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** alliance4action Newsletter
October, 2020

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October General Meeting
Sunday, October 18, 2020
2:00 p.m.
The Supreme Court and the Voting Rights Act: Shelby County v Holder, 2013
presented by
The Honorable Richard D. Sievers, Ret.,
The Nebraska Court of Appeals

Zoom Link: [link removed]

Need help getting started with Zoom? Check out this introduction: [link removed] ([link removed])

Join the Leadership Team!

Three positions are up for election, term to begin January 2021: Executive Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Communications Chair.

If you are interested in running for any of these positions, please contact the Nominations Chair, Connie Aglione, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) before October 8th.


alliance4action Treasurer’s Report
September, 2020

Beginning Balance as of August 29 $1,947.68

Income 278.45
Expenses 0.00

Ending Balance as of September 24 $2226.13

Maggie Sievers, Treasurer


Prop 208, Invest in Education
Prop 481, Pima Community College Base Level Funding
Prop 484, Continental School Budget Override

Check out our website for more election information, including recommendations for judges ([link removed]) .
Honoring Ann Striker

alliance4action’s own Ann Striker was recently honored by the Green Valley News as one of a number of “AZ 19’s Most Influential People” for 2020. The ceremony was held on September 22, and despite the Covid 19 restrictions we could celebrate in a Zoom-like format.

As one of the original founding members of a4a in 2016, Ann also headed up the Sahuarita Food Bank at Good Shepherd Church, and has been instrumental in securing funding for the Food Bank’s own dedicated building.

In June, Ann led the “safe drive-through” for registering Pima County voters and signing/qualifying the statewide petitions that are now on the November ballot.

Ann has patience and determination, always with good humor, and a cheerful, calm demeanor that belies her fierce resolve to always make things better in her community.

We congratulate and salute our friend, Ann Striker.

Weekly Vigils
Calling all activists: Now is the time to stand up for your progressive ideals and get out the vote! From now through Election Day, two progressive rallies/vigils are being held weekly in Green Valley/Sahuarita. Please join us for one or both!

Tuesdays at 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Please meet us at the corner of La Canada and Esperanza. Contact Barb Lemmon for more information:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Fridays at 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Please meet us at the southeast (Sprouts) corner of Abrego and Nogales Highway. Contact Peggy Hendrickson for more information:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Our focus is the election, getting out the vote, encouraging our progressive candidates, and energizing our progressive base to vote for our excellent candidates, starting at the top of the ticket with Biden and Harris.

As we promote our progressive agenda and candidates, we want to focus on being positive about what we want to see, not negative and decrying what we hate. We ask participants to leave Trump and his cronies out of it! We will not engage at all with the opposition, and will not respond to obscene gestures or rude call-outs from passers by.

Our rules are simple: Be safe. Wear your mask. Maintain social distance. Bring your flag or poster. Bring a lawn chair if needed. Please don’t occupy the median per the sheriff’s request.

See you on the corner! We can assure you that you will come away from the experience feeling uplifted by the thumbs up, the occasional cheers, and the smiling folks who honk their appreciation for your efforts. Plus, it’s a great remedy for pre-election jitters!
a4a ACTION GROUPS

Climate

Right now, heat waves, droughts, fires and hurricanes are being super-charged by global warming. An update by the U.N. World Meteorological Organization released Sept. 9th reports that the pace of warming is increasing even faster than scientists had predicted and, “a clear fingerprint of human-induced climate change has been identified on many of these extreme events.”


*Chart from the 9/9/20 UN report

Our country needs climate policy and action based on science and sound economics. Only one presidential candidate and one political party have plans to address the climate crisis. Vote Blue for a healthy climate.

To receive notices of upcoming a4a Climate Group actions and events send a message to [email protected] ([link removed]) with "Add to email list" on the subject line.

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Education

Proposition 208, perhaps better known as Invest in Education, has been a roller coaster. We are so pleased that it was finally approved to go on the ballot. This is an opportunity to provide financial support to our public schools!

The Education Action Team will be holding a Zoom meeting on Monday September 28. Our meeting will focus on strategies for getting the message out to voters about Proposition 208, as well as how to discuss the many misconceptions about how this proposal is designed to work.

Public education is under attack by our current administration. We must focus on getting out the vote at the national, state and local levels to elect officials who share our values.

If you live in Pima County you also have the opportunity to support Proposition 481 which will increase the funds available to Pima Community College by granting them more flexibility to spend existing tax revenue on educational programs and services. There is no additional tax for this proposition.

Proposition 484 is a continuation of the current Budget Override for Continental School District. Please vote yes. These funds are needed.

Finally, there is a school board election. At this time, our team does not have recommendations for candidates. We do know that none of them are endorsed by Save Our Schools. Please consider your own exploration.

We have work to do. Please contact me if you would like to join the team. Polly Daly, Co-Chair [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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Health Care

The Health Care Action Group met on 9-23-20 via Zoom. Nine participants spent most of the time discussing the new risks to the ACA (Affordable Care Act). Due to Justice Ginsberg’s death and the likelihood of a conservative judge being confirmed and installed before the Supreme Court takes up the case on November 10th, there is cause for worry. We reviewed a background piece as well as a long letter to the editor (Green Valley News) outlining the losses and setbacks of returning to pre-ACA scenarios. The number of people with pre-existing conditions will increase exponentially in the future due to COVID.

We reviewed the Biden/Harris Health Plan from the Biden website. It improves and re-builds the ACA, addresses, but is not limited to, surprise billing, prescription drug costs and reproductive justice issues. It is a framework for future legislation as opposed to the anticipated executive orders from the Trump administration that will have no legal standing or significance whatsoever.

We encouraged one another to work on phone banking, letter writing, letters to local papers or papers wherever one is prior to the election. Working at the polls is an option, given that it’s a long arduous shift, as is the Blue Card Drop effort planned for early October.

The group welcomed a new member and hopes to gain more. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 21st. Please contact Laurie Jurs at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) for more information.


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Immigration

The a4a Immigration Action Group elected new officers for the 2020/2021 year. Many thanks to Amy Stone, our outgoing Chair. A special thanks to Jean Saballus who stepped in to serve as Chair and kept us all together during the spring and summer. We appreciate Sara Busey (Vice Chair/Recorder) and Gail Frank (Communicator) for agreeing to continue on in their important roles. Alyson Ball is the new Chair.

Please watch our 6-minute video below for border and immigration news as of 9/20/20. (Please forgive this first effort's technical difficulties which include darting eyes and Pumpkin, the cat, making her video debut at :48.) If you are unable to view the video below, you can also find it on our website:
[link removed].

CALL TO ACTION: Rather than an immigration-focused CALL to ACTION, please take a moment to contact both of your Senators to tell them that you do NOT want RBG's replacement to be approved until AFTER the presidential inauguration.

To get on the a4a Immigration Action Group email and CALLS to ACTION list, please contact Gail Frank ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ).

[link removed]
Border and Immigration News, September 20, 2020, video update by Alyson Ball


For up-to-date information, check our website, [link removed] and Facebook page, [link removed] ([link removed]) .
If you have any comments or contributions for the newsletter, please email the editors, Pam Duchaine ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ) or Henne Queisser ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ).

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