told us about his strategies for connecting to other organizations and coalition building. He also gave us permission to come to various free community health fairs that are held around the county. At these events, residents in low-income neighborhoods can get free treatment and testing for illnesses and disease. He agreed that having information on civic engagement and voting rights would be helpful and that many facets of their mission overlap with Democracy NC’s goals too. Later that afternoon we met with Mr. T.C. Muhammad in Greensboro, who is involved in GOTV efforts and the Hip Hop Caucus. He gave us numerous contacts in the Guilford County area as well as some avenues to check out at NC A&T University. Hopefully Dem NC can team up with Mr. Muhammad in the fall for some major GOTV campaigns.
Thursday involved a return to the Winston Lake YMCA for a talk with some high school students. It followed a similar format as our Monday meeting, but obviously the discussion was a little more nuanced and we could register them to vote! They also signed some of our Youth pledge cards. It was amazing listening to their stories, particularly one student who was not only captain of his football team, but also worked nearly full-time at Sonic to pay for his own food and car insurance as well as take care of his younger cousins. The responsibility he was shouldering was inspiring and at the same time made our efforts to get their voices heard feel much more meaningful.
On top of all these experiences we have been phonebanking and planning for a voter registration and youth pledge card drive. And tomorrow we are attending the Stone Soul Picnic in Burlington. It’s been a busy week but it has felt good!
Until next time,
Sean Maxwell (and Ray Robinson)
Posted in Civic Engagement, Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2010, Get Out the Vote, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem, Youth Vote | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 9th, 2010
This week, despite being shortened due to the Independence Day Holiday, has been jam-packed with activities. Ray and I settled back into our office on Tuesday and began implementing our plans for our many events coming up this month. On Wednesday we had some meetings with community activists in both Forsyth and Guilford Counties, and on Thursday we threw our effort toward generating phone calls to the N.C. General Assembly.
Next week, we will be leading two youth forums at the Winston Lake YMCA for kids in their Youth Achiever programs. The Boys and Girls Club is also sending participants. We have been in constant contact with the program managers at the Y, finalizing our agenda and confirming our message. We even were able to bring in City Councilwoman D.D. Adams as a guest speaker for the kids. In addition to these two programs, we have organized a Greensboro Coalition meeting on July 13th for GOTV planning and discussions on electoral reform. All in all, next week is sure to be busy, but it will be exciting to see all of our planning come together and result in something positive for the community.
This week on Wednesday, we met with Mr. Michael Thomas of the Goodwill Re-Entry program in Winston-Salem. We talked about his work in the prison system and his classes for re-integration into society, finding a job, and becoming a productive citizen. We were able to provide him with voter registration forms and informational literature about regaining citizenship rights after being incarcerated. Later in the afternoon, we met Mr. Fahiym Hanna, who operates in Guilford County. He is our age and already has his own grassroots organizing experience through various community groups. We spoke with him about reaching out to Guilford County youth and what organizations could assist us in our mission for youth civic engagement and voter participation. Both meetings were highly informative and certainly aided us in our mission for GOTV.
Thursday was almost a complete blur. Coming into work in the afternoon, HQ alerted us that the N.C. House was considering Senate Bill 20, which aimed to incrementally expand Voter-Owned Elections to the state Treasurer’s Race and for one additional municipality. We began making calls to past supporters in the early evening, encouraging them to contact their elected officials. We had also organized a W-S Voting Rights Coalition community meeting in our office for GOTV planning that night, so we had all the participants call both their Senator and Representatives in the General Assembly (see pictures at top). Thursday’s events proved that everything moves so unexpectedly in the legislative process. It really forces activists to constantly adapt and quickly respond with little warning.
In other news, we have moved the date for our Greensboro community movie night to later in July so that Darryl Hunt can come speak. Also in the works… a youth forum for high school students to motivate and train them to register their fellow classmates to vote in the fall. We already have space booked at the public library, and are currently in the process of contacting these students that indicated they were interested in such an activity.
So, it’s definitely been another packed week here in Winston-Salem, but we are very excited about our upcoming events and our GOTV and youth civic engagement efforts. I think it’s safe to say we are virtually “humming” on all cylinders.
