Weekly Call To Action - June 2, 2024

​Quote of the Week:

“While we should be concerned about the assaults on the justice system, let’s recognize that the system prevailed today—despite seven years of attacks by Trump and his enablers. The trial and verdict served as a stress test for the justice system—and it passed…
Sit with that truth for a moment before returning to the urgent task of preventing Trump's reelection. We deserve a moment of calm reflection and sober relief that justice was served.” –Robert Hubbell, Today’s Edition Newsletter, May 30, 2024.

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OI Special Events:

We’re On Our Way with More Ice Cream

Photo Source: Canv​

We had such a good time meeting everyone at our last Ice Cream Social that we want to do it again. This time we are heading for Harbor House on Percival Landing where you can walk the Boardwalk with a wonderful water view of Budd Inlet, and then have ice cream with us. 

Whatever you are doing, Olympia Indivisible invites all OI members and their little ones to an Ice Cream Social on Sunday, June 9, from 2:00 to 4:00, at Harbor House on Percival Landing.
 
We would love to see you, so please show up for an ice cream cone! We’ll have delicious, locally-made ice cream AND dairy-free sorbet, in cones or cups (for the gluten-free crowd). 

• Invited: Ol members, kids included if you are in the area. Or feel free to make us your destination.
• When: Sunday, June 9, 2:00pm to 4:00pm. 
• Where: Harbor House on Percival Landing, at 217 Thurston Ave NW, across from the Olympia Community Center at 222 Columbia St, NW.
• Registration: None, just show up!

We will see you there!

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From OI’s Endorsement Team

Town Hall with Rachel Dreon

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​Change from previous invitation: This was originally a Town Hall with both Rachel and JW Foster. Mr. Foster’s Town Hall has been rescheduled to Thursday, June 6, at 6:30pm. If you previously registered for the joint Town Hall, you will still be registered for both of them. 

Rachel Dreon is running for Thurston County Commissioner, District 2 in the position vacated by Gary Edwards. Olympia Indivisible is having a Town Hall on June 4. We will get to know Rachel Dreon at 6:30pm. Please join us on zoom.

• What: Town Hall with Rachel Dreon
• When: Tuesday, June 4 starting 6:30pm 
• Registration: Register HERE for the meeting. Include any questions for Rachel on the registration form. 

​Check out more about Rachel on our 2024 Elections page on our website.

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Town Hall with JW Foster
New Date 

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If you were previously registered for the joint Town Hall with Rachel Dreon on June 4, you are automatically registered for this one as well. Be sure to update your calendar with this new date.

JW Foster (I) is running for Thurston County Commissioner, District 2 in the position vacated by Gary Edwards. Olympia Indivisible is having a Town Hall on June 6. We will get to know JW Foster at 6:30pm. Please join us on zoom. 

• What: Town Hall with JW Foster 
• When: Thursday, June 6 starting 6:30pm.
• Registration: Register HERE for the meeting. Include any questions for JW on the registration form. 

​Check out more about JW on our 2024 Elections page on our website.

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Endorsement Team Presentation 

Photo by: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free 

The Endorsement team is evaluating the County and LD22 candidates who returned their questionnaires and are being interviewed in Town Halls. On Saturday, June 22 at 10:00am they will present to you their analysis of the candidates for your endorsement.

Following the presentation, you will be sent a ballot. You will have several days to complete the voting process.

• What: Endorsement Team Presentation
• When: Saturday, June 22 at 10:00am
• Registration: Register HERE for the presentation.

​Check out more about these and other candidates at the 2024 Elections page on our website. We also have a web page for candidates we have already endorsed. ​

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Campaigns, Get Active:

From OI’s E-PAT Team

Still Feeling A Little Stressed About the 2024 Elections?

Photo Source: Cynthia Wulfsberg

If you are still feeling just a little worried about the 2024 elections, there’s an easy remedy to reduce your stress. 

