8-8-2022 Newsletter

 

CITY ELECTIONS: IF YOU DON'T RUN, WHO WILL?  It's an American tradition to complain about our elected leaders. And yet if good people don't run for office, there will be even more to complain about. Voters will elect mayors and city councilors and commissioners in November.  For more details, contact each city administration. ASTORIA  Candidates may file complete applications until August 30, 2022, for Council positions of Mayor, Ward 1 and Ward 3. Sufficient time should be allotted  for verification of application and subsequent petition signature validation through Clatsop County. Potential applicants should allow at least a week for verification of each step in the candidate process. Election information and forms may be found at www.astoria.or.us. WARRENTON, GEARHART, SEASIDE, AND CANNON BEACH Deadline for filing for mayor and city commissioner/councilor is August 19, through the Clatsop County Elections office.

Ben Franklin, Abigail Adams, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and Betsy Ross talked with fans after marching in INCO's first Astoria Regatta Land Parade, August 12, 2017.

WHO DO YOU WANT FOR GOVERNOR? Hear what Oregon's main gubernatorial candidates have to say about policy and possibilities. This is a YouTube video of a debate hosted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.  The main candidates for governor discuss Oregon's housing challenges in this OPB article.

CNN's coverage is here. The image above is from the New York Times; here's its coverage. Per the Times, "Senate Republicans on Sunday forced the removal of a Democratic proposal that would have capped insulin prices at $35 for private insurers, even as seven Republicans joined all 50 members of the Democratic caucus in an effort to preserve the provision in the climate, tax and health care spending bill."   Let's make sure voters know about this achievement  and remind them that the GOP votes against Americans once again.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS VICTORY "A broad coalition with a fresh message was beating the Kansas right-to-lifers at their own game." Nonpartisan coalitions, volunteers going door-to-door, and values-based messaging helped achieve victory for reproductive rights in Kansas. Check out this excellent New Yorker article about how they did it! The August 4th Popular Information newsletter highlights the huge voter turnout that defeated a proposed anti-reproductive rights constitutional amendment.

USING OUR POWER We've seen how vigorous pro-democracy campaigns and voting preserved reproductive rights in Kansas. We can use the same strategies to prevent electing more MAGA extremists to Oregon's legislature in November.  "If we make this election a choice between MAGA extremism and our normal, popular majority, we’ve got a fighting chance in November. "The blowout rejection of an anti-abortion referendum in Kansas this week highlights the electoral power of focusing on MAGA’s unpopular agenda. Even in “red” states and districts, if the election is a referendum on MAGA and the threat it poses to our freedoms, we win. "We can shape local and national news coverage. We can drive public attention. We can push to make MAGA extremism front and center every day from now until November 8." -- Ezra Levin, Indivisible co-founder and co-leader Check out Indivisible's strategic guide to election success.

UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM It's impossible to take in all the news - and probably wiser to not try. INCO recommends the accurate and concise newsletters by historian Heather Cox Richardson and Robert Hubbell. Both discuss issues of the day and their implications. Their August 3 newsletters are especially valuable. We encourage you to read Hubbell, who sees encouraging political trends this week, and Richardson. The August 4th Popular Information newsletter highlights the huge voter turnout that defeated a proposed anti-reproductive rights constitutional amendment.

WRITE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY The key to Democratic victories in 2020 elections is increasing voter turnout. Please sign up to get out the vote for pro-democracy candidates. For prepped or blank postcards, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. WRITE TO VOTERS • Postcards To Voters:  Handwritten postcards sent to Democrats to get out the vote. PTV provides scripts. Sign up at the website or at join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.  • Vote Forward:  You print prepared letters to voters and add a few sentences. All letters get mailed in October. • Postcards To Swing States:  Progressive Turnout Project provides the postcards, scripts and addresses to rally Democrats to vote. WRITE AN LTE Write a Letter to the Editor (LTE) - Write a few sentences or more, up to 250 words. Send to editor@dailyastorian.com, along with your name, address, and phone. WRITE TO YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS How will your Members of Congress know what you want if you don't tell them? Send a postcard, write an email through their websites. Even better - call and speak to a Congressional staffer, or leave a message. Here's contact information for Senators Wyden and Merkley, Congresswoman Bonamici, and for other elected officials..

HAPPENINGS  INCO-Warrenton is doing a road clean-up on August 13th. All are invited. Contact Carmen at 503-440-2312 for details. INCO South County Community Group meeting. Next meeting date TBA.   INCO Astoria/North County Community Group meeting. Next meeting date TBA. INCO Write to Voters (WTV) - on hiatus until September 9.

INSIGHTS "The answers I remember longest are the ones that answer questions that I didn’t think of asking."   --  Jonathan Kozol, ORDINARY RESURRECTIONS: CHILDREN IN THE YEARS OF HOPE

Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website or here. Look for the INCO column in Hipfish Monthly. We're on Facebook, too. INCO Weekly Newsletter August 8, 2022