Until next time,
Sean Maxwell and Ray Robinson
Tags: Democracy Summer 2010, GOTV, Voter-Owned Elections, Winston-Salem, Youth Vote
Posted in Civic Engagement, Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2010, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
After last week’s disappointing results in the NC Senate, we got back to work this week on Voter-Owned Elections and other initiatives like felon re-enfranchisement and youth voter education. In some good news, the NC House is currently considering expanding public financing to the statewide Treasurer’s race and allowing an additional municipality to implement their own VOE program (Chapel Hill already used VOE in their 2009 elections). This week, Ray and I have been phonebanking to reach out to citizens in conservative Democratic house districts that are sure to be the deciding factor for this important legislation. Although these measures in the House are not nearly as comprehensive as the Senate’s plan was, it is still an important positive step in the right direction.
Earlier this week, our team met to discuss and plan out some of our upcoming events in July. One of our main projects this summer is to reach out to area youth and get them civically engaged and tuned into local politics. When people know who their elected officials and what their responsibilities are, they can begin to take action for their own interests. It’s our job to alert youth to the important issues that affect them and let them know what they can do about it. In July we will have several events at a local YMCA. We will be holding forums about things like local education cuts and school board policies. The students will debate and hone their thoughts into arguments. Then we will perform a workshop about how to effectively contact local officials. Ray and I are very excited to work with local middle and high school kids. If they become interested in their communities at an early age, it’s more likely they become civically engaged and hold their leaders accountable. And that is a victory for society at large.
In addition to planning out these events, we have been scheduling various meetings with community leaders. Next week, we will meet Dr. David Mount, the director of community outreach at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity and Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. The Angelou center specializes on research and policy work to correct health care disparities in low-income and minority neighborhoods. We will also be meeting Mr. Michael Thomas of the Goodwill Re-Entry Program for ex-felons. He works to re-integrate them into society and provides support. We will talk to him about our initiatives encouraging ex-felons to re-register and become voters.
At the top of our priorities list are two meetings we are organizing in Guilford County. The first is to bring together various groups in Greensboro and Guilford County to talk about GOTV efforts and electoral reform at a local church. The second is a community dinner and movie night block party in downtown Greensboro. We have partnered with a local group called Food Not Bombs to cook a dinner, and we will show the documentary “The Trials of Darryl Hunt” on a big screen outside the HIVE community center. Click this link to check out the Darryl Hunt Project’s website: http://www.darrylhuntproject.org/film.html
All of this will serve as an opportunity for discussion of local issues and a way for residents to connect with one another. It’s a huge undertaking and we have been collecting and gathering all our contacts in the Greensboro area. With Linda’s help we have generated a multiple page list of e-mail addresses and organizations and have created a public service announcement to release to the local media. Hopefully with some more dedication over the next two weeks we can pull it off!
Here’s to hard work!
-Sean Maxwell (and Ray Robinson)
Tags: Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice, Democracy Summer 2010, Get Out the Vote, Greensboro, Voter-Owned Elections, Winston-Salem, Youth Vote
Posted in Civic Engagement, Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2010, Tales From The Frontline, Winston-Salem | 2 Comments »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
This week’s highlight was attending our Lobby Day on Tuesday at the General Assembly in Raleigh. All day Monday we made last-minute phone calls to our confirmed attendees and rented a 12 passenger van to make the trip. We also put together information packets with bill descriptions, factsheets about Voter-Owned Elections, and the day’s agenda. We departed Tuesday morning slightly after 7 am and arrived in Raleigh at about 9:15 after a quick pick-up stop in Greensboro. We headed immediately into our scheduled meetings for a packed day.
We met with Representatives Earline Parmon, Larry Womble, Pricey Harrison, Annie Mobley, and many others. We spoke with Senator Linda Garrou’s legislative research aide and briefly caught up with Senator Pete Brunstetter after an ethics committee meeting. Although he did not support VOE and gave us typical political answers about why he wanted it removed from the ethics legislation, our group made its presence known to him and showed that his constituents cared about the issue. Here is video of us with Sen. Brunstetter: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV2hGyHjFZQ] We ran into numerous other elected officials in the hallways and corridors.
