Dear Friend,

We can’t think of a better way to have marked the one year Anniversary of our New Era PAC and election program than by being with more than 300 Marylanders (on zoom and Facebook in real time and viewing later) with more than a dozen impressive progressive PM backed candidates and our own remarkable Champion for Democracy Rep. Jamie Raskin!

He told us he was thrilled to be working with Progressive Maryland and all of us. We were thrilled to be with him and to hear his inspiring message last Saturday. He expressed what we’ve all been thinking for some time,“we’re in the fight of our lives” given the attacks from the extreme right or as Congressman Raskin characterized them the “rule or ruin faction.” He detailed the violent crimes and the harm that was done on January 6, 2021 by the insurrectionists and their enablers in the GOP. He described how razor close our country came to experiencing a coup.

We prevailed at the end of that terrible and traumatic day but the assaults on our democracy and freedoms continue. Even in a blue state like ours there are Trump loving Republicans on the ballot this year. And an anti-choice group is organizing to put a statewide ballot measure on the November ballot to repeal the abortion legislation passed this year (and upheld after Hogan’s veto) in the Maryland General Assembly. We can’t take the outcome of the 2022 elections for granted so here at Progressive Maryland we’ll be very focused for the next two months on organizing extensive voter outreach, voter education and voter turnout efforts for the Primary contests. We’ll be involved in the general election, too! Voter participation is absolutely essential to keeping and growing our democracy. A strong democracy is what will help us, in the words of Rep. Raskin, “advance the interests, needs and agenda of the people.”

Thank you Rep. Raskin for sharing your time and remarks with us last Saturday. Thanks to PM Board Member Cat Paul who introduced the Congressman, to our affiliates and donors who supported the event, and to everyone who tuned in. It was great to see the PM slate of candidates who joined us from the field where they were door knocking, attending events, and campaigning with volunteers!

Now it’s time for all of us to jump in! Please help power our election work this spring and summer! