The Weekly Memo -- GOTV time with local elections TOMORROW (Tuesday, Nov. 5) around the state. We have endorsed candidates to support! Plus education reform, Medicare for All, calendar events including our Dec. 14 Statewide Meeting in Baltimore, and much more. Read on below.
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Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday November 4 2019
TOPLINE: LOCAL ELECTIONS *TOMORROW* NOVEMBER 5 – PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND ENDORSES CANDIDATES
Think the 2020 election is getting close? Well, *TOMORROW* Tuesday, November 5 there are local elections all around Maryland, and the people who get elected to make change in your local community are also very important to our lives. Don’t let these opportunities to build power and make change where you and your neighbors live slip by! Read about Progressive Maryland's endorsements here for Bowie, College Park, Greenbelt, Pittsville, Salisbury -- and Rockville, where voting is all by mail this time.
Progressive Maryland is endorsing local elected officials for this first time this fall! Election day is Tuesday, November 5th. We are organizing canvasses and election day poll workers -- if you would like to volunteer for one of these candidates please email [email protected].
[With a special note about Rockville, which is conducting its first all mail-in ballot election! Rockville residents- Remember: your Rockville ballot must be received at City Hall by 8 PM on November 5 for your vote to count].
Progressive Maryland has endorsed Derrick Mallard in Bowie, Denise Mitchell in College Park, Colin Byrd in Greenbelt, Jared Schablein in Pittsville (Wicomico County), James Hedrick and Virginia Onley in Rockville, where the election is entirely by mail. Read today’s full account on our blogsite.
STATEWIDE
DECEMBER 14 PROGRESSIVE MARYLAND STATEWIDE MEETING
Progressive Maryland Statewide Annual Meeting Organizing Meeting SATURDAY, December 14 9 AM – 5 PM  at the Episcopal Church of St. Michael and All Angels, 2013 Saint Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218 Members of Progressive Maryland are invited to participate in this year’s exciting Annual Statewide Meeting! We will be convening in Baltimore this year. Meet the full staff and core leaders of Progressive Maryland! Reconnect with our collective vision for the state! Share your work and get more deeply involved in the campaigns for Fair Elections, Public Education Equity, Criminal Justice Reform, and more! Learn about our progressive candidates across the state and our plans for co-governance and training.
Come and be nourished with delicious food, local entertainment, and powerful relationship building time! Sign Up Now
The Push for More Support for Community Schools is at the heart of the Kirwan Commission proposals to improve Maryland’s schools. A recent poll shows that about three out of four Marylanders want more money spent on public schools but have low information on what’s being proposed. Here is the excellent recent summary from the Maryland Reporter’s state roundup; it has links to full coverage in several outlets: Luke Broadwater of the Sun reports that in the survey conducted Sept. 13-18, 74% of Marylanders said they support personally paying more in taxes to improve public education, while only 26% were opposed. But only about 22% of those polled said they were aware of the work of the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which has rolled out a decade-long reform plan that could cost about $3.8 billion more each year once fully implemented, Danielle Gaines reports for Maryland Matters.
Progressive Maryland activists and your communities can find out more about the Kirwan proposals: The “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” coalition, including Progressive Maryland and teachers’ organizations statewide, has set 23 information sessions from the mountains to the Shore – this week there are sessions Nov. 6 in Montgomery County (see “Our Chapters” below) and Howard County, and Nov. 7 in Dorchester County. The town halls go well into November -- see them all here.
MEDICARE FOR ALL IS GAINING SUPPORT NATIONALLY AND IN MARYLAND The Medicare for All town hall held in Gaithersburg on Oct. 20 by our allies in the Maryland Progressive Healthcare Coalition (MPHC) is now available on a video stream and is already approaching 18,000 views. Take a look at the explainer, an introductory talk by Our Revolution president Larry Cohen (retired president of the Communications Workers, CWA) and a panel of expert analysts who also respond to some solid questions from the audience. https://www.facebook.com/OurRevolutionMD/videos/531692600951283/
OUR CHAPTERS AROUND THE STATE
Wednesday, November 6 Our Kids, Our Schools, Our Community - Forum on Education Funding Rally 6-8 PM  Montgomery Blair High School, 51 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, MD 20901 Our schools are underfunded. Our students have growing needs. An out-of-date funding formula doesn't address the needs of our schools. Join us for a discussion about public education funding and find out how you can get involved to advocate for full funding for our students, our teachers, our families, and our future! Governor Hogan and his cronies want to cut corners and jeopardize our students’ futures. But we know if we stand together, and demand full funding and a fair formula, we can override and defeat his agenda. Sign Up Now
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December 7 Movement Leadership Training Organizing Meeting Saturday, December 7, 9 AM - 5 PM at MCEA, 12 Taft Ct, Rockville, MD 20850 Progressive Maryland is hosting a 1-day Movement Leadership Training for current and prospective members. Folks from Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Central and Western Maryland are encouraged to attend. This is an agitational training designed to develop grassroots leaders' skills around building power in alignment with their self-interest. The training costs $25, which covers lunch, snacks, and materials. Sign Up Now
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Take Action Anne Arundel County
Lower Shore Progressive CaucusÂ
-- Next meeting is  at the Wicomico Public Library in Downtown Salisbury this Thursday, November 7! Click here for info.
