Progressive Maryland state coordinator Beth Landry notes “an important point to make is how close the result of some of these races were shows how important it is for every person to get involved… for instance, literally one canvasser's shift changed results for Montgomery and Baltimore County Exec races.”

Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for July 9-16 2018

 Top News this Monday is that our endorsed candidates for county executive in two of our biggest counties have won their races – squeakers in both cases. Marc Elrich won the Democratic nomination for exec in MoCo by a (comparatively) generous 80-vote margin over the self-funded business mogul David Blair, whose Washington Post endorsement did not take him over the top. Eighty votes (out of nearly 120,000 cast for six candidates) is not much, you say? How about Johnny O. – former Del. John Olszewski, who won the Democratic primary for Baltimore County executive by nine votes (out of about 54,000 cast for four candidates). Both have been certified the winners but recounts are seen as likely. So more waiting.

 Progressive Maryland state coordinator Beth Landry notes “an important point to make is how close the result of some of these races were shows how important it is for every person to get involved… for instance, literally one canvasser's shift changed results for Montgomery and Baltimore County Exec races.”

November is next. Stay tuned.

OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE

 Progressive Prince George’s

 Tuesday, July 10  Zoning rewrite 7 p.m. council chambers, CAB --: county council hearing on the zoning code rewrite

Take Action Anne Arundel County

Chapter Events:

Thursday July 19 at 7pm -- Issue Campaigns at a Local Level

• Do you have something you would like to see change at a local level? Have you ever wondered how to make that happen?
• Join Take Action Anne Arundel County to learn more about how to "cut an issue" and plan a campaign to make change happen locally.
• With recent events, our county has been affected by immigration policy and gun violence. If you care about these issues, please join us to plan how we can act locally.  By joining together, we can make a difference.   
• RSVP here

Other local events

Friday July 13 at 7pm -- Film Reinventing Power

• The Climate Stewards of Greater Annapolis and the Anne Arundel Group of the Sierra Club are showing the film  Reinventing Power.  The film highlights people whose lives have been changed by the renewable energy industry and explores the clean energy industry from innovation to installation.  We will discuss clean energy in Maryland after the film.
• Annapolis Friends Meeting House, 351 Dubois Rd, Annapolis
• Flyer here.
• To RSVP email [email protected].

Saturday July 14 at 12pm -- Campaign launch of No New Fossil Fuels in Maryland

• The Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Maryland Environmental Health Network, Waterkeepers Chesapeake and many other organizations in the Maryland climate movement are bringing together frontline community members and concerned citizens to oppose new fossil fuel projects and safeguard communities living with fossil fuel infrastructure. 
• We will start with lunch, then discuss how to support frontline communities as they fight compressor stations and pipelines, learn how we can enact policies in Annapolis to keep Maryland from approving new fossil fuel projects, and learn how to raise our voices during this critical election season.
• Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, 333 Dubois Rd, Annapolis.  Please register here.

Thursday July 26 at 7pm -- No Eastern Shore Pipeline 

• The ClimateStewards of Greater Annapolis are hosting a discussion about how pipelines affect communities and how to help the communities on the Eastern Shore resist the 190 mile pipeline proposed to run from Pennsylvania to Virginia.  We will be joined by folks from the No Eastern Shore Pipeline group and from communities in West Virginia and Pennsylvania who have been resisting the construction of natural gas pipelines through their communities
• Annapolis Friends Meeting House, 351 Dubois Rd, Annapolis. Flyer here.

FROM OUR ALLIES

 Tuesday, July 10 -- Anacostia Watershed Community Advisory Committee meeting. We will start in Edmonston at 6:45 for pre-meeting tour then head to the Bladensburg Waterfront Park for the meeting to commence at 8pm and end promptly at 9:30. Post meeting social anticipated. Included on the agenda are:

Tour led by Adam Ortiz, Director of the Prince George's County Department of Environment and former mayor of Edmonston

Report on the future of swimming in the Anacostia by Gretchen Mikeska, DOEE

Discussion of the MagLev and its potential environmental impacts, including possible transfer of sensitive public land, led by Dave Prevar, retired USDA/ARS volunteer

Anacostia Trash TMDL Update on District Court Ruling, led by Phong Trieu, COG

For more information contact Marian Dombroski, Chair, Anacostia Watershed Community Advisory Committee, anacostia.net

Saturday, July 14 12-2 No New Fossil Fuels worksession in Annapolis (also see Take Action AAC above).