Overall, I think Ray and I handled the chaotic events as best we could and effectively got our points across to the busy legislators. We attended the ethics committee meeting which saw many partisan fireworks, and we witnessed an incredible lecture by Harvard Professor Larry Lessig. Lessig is a democracy reform advocate and leads the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard. If you have not seen his powerpoint presentation on money in politics, please check it out! It blew my mind: http://blip.tv/file/3797334
The Lobby Day experience, with nearly 125 dedicated people from all across the state attending, was a great feeling of accomplishment that made Ray and I feel like we were truly making an impact. Although the results of the day were originally promising (the ethics package included public financing and passed through 2 committees), it became all too clear that we have much more work to do. Overnight, robo-calls from the national special interest group “Americans for Prosperity” were made to voters in conservative Democratic senate districts. Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was featured in the call, lying about the VOE proposals by saying it would raise taxes. Some Democratic Senators caved and the Democratic leadership panicked (which is embarrassing) and returned the bill to committee to have it stripped of public campaign financing.You can listen to the robo-call call here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/24/548872/public-finance-plan-fizzles.html
This sorry episode, where a nationally funded group manipulates NC voters and subverts the will of the majority is exactly why reform is needed in the political process! Despite this setback, we have already accomplished more than we could have expected in this short legislative session. We are re-doubling our efforts and will continue to fight for what is right in North Carolina. Voter-Owned Elections is on the radar, we are getting attention, and the opposition from special interests means we must be doing something right! Thanks to everyone who came with us to the Lobby Day and all the organizers who set the agenda. It was a tremendous experience.
-Sean Maxwell and Ray Robinson
Tags: Americans for Prosperity, Democracy Summer 2010, Earline Parmon, Larry Womble, Linda Garrou, Lobby Day, Pat McCrory, Pete Brunstetter, Voter-Owned Elections, Winston-Salem
Posted in Civic Engagement, Democracy Summer, Democracy Summer 2010, Tales From The Frontline, Voter-Owned Elections, Winston-Salem | 3 Comments »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Lobby Day approaches with full force! And that means lots of events and phone calls for the Dem Summer interns. Getting the word out has been relatively easy. But getting commitments out of people for a whole day has been tough, especially since many of the involved and most likely attendees are already volunteering on Tuesday for the run-off election. But Ray and I have persevered, speaking to WSSU students, the Forsyth County Democratic Women, meeting one-on-one with several area activists, and attending numerous other community events. We have a nearly full van-load of people committed to travel with us to Raleigh, and meetings now set up with Senator Don Vaughan, Senator Linda Garrou, and Rep. Earline Parmon. We’ll surely be stopping by other offices as time permits.
The highlight of my week so far was definitely talking to the Forsyth County Democratic Women. They had a group of at least 20 or 30 people, and speakers such as a candidate for a NC House seat and the wife of Billy Kennedy, who is running for US Congress against Virginia Foxx. Needless to say it was intimidating to speak after these people who are so used to articulating their points. Ray and I gave our quick talk about Dem NC, our non-partisan goals for getting out the vote, and Voter-Owned Elections. In the middle of our presentation, US Senate candidate Cal Cunningham walked in, along with a gaggle of campaign staff and press people. My heart rate definitely increased a bit, but we remained unfazed. Mr. Cunningham spoke immediately after us and complimented our work, praised Democracy NC, and re-iterated his support for the Fair Elections Now Act. Afterward, I was happy when several people gave us great comments on our brief speech.
Before I sign out, I wanted to mention a great conversation I had earlier this afternoon with a gentleman from Greensboro who is joining our Lobby Day delegation to Raleigh. He was so genuinely excited to attend with us and spoke for several minutes about how much he appreciated Dem NC’s cause for VOE implementation and the work of us young people as interns. It was one of those bright spots that gives you a great feeling and validates all the work being done on behalf of good government in NC. It certainly gives me some good personal momentum to carry me into next week.
Until next time,
Sean
Tags: Lobby Day
Posted in Democracy Summer, Winston-Salem | Comments Off
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
This first week has been all I hoped for and more. Working with politics has always been my dream and now it’s happening. With great advising from Ms. Sutton and our other Democracy NC mentors I know we will be fine. The Winston-Salem team is off to a good start. This week Sean Maxwell and I met with local elected Officials, community leaders and activists. We discussed (VOE) Voter Owned Elections and received immense support for Lobby Day. There were many lessons taught and learned.
One of the most interesting parts of this internship is seeing the looks on people’s faces when they believe they have made a difference. It gives validation to the idea of true democracy. One man equals one vote. Election day is one of the only times in life that it doesn’t matter what a man’s race, ethic background, socio economic status, academic accomplishments or creed have afforded him in life.
Democracy summer has allowed me to see this process in action in a way that I have never seen it before. Its was nice blogging to you my friends but as Robert Frost would say “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep”.
Forever Mine, Forever Thine, Forever Vote
Ray Robinson
Dem Sum Winston-Salem
Posted in Democracy Summer 2010, Winston-Salem | Comments Off
