MARCH 2023
MEETING SCHEDULES WITH SWIM AND PARTNERS SWIM MEMBER MEETING MARCH 28, 7 PM - 8 PM In this off election year, SWIM will hold member meetings every other month. Register here for our March event. RECLAIMING OUR AMERICAN VISION AND VALUES On April 1 at the Spitzer Conference Center in Elyria, Ohio, Great Lakes Democrats are coming to hear from Michigan State Senator Darrin Camilleri (MI 4th), Democrats 101 author JM Purvis, Paul Kendrick from Rust Belt Rising, Ohio State Representative Joe Miller (OH 53rd), Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters, and many others. This is a day-long series of panel discussions on the real issues we face, the kind we have so often not addressed. Democrats are coming to network as well, a chance to meet with colleagues and fellow Democrats from across the states, a gathering to share ideas and gain support, to help us stand together. For all the local candidates attending, it will be something more: a chance to connect with the people who can help them succeed. You can use this link for more information and to register for the event. CALLS TO ACTION NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE We have one shot at this and our Republican lawmakers are already making noise they won't go for National Popular Vote (NPV) so we are depending on YOU to call the Democratic Legislators below to press them to vote for NPV. Driving Constituent Contact to Legislators If your organization is ready we encourage you to send additional letters in support of the National Popular Vote. Once the bill is out of committee it may move very quickly to the floor so we want to keep up the pace of contact to legislators. As a reminder you can also find draft social media content and letter to the editor templates here: Campaign Hub - National Popular Vote Michigan House Thank you to all of our partners who showed up to testify, submitted written testimony, and urged your members to contact the elections committee in support of National Popular Vote at last week's hearing! The committee also heard from 3 republican supporters: former Speaker Chuck Perricone, former Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, and Hillsdale College Professor Dr. Gary Wolfram. We hope you'll bring up your organization's support of National Popular Vote with any legislators you're meeting with, but particularly if you meet with any of the members of the elections committee this week as they also heard from many opponents at the hearing. House Elections Committee: Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D) District-75 / CHAIR Rep. Dylan Wegela (D) District-26 / MAJORITY VICE CHAIR Rep. Rachelle Smit (R) District-43 / MINORITY VICE CHAIR Rep. Kara Hope (D) District-74 Rep. Matt Koleszar (D) District-22 Rep. Erin Byrnes (D) District-15 Rep. Jaime Churches (D) District-27 Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R) District-63 Senate The following democratic senators are not yet sponsors on SB 126. Please urge them to co-sponsor Sen. Chang's National Popular Vote bill. Sen. Sarah Antony - District 21 Sen. Winnie Brinks - District 29 Sen. Darrin Camilleri - District Sen. Mary Cavanagh - District 6 Sen. Kevin Hertel - District 12 Sen. Veronica Klinefelt - District 11 Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet - District 35 Sen. Jeremy Moss - District 7 Sen. Dayna Polehanki - District 5 Sen. Paul Wojno - District 10 END GUN VIOLENCE MICHIGAN You're mad! We're mad! Let's do something about it! See below for actions you can take right now. More steps, like rallies or marches, will be forthcoming. Our hearts are breaking over the events that took place on MSU’s campus on February 13. The horror of what happened in our own backyard strengthens our resolve to get something done about the rampant use of guns in our society once and for all. We are relying on our new Democratic majority in the state legislature to pass legislation to make our state safer as quickly as possible. MOMS DEMAND ACTION IS LOOKING FOR ACTIVISTS FOR THEIR ADVOCACY DAY, LANSING MI THURSDAY, APRIL 13 Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America invites everyone to their upcoming, in person Advocacy Day, Thursday, April 13 at the Lansing State Capitol. RSVP here: Can't attend advocacy day but fed up and want to do something? Moms is having a virtual statewide meeting on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30 pm. Topics include legislation, what's next and social media training. RSVP here MICHIGAN DEMS RURAL SUMMIT SAULT ST. MARIE APRIL 14-15 Cathy Albro, after running an admirable campaign for Michigan's 104th House District against pro-gun guy John Roth, is as determined as ever to turn more of northern Michigan Blue. She and a bunch of other cool Up North Dems are not messin' around--they are putting together a unique, even historic event aimed at Bluesifying more of our wonderful state. It's a great excuse to get out of town, if not exactly out of winter, and get a good, two-day shot of the Up North Blue energy that's building across our Upper and northern Lower Peninsulas. CONSIDER RUNNING FOR OFFICE Are you considering running for office but need help? Take a minute and contact Kelsey Heck Wood, MIchigan director for Run for Something. Tell her SWIM sent you!! POST-ELECTION MESSAGING SWIM IS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR AN IN-PERSON CONFERENCE IN EARLY JUNE We have not had an in-person meeting with all our members since before COVID. We are planning a statewide meeting in Lansing on June 3. We are coordinating with the Distill event which will be held on the following day. We want to get everyone together somewhere in central Michigan for one day of networking fun, sharing resources and meeting like-minded activists! If you have a desire to help plan an 2023 SWIM conference, we are looking to meet in the next week or so to start putting together logistics! Please email info@statewideindivisiblemi.com if you'd like to help plan for even more fun! We need your voice, thanks! ADD TO YOUR TOOL BOX CHOP WOOD, CARRY WOOD: Jessica Craven’s “Chop Wood, Carry Water”, provides daily actions for you to choose. You can sign up here. VOICES: Our own Michigan Indivisible, Laurie Evans writes “VOICES”, is a bi-weekly newsletter with insights into the political scene and actions to be taken. You can sign up by contacting Laurie at levans56@gmail.com. Want to stay current on SWIM activities and share them with your networks? Here are some ways to do that! Visit the Website! www.statewideindivisiblemi.com. This new website is designed to be a central repository of the resources and network partners that we’ve amassed since 2016. We also wanted you, as members, to be able to add your own announcements about your successes and events. Have news to share? Let us know by using the "Contact" page at the top of the homepage! Follow us on Facebook! The SWIM private page is now open to all interested members. Simply go to the page, answer a few simple questions and you are in. This is a great way to keep current on events and issues in between newsletters. This page will be the sole Facebook page for SWIM going forward as the SWIM public page will be phased out in the near future, so join today! Help us build our social media presence and impact by following SWIM on Twitter @SWIMIndivisible and Instagram StateWideIndivisibleMichigan If you are familiar with social media platforms like Mastadon, WhatsApp, TikTok, Tribel, Post, etc. please contact SWIM CORE member & resident social media maven Vickie Gutowski at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com to help expand our outreach! GET INVOLVED GOT IDEAS, GOOD NEWS OR QUESTIONS??? Send us your thoughts here!
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