 Tuesday, July 17 – Sam Pizzigati discusses his new book, "The Case for a Maximum Wage." 6:30 p.m., Busboys Hyattsville Could capping top incomes tackle our rising inequality more effectively than conventional approaches to narrowing our vast economic divides? Progressive Cheverly members have had the opportunity to hear Sam discuss some of his previous books, including "Greed and Good Understanding the Inequality that Limits our Lives." Read an excerpt from the book in The Nation. 6:30 pm Busboys and Poets Hyattsville, 5331 Baltimore Ave.

Baltimore comrades, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

To keep up with progressive events in and around DC consult the invaluable calendar at the Washington Peace Center, http://washingtonpeacecenter.org/alerts

It all happens for free… right? Not exactly. Organizing for change in our society and our high-maintenance politics requires both people and money. Keep change moving with a quick, secure impulse-buy contribution here. You know you meant to do it last week and now here you are again...

OUR BLOG POSTS IN THE PAST WEEK

Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our blogs for the previous week are shown below, but if you want a handy way to keep track – and never miss a blog post – you can sign up to get this Weekly Memo by email. Remember this is your blogspace and your participation is heartily invited. See something going on that you don’t like – or that you do like and hope to see more of? Send us your thoughts; submit to the moderator at [email protected]

We recently published these blog posts:

July 06, 2018 Maryland's bail reform is failing in Prince George's. Why?

Maryland’s bail reform is failing in Prince George’s County. Why?

 The study by Color of Change and Progressive Maryland finds "while the use of cash-bail has decreased, judges have largely replaced it with 'no bail' holds rather than releasing people on their own recognizance..." and concludes “Keeping people out of jail and in the community where they can work, learn, and be with loved ones is good for public safety, these individuals and their community as well as the overall health of Prince George’s County.

July 04, 2018 Ben Jealous: Deep history outlines the stakes in the 2018 elections

Progressive Maryland, along with other progressive organizations in the state, endorsed and worked hard for the victory of Ben Jealous as Democratic nominee for governor. Behind Jealous, and the rest of us, are the long history of struggle against inequality and oppression. In this post-primary message, Jealous harks back to an earlier pivot point and Frederick Douglass's great oration of 1852 as the clouds of civil war gathered. Douglass said then "We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future." And he adds, a few lines later, "You have no right to enjoy a child’s share in the labor of your fathers, unless your children are to be blest by your labors." As Jealous makes clear here, the struggle is far from over and our responsibilities are clear on this day celebrated as the nation's birthday.

July 02, 2018 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for July 2-9 2018

Posted by woody woodruff · 2:26 PM

Welcome to the week after the Day After –

Congratulations to all our progressive volunteer activists, especially those in Progressive Maryland who recognize the value and usefulness of solidarity. We have some big wins – starting with Ben Jealous and Susie Turnbull as Democratic ticket for ousting Larry Hogan and taking the state in a progressive direction again. That’s the crest of the Progressive Wave.

The next step is victory in November. We know what we have to do. Stay with us.

 >>REMEMBER – these blog posts are expressions of political opinion from our wide-ranging membership and circle of allies. They are not expressions of opinion by Progressive Maryland. Don’t be surprised if they sometimes vary in their political content. You might even disagree with them – a good reason to contribute a blog of your own. Send it to the moderator, Woody Woodruff, at [email protected].

>>Keeping up with the blogs is easier with the index. The blogs published in the PM BlogSpace from June 2015 through December 2016 are all available with descriptions and links here. You can follow blogs for 2017-18 starting from here