Your help is needed to register voters - and you can do it from home. All you need is a smartphone and a computer or tablet. The dialing software, Hubdialer, masks your phone number and will dial the calls for you. A script is provided.

Olympia Indivisible members Kelly and Carla are hosting slow-paced group phone bank training sessions in June on Zoom. They will teach you the basics of making calls to register likely Democratic voters in key battleground states, and help you to overcome any fear you might have about making phone calls to strangers. We won’t be making calls during the training session.

What: Slow-Paced Phone Bank Training to Register Democratic Voters in Battleground States.

When: Choose one of the following dates and register.

• Wednesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. PDT Register HERE 
• Wednesday, June 19 at 10 a.m. PDT Register HERE
• Wednesday, June 26 at 10 a.m. PDT Register HERE

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting and the Zoom link.

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Olympia Indivisible’s Congressional E-CHAT Team supports Spokane Indivisible’s CD5 race to flip this Congressional seat blue. Watch this bipartisan debate with all the candidates!
Eleven candidates are running for the next House Representative in CD5. All the candidates are invited to the debate. Congressional District 5 has elected Republicans since 1995, but with the incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers stepping down, there is an opportunity for a Democrat to take that position. There are four Democratic candidates running: Camela Conroy, Ann Marie Danimus, Matthew Welde, and Dr. Bernadine Bank. 

Washington's 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties. It is centered on Spokane, the state's second largest city. Olympia Indivisible’s goal is to flip the Congress, and this is one of the Congressional Districts where that can happen. The debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates is on Monday, June 3rd at 5:30pm. 

• What: Bipartisan Debate in Spokane for CD5
• When: June 3, 5:30pm
• Join : Please tune in to TVW HERE at 5:30pm

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Flip the 2nd LD Blue
OI endorsed two great candidates in the 2nd LD. Yanah Cook is running for an open House seat and Erasmo Ruiz is running for a winnable Senate seat. OI Member Madeline Bishop is hosting the meeting to discuss winning strategies. We want to hear from you. 

Our candidates are running against the founder of the Washington State Three Percenters, Matt Marshal, former “Constitutional Sheriff”, John Snaza, and incumbent Senator Jim McCune, who calls those on the left sexual deviants and perverts. Also Ronda Litzenberger, a conservative who wants to focus on “family values” joined the race. She is against a mandate for school staff to have COVID vaccines. 

• What: Zoom Meeting
• When: Friday, June 7, 6:00 - 7:00pm
• Register: HERE

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CD8: Postcard Party for Kim Schrier
Our OI Congressional E-CHAT team is sponsoring a postcard writing party for Kim Schrier, Congressional District 8. Our goal is to flip the House, and helping Kim keep her seat in CD8 supports that goal. The postcard party will be on Saturday June 8th 2:30 pm at Jennifer Thompson's house. We will have a brief training, then set to work writing postcards! There will be plenty of pens, snacks and good conversation. 

• What: Postcard Party for Kim Schrier
• When: Saturday, June 8 at 2:30pm
• RSVP: To Kristin HERE

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LD35: Campaign Kickoff for James DeHart
James DeHart is a rural Democrat who has worked for both Mason County and the State of Washington. We need another pro-democracy candidate in the State House!

• When: Monday, June 17, 5:30-8:00pm
• Where: Potlatch Brewery 21480 N US Highway 101, Hoodsport, WA. 98548
• Special Guest Speaker: Former 22nd LD State Representative Laurie Dolan and Olympia City Council Member Lisa Parshley
• To RSVP see Facebook Event

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Explore our Election webpages. These webpages are living documents and will continue to develop and expand as new information becomes available. 

• 2024 Elections webpage, a list of pro-democracy candidates running for federal, state, and county offices with supporting candidate reports and questionnaire responses. 
• Endorsed webpage and then sign-up for actions to support our candidates. 
• Check out and join our Election Teams which we are referencing in these CTAs.

