Prescott Indivisible Newsletter:
March 23, 2020
LOCAL ACTION ALERT
SIGN PETITIONS ON LINE
Due to the current health crisis all canvassing and petition signature gathering door to door has been suspended. Many candidates still need signatures to qualify for the upcoming election.
The deadline is April 6th!
It is crucially important for these candidates to get these signatures or they will not qualify to be on the ballot in August.
Procedure to sign petitions. Click on this link.
The following candidates still need signatures to qualify for the election
You can only sign one petition per office, except for Corporation Commissioner where you can sign up to three different petitions.
U.S. Senate Candidates – Mark Kelly – US Senate
Congressional District 1 Candidates: Tom O’Halleran, Eva Putzova
U.S. Representative in Congress – District No. 4: Delina DiSanto , Stu Starky
State Representative – District No. 1: Judy Stahl
State Representative – District No. 6: Coral Evans, Felicia French
Corporation Commission:
Shea Stanfield , Bill Mundell , Anna Tovar , Bridget Bellavigna, John Dougherty III
Paul Newman
PRESCOTT INDIVISIBLE CANDIDATES FACEBOOK PAGES:
Judy Stahl – https://www.facebook.com/StahlForAll/
John Lutes – https://www.facebook.com/Lutes4YCbos/
STATE ACTION ALERT
From Civil Engagement Beyond Voting, CEBV.usOur lives have changed in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few weeks ago. There were voices calling the alarm, but our so-called leaders did not listen and have endangered the health and lives of millions.
Lawmakers are attempting to pass a “skinny budget,” a bare-bones spending plan designed to keep the government open through the COVID-19 crisis. The Senate passed this plan on Thursday, along with bipartisan legislation dedicating $50 million to stop evictions and foreclosures, serve the homeless, help small businesses and bolster food banks. This is on top of last week’s emergency amendment giving the Department of Health Services $55 million from the rainy day fund (which currently contains $1 billion) to address the COVID-19 pandemic. So why aren’t lawmakers done? Blame the House. Republicans there took one look, decided they “didn’t have the votes,” and adjourned for the weekend rather than even debate it. By Monday, they hopefully will have regained enough common sense to be capable of doing their jobs.
That’s shameful. Our state’s leaders are looking at this as a temporary problem. But it isn’t. The best case scenario is a vaccine in 18 months, and in the meantime, unemployment is being projected at a shocking, all-time high of 30%. As journalist Jim Small says, “Going home without assuring the economic security of the millions of Arizonans already having their lives upended is a gross abdication of (lawmakers’) responsibility.” They must do better!
The Legislature Weekly gives one Call to Action only:
Contact your House representatives Reps. Steve Pierce and Noel Campbell (contact info below) and Speaker Bowers in particular (602-926-3128 / rbowers@azleg.gov) and demand they pass a coronavirus relief package that helps those in actual need. This is our lawmakers’ job. Calling once a day is not enough. Set your alarm for every hour, and make their phones ring off their desks!
NATIONAL ACTION ALERT
FROM Indivisible National
The details are rapidly changing. But so far Mitch McConnell is demanding billions for a corporate bailout that would fill the pockets of reckless executives and shareholders, with almost no oversight and transparency, and still not require corporations to keep workers on their payroll. What’s more is that McConnell’s plan leaves working families behind — some would only receive $600.
Call your Senator and tell them that the next coronavirus package must include these critical provisions. Last week, Senate Republicans released their bill for the next coronavirus package. Disappointingly, it prioritizes corporations over people, giving corporations a $500 billion “slush fund” while leaving out some of the most vulnerable Americans. We must prioritize direct assistance to the people who we know are most impacted by this pandemic by mandating universal paid sick leave, expanding unemployment benefits, and providing cash payments to everyone. That also means establishing requirements for corporations who take taxpayer-funded bailouts — any taxpayer money they receive goes directly to workers, not to CEOs and shareholders. Call your senators now to demand they support these provisions be included in the next coronavirus relief package.
Call your Representative and tell them the same. The previous coronavirus bill that passed originated in the House, and it didn’t go nearly far enough in protecting folks most directly affected by this pandemic (millions of workers will be denied the protections in that bill). The new package might even walk back some of the inadequate protections from the previous package! The House needs to make this right. Call your representatives now and demand that they support the above provisions be included in the next coronavirus package.
Call both your senators to demand they center people over profits. Even if they aren’t taking calls today (we’re hearing reports that some are), leave a voicemail. Text PPL to 977-79 and we’ll connect you, or use this call page to read through the script and get connected. If voicemail boxes are full, you can also send an email here.
