10-24-2022 Newsletter

BE A VOTER Ballots were mailed last week. If you do not not receive your ballot or Voters' Pamphlet by October 26, contact the Clatsop County Elections Office, 503-325-8605. 24-Hour Drop Box Locations Astoria - inside at the Clatsop County Elections Office, 820 Exchange, Suite 200; drop box outside the building near 9th Cannon Beach - City Hall, 163 East Gower Avenue Gearhart - City Hall, 698 Pacific Way Jewell - Jewell School, 83874 Hwy 103 Knappa - Knappa High School, 41535 Old Hwy 30 Seaside - City Hall, 989 Broadway Warrenton - City Hall, 225 South Main Avenue Your ballot for the this election must be postmarked on or before Election Day, November 8, or delivered to the elections office or an official drop box by 8 p.m. on November 8. No postage stamp required. The October hipfish monthly has valuable election and voting info, including INCO's endorsements and other election comments.   Democracy is on the ballot at every level of government.

Voters talked with Tina Kotek, Democratic candidate for governor, on Sunday at Astoria's Street 14 Cafe (pictured) and at Hop and Vine Bottle Shop in Seaside.

INCO ENDORSEMENTS Polls don't win elections; neither do tweets, Facebook posts, rallies, or rants. The best thing you can do is vote. Voting can make our communities and country better. Be a voter. INCO endorses these candidates because they defend democracy and oppose authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. INCO does not endorse candidates for city office.    Governor:  Tina Kotek* State Senate: Melissa Busch State Representative: Logan Laity US Senate: Ron Wyden* US Representative: Suzanne Bonamici* Check out COIN's side-by-side comparisons of Kotek and Betsy Johnson regarding their actions and statements about climate, guns, reproductive health, housing, families, democracy, and ethics. COIN is the Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network. BALLOT MEASURES: COIN endorsed all four state ballot measures. Check your voter information booklet to learn about them. *Also endorsed by COIN (Consolidated Oregon Indivisible Network). As a statewide alliance of 40+ groups, COIN endorses only federal and statewide candidates. SAVE DEMOCRACY ONE VOTE AT A TIME BE A VOTER.

It was non-voters who elected Trump. Please share this with people who aren’t planning to vote in the November 8 election. If enough people vote, candidates who share our values will win.

WHEN PEOPLE ASK ABOUT THE ECONOMY... "Since President Biden took office, the nation has added 10 million jobs and has seen unemployment drop to 3.5%, a 50-year low. In 11 states, unemployment is at all-time lows, and 17 states have unemployment rates under 3%.  "He also highlighted that the country has added almost 700,000 manufacturing jobs and that companies are continuing to invest in new industries, at the same time that we are rebuilding our roads, airports, bridges, and ports. ".... today the administration announced that the deficit this year fell by $1.4 trillion. This was the largest-ever decline in the federal deficit. Last year’s drop was $350 billion. "According to Politifact, Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan have exploded deficits, while Democrats have brought deficits down." -- Heather Cox Richardson, historian, Letters from an American, October 21, 2022

THE POLICIES THAT PEOPLE WANT "Remember, Democratic policies are massively popular with Americans when they hear about them. It’s our job to keep reminding folks what they are. Supporting unions, keeping abortion safe and legal, addressing climate change, passing common sense gun laws, taxing billionaires, protecting Social Security and Medicare, breaking up monopolies, protecting LGBTQ people…these things are what most people want. "Be proud to be on the side of right. It’s a big deal. It’s historic. It’s meaningful." -- Jessica Craven, Chop Wood, Carry Water, October 17, 2022

GET OUT THE VOTE FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY CANDIDATES Democracy can win if enough people vote. This LIncoln Project YouTube video explains why elections around the country can affect all of us. Ignore the crude language because the message is spot-on.   VOLUNTEER FOR MELISSA BUSCH AND LOGAN LAITY To sign up to volunteer for either campaign, use this link which has a zip code locator of nearby events. 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. Vote Forward tells you when to mail them later this month. • Postcards To Swing States:  Progressive Turnout Project provides the postcards, scripts and addresses to rally Democrats to vote. For free postcards, envelopes, stamps, or information, contact incoregon@gmail.com. WRITE A LETTER 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. Contact info for other regional newspapers is here. Democracy is on the ballot. Every additional voter matters. BE A VOTER.

OTHER VOICES If you need a boost to your pro-democracy election spirits, we recommend this New Yorker podcast interview w/ Jamie Raskin. His knowledge, optimism and passion are inspiring. Fascinating conversation. Here’s the link. Timothy Snyder, historian and author of ON TYRANNY, connects the war in Ukraine to the future of democracy everywhere. I suggest listening to the audio to get the full impact of his views.  Check out the several interviews on YouTube with Peter Baker and Susan Glasser and with Maggie Haberman as they discuss their new books about Trump, his accomplices, and US politics.  How much discomfort will Americans tolerate as part of our shared commitment to truth? Check out "Blood, sweat and discomfort" by Rex Smith.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT Yard signs encourage others to vote for your candidates. Get free yard signs for Tina Kotek, Melissa Busch, Logan Laity, and Ron Wyden. Contact info@clatsopdems.org with your location and the signs you'd like.

"Just to let you know a fun fact:  I wear one of these proudly (sent from INCO).  People compliment me. I ask if they’re registered to vote.  So far I’ve registered five young people. Thank you!!!!" -- Sue R., Lower Columbia Indivisible, Longview, WA To get your free button(s), please send your request, including which design, quantity, and mailing address, to incoregon@gmail.com.

HAPPENINGS  Thursday, November  10- INCO South County Community Group, 6:30-7:30 pm, via Zoom. Contact Bebe at littlebylittle4change@gmail.com to get the Zoom link.  Friday, October 28- INCO Write to Voters (WTV), via Zoom, 3-4 pm. Pre-election wrap-up for postcards and letters to voters. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link if you haven't previously attended. Kudos to everyone who's written to voters for the 2022 elections!

INSIGHTS “It isn’t just that you speak the truth. It’s that you speak the truth to power. Taking a risk. That’s what freedom of speech is actually for.” -- Timothy Snyder, historian, author of ON TYRANNY

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       October 24, 2022