​View our video Town Halls of candidates: Jessica Bateman, Lisa Parshley, Syd Locke ​

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Federal Actions:

From our friends at Indivisible National

Ask Our Senators to Stand Against Supreme Court Corruption

Source: Canva

The Supreme Court has a corruption problem. 

Clarence Thomas has been accepting lavish gifts and luxury vacations from far-right billionaires who want to buy influence over the court. Brett Kavanaugh had his debts mysteriously paid off before his confirmation hearings. 

And now, Samuel Alito has been caught flying symbols associated with the January 6 insurrection at his homes, on at least two separate occasions.

He was displaying his loyalty to the MAGA Movement for his whole neighborhood to see at the same time that the Supreme Court was considering whether or not to take up Trump’s election challenge lawsuit. And now, the Supreme Court is about to release decisions on two more cases related to January 6, including whether or not Trump has immunity for his role in inciting the whole thing. 

Action: Tell Senators Cantwell and Murray that you’re outraged by the corruption on the Supreme Court and that you expect them to call on the Senate Judiciary Committee to do their job and thoroughly investigate the corrupt MAGA Justices.

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Help Preserve Farmland and Rural Character

Photo Source: Richard Web via Wikimedia

We can influence Thurston’s future by submitting comments to the survey for the Comprehensive Plan. 

Action: 

• Click on the comment survey from the Thurston 2045 Comprehensive Plan Update Project. Fill out the personal information and then click the checkbox for Land Use. Leave the organization box blank. 

 

• Copy and paste the following comment into the comment survey above: 

As stated on page 15 of Sustainable Thurston’s Priority Goals, Targets & Action Steps from Sustainable Thurston Plan: 

Set a goal to: Preserve environmentally sensitive lands, farmlands, forest lands, prairies, and rural lands and develop compact urban areas. Preserving spaces will result in multiple outcomes, including maintai

Set Policy that says: Between 2010 and 2035, no more than 5 percent of new housing will be located in the rural areas, and 95 percent will be within cities, towns, unincorporated growth areas, and tribal reservations. Rural areas include land outside of the cities, towns, unincorporated urban growth areas and tribal reservations. Supporting target: No net loss of farmlands, forest lands, prairie habitats (in addition to environmentally critical areas that are currently protected) while providing for a range of densities within rural Thurston County. 

Preserving Thurston County’s rural character is dependent on guiding residential growth into the urban areas where households will have greater access to goods and efficiently provided services.

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Have You Scheduled These Events?

Let’s All Walk with Erin: A United Stand Against Hate

You may have heard about a disturbing incident which occurred on the May 4 “Walk with Erin Jones” when a vehicle drove by with someone screaming the n-word. Here’s community educator Erin's TikTok video. 

It was like what happened in March when Lacey’s Commission on Equity was zoom-bombed with racist and anti-semitic language … to keep people who have been historically marginalized afraid and invisible. 

The League of Women Voters Thurston County invites us to take these incidents as an opportunity to galvanize our community to demonstrate unity by turning out on June 8th and “Walk with Erin.” 

Action: Show up and let’s walk together! Saturday, June 8th, 11am-1pm, at the ASSHO Center, 5757 Littlerock Rd., Tumwater. 

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Big River - Olympia Book Launch!
Big River Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin is a new visual book about the incredible life force of the Columbia River Basin, Photography and Introduction by David Moskowitz, Narrative by Eileen Delehanty Pearkes

• What: Book Launch, Big River, Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin, 
• Where: Browsers Bookshop, 107 Capitol Way N., Olympia
• When: June 4, 6:00pm

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Action Cafe 2024, Every Monday at Noon
OI members meet, make new friends, and take actions together. Every Cafe comes with a side order of live music and a heapin’ helpin’ of good cheer!

Cafe patrons receive an email on Sunday with a sneak-peek at what we'll do at the cafe the next day. On Monday morning, Chef Lisa will send you a pdf "Menu" which has links to the actions we'll take together at the Cafe. 

Action: Register HERE. We will send you a Zoom link and tomorrow morning, Chef Lisa will send your "menu." ​