Call Senator Martha McSally at (202) 224-2235 and Senator Kyrsten Sinema at (202) 224-4521. Here is a sample voicemail message:
Hello, my name is _____ calling from zip code 86323 in Chino Valley. I’m calling to urge you to prioritize the health and security of all Americans in the coming coronavirus relief bill. We need direct cash assistance, paid sick leave, expanded unemployment insurance, student debt forgiveness, and funding for states to switch to vote by mail ahead of November’s election. Any corporate bailout must come with strenuous restrictions and oversight. Please put people before corporate profits as you consider relief options.
INSPIRATION
FROM ABBY BRILL
I hope this finds you all well and staying safely at home. We hope to start up Brigade meetings as soon as this virus business clears up. In the meantime, I urge you all to stay vigilant and watch what out state legislature is up to. The danger now is that, since everyone is so focused on Covid and meetings have gone virtual or been cancelled, the majority in the legislature will try to pass the bills we have been fighting against. Please pay attention! Last week they couldn’t come to an agreement to pass a relief bill, so they tabled it and went home for the weekend. CALL Campbell, Pierce and speaker Rusty Bowers and pound them for not working through the weekend to get something passed!
The election in November will happen regardless of how Covid progresses. Door-to-door canvassing will not be happening for some time, so campaigns are focusing on VPB, or virtual phone banking. The system is easy to use, and if you step up to volunteer for a campaign (LD6, Voter Values Project, Mark Kelly, Judy Stahl) they will get in touch via email and get you quickly trained and set up to make calls from your home. I made 50 calls yesterday. It took less than 2 hours. It’s not as satisfying as door-to-door, as many do not answer their phones, but it does make a difference, and folks are sometimes happy to talk to someone while in isolation.
Please consider helping make calls. Here are some contacts-
For Judy Stahl’s campaign- judystahl.com
For Mark Kelly’s campaign- contact Linda Meigs at 256-509-9414
For LD6 candidates Felicia French and Coral Evans, contact Jay Ruby at jruby@azdem.org
Of great concern is how the voter initiatives for Outlaw Dirty Money, InvestinEd and Save Our Schools will be able to move forward, since their primary means of getting the much-needed signatures depended on going to events with lots of people. The folks running these campaigns are working on having drive-through or drop-in spots where people can sign the petitions easily, and market it through social media. If you wish to help with these super important initiatives, contact Diane McQueen (ODM) at diane@outlawdirtymoney.com or Nicky Indicavitch (SOS and InvestinEd) at Nicky Indicavitch @gmail.com. These important initiatives won’t even get to the ballot if we can’t get enough signatures. And then the Bad Guys win and Arizona loses.
We need to keep ourselves and those we love safe now, but we can’t forget about this upcoming election. Those in power tend to stay in power, but things will be so much worse if we don’t do everything we can to change the messaging and offer sanity and hope to those who are being beaten down by the system.
I hope to have more options for helping soon. It seems that writing postcards would be a great way to spend meaningful time during isolation. Cards can be ordered online and delivered to your home, and stamps.com will bring stamps to you directly from your mail carrier 🙂 More on postcards later.
Stay safe, reach out to those you love and tell them how much you love them.
Support our local businesses- food boxes can be ordered from the farmers market, books can be ordered from the Peregrine and the library for outside pick-up, restaurants are offering take-out, including El Gato, which is also taking donations to provide for for those who can’t pay for it.
Take a walk- it’s Spring!!! Onward with many virtual hugs!
Abby
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALENDARS
Persist & Resist Calendar
Temporarily suspending publication to reorganize
Prescott Indivisible Calendar Link
What: Next Prescott Indivisible General Meeting When: Thursday, April 2, 6-7:30 p– possibly postponedWhere: Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation
882 Sunset Ave., Prescott
What: Tuesday, 1:00pm Protests Suspended
Where: Gurley and Montezuma, Prescott Courthouse Plaza
Why: Due to the current health threat to our community
CONTACTS
Contact Your Members of Congress
KYRSTEN SINEMA
825 B&C Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
contact@sinema.senate.gov
MARTHA MCSALLY
B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
202-224-2235
contact@mcsally.senate.gov
PAUL GOSAR
2057 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515 202-225-2315
6499 S. Kings Ranch Rd. #4, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 480-882-2697
220 N. 4th St., Kingman, AZ (by appt. only)
122 N. Cortez St., Suite 104, Prescott, AZ 86301 928-445-1683
http://paulgosar.house.gov/contact/
Arizona
Governor, Doug Ducey
State Capitol, 1700 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007 602.542.4331
http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey
Legislature http://www.azleg.gov/
Senator Karen Fann kfann@azleg.gov 602-926-5874
Rep. Noel Campbell ncampbell@azleg.gov 602-926-3124
Rep. Steve Pierce spierce@azleg.gov 602-926-5584
Prescott
Mayor Greg Mengarelli
201 S. Cortez St. Prescott 928.777.1248
AZResist is an independent calendar covering
civil rights and progressive politics across Arizona.