Baltimore will host the Progressive Maryland Statewide Meeting Saturday, Dec. 14 – see above.
ACTIVIST EVENTS FROM OUR MARYLAND PROGRESSIVE ALLIES
WED Nov 6 Police Accountability Workshop 6:30– 9:00 PM Silver Spring Civic Building, 1 Veterans Pl, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Hosted by Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church and 2 others: The Together Diversity Team and Silver Spring Justice Coalition are co-sponsoring a session to get updates about police accountability in Montgomery County;  information about how state legislation impacts county law; and how you can have a voice about police accountability.  Speakers include Will Jawando, Montgomery County Council Member At-Large
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/police-accountability-workshop-tickets-73695271541
https://www.facebook.com/events/690717518109813/
THU, Nov 7 Progressive Cheverly Community Choice Energy Forum,  7 PM at Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School multipurpose room (3324 64thAvenue -- Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-20) and Lily Hawkins from Food & Water Watch discuss community choice energy, a powerful tool that lets local governments bargain for cleaner, more affordable energy on behalf of residents and businesses. Maryland should join other states (including Virginia), in adopting legislation authorizing community choice energy, the speakers argue.
SAT Nov 9 Cheverly H2O -- Friend and Foe Workshop 10 AM – 1:30 PM Cheverly Community Center, 6401 Forest Road -- How should we deal with water woes? --  basics of hydrology, soils, and vegetation,  the division of responsibility for water issues, homeowners’ options for improvement, including those qualifying for county rebates plus Rain Barrels! Rain Barrels! Rain Barrels! Reserve your Rain Barrels here. More about the event here.
TUES Nov 12 - RIght to Harm will be screened by University of MD School of Public Health, 5:45 PM – documentary on the public health impact of factory farming, usually most impacting vulnerable communities. Panel discussion follows. Co-hosted by the UMD's chapter of 17 for Peace and Justice. See Facebook event for more details.
WED Nov. 13, Greenbelt Climate Action Network (GCAN) -- The “Green Amendment,  7 PM – 9 PM Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road, Greenbelt 20770 -- Discussion of a campaign to create a Maryland constitutional amendment to guarantee our rights to a healthy environment. Presenter is longtime advocate Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin.
SUN Dec. 15  MoCo DSA 🌹General Branch Meeting 2 PM, Silver Spring Library, 900 Wayne Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 DSA members and state delegates Gabe Acevero and Vaughn Stewart discuss the upcoming 2020 state legislative session. Follow link for full details/updates.
Baltimore progressives, Check in on Max Obuszewski’s highly useful activist calendar and tip sheet at http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
Reading the Progressive Maryland BlogSpace: our recent blogs 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:
October 29, 2019 Young people need to be included on MoCo's police advisory panel
When six out of ten adults arrested in MoCo are under 35, they need to have a voice on how the MCPD conducts itself. “Young people — especially young black and brown people — are the most likely to have interactions with the police in Montgomery County. Therefore, they need to be at the table for any discussion of how to improve policing policy,” these community activists argue in a Maryland Matters opinion column.
October 28, 2019 Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, October 28, 2019
Submitted for your attention this Monday – local elections Nov. 5; our blogs; statewide meeting Dec. 14; transportation in Prince George’s; school improvement in MoCo – and lots more. It's the Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo, your clearinghouse for progressive thought and activism, power building and co-governance pathways. Read on.
October 28, 2019 Progressive Maryland endorses local candidates in Nov. 5 municipal elections around the state
Think the 2020 election is getting close? Well, this Tuesday, November 5 there are local elections all around Maryland, and the people who get elected to make change in your local community are also very important to our lives. Don’t let these opportunities to build power and make change where you and your neighbors live slip by! Read about Progressive Maryland's endorsements here for Bowie, College Park, Greenbelt, Pittsville, Salisbury -- and Rockville, where voting is all by mail this time.
>>REMEMBER – these blog posts are frequently 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
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