4-24-23 Newsletter

 

ELECTION UPDATES • If you have not received your Voters' Pamphlet for the May 16 election or need to update your voter registration, contact Clatsop County Elections ASAP, at 503-325-8605, or go to the office at 820 Exchange, Suite 200, Astoria.  •  INCO salutes INCO leaders Cheryl Conway and Bebe Michel for taking the initiative as individual citizens to file a complaint with Oregon's Secretary of State about possible violations of election law by opponents of Measure 4-221. The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office announced it has opened an investigation into their complaint. Read more in the Daily Astorian. As Cheryl and Bebe show, each of us can help safeguard our elections by staying informed and speaking out when we see potential wrongdoing. This WWE photo accompanied the article in Congressman Jackson's newsletter. THE OUTRAGE OLYMPICS Jeff Jackson, a new US Representative from North Carolina, reminds us of something you probably already know: "It’s very clear from working here for just a few months that most of the really angry voices in Congress are faking it. These people who have built their brands around being perpetually outraged - it’s an act."  Read more in his Substack newsletter here.  EXTREMISM IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT Right-wing extremists have transformed their Michigan county government since being elected. Read more of this cautionary tale here. "Ottawa County stood out for a different reason. It was becoming a case study in what happens when one of the building blocks of American democracy is consumed by ideological battles over race, religion and American history. ".... Last November, commissioners backed by (right-wing) Ottawa Impact won eight of the 11 seats on the county board. They were now in charge of a government that they feared, overseeing county employees they did not trust." "We need to ask not what will happen tomorrow but what we can do today. Then, when tomorrow comes, we arrive, realizing we have been so busy fixing our broken world that we had no time to be afraid." -- Rabbi Marc Katz, New York Times, April 23, 2023 SIGN UP FOR THE ROP CAUCUS Oregon's Rural Organizing Project Meets May 20 On Saturday, May 20th, more than 100 small-town and rural leaders, organizers, and activists will join together in Albany at the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session to share strategies, learn from each other, and set ROP’s priorities for the year to come, and we want you to be there! Human dignity groups have many irons in the fire, from electoral strategies to make sure their school boards have good representation, to organizing their community’s public pride celebrations, to confronting and countering white supremacist movement building in their communities, to holding local elected officials accountable, and much more!  Check out more details below and register for the Rural Caucus & Strategy Session. Contact ROP or INCO if you'd like financial support to attend. Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page for more details including information about COVID precautions and physical accessibility and email Emma@rop.org if you have any questions. LEGISLATORS NEED YOUR FEEDBACK Visit COIN's Legislation 2023 web page for updates on bills COIN has endorsed or opposed, or bills we are still watching. Legislators won't know what you want unless you tell them. Please take a moment to comment on at least one of the bills on COIN's Legislation web page. HAPPENINGS Thursday, May 11 - INCO Community Meeting, via Zoom. Social time at 6 pm; meeting is 6:30-7:30 pm. All INCO members are invited to attend. We meet the 2nd Thursday of each month. Link to join Zoom meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87835618044  Meeting ID: 878 3561 8044 One tap mobile +12532050468,,87835618044# US +12532158782,,87835618044# US (Tacoma) INSIGHTS   “You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”  —Ralph Waldo Emerson 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      April 24, 2023 Copyright © 2023 INDIVISIBLE North Coast Oregon, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or signed up at a community group meeting. Indivisible North Coast Oregon (INCO) defends democracy by opposing authoritarianism, bigotry, and corruption. Our mailing address is: 766 Lexington Avenue, Astoria, OR 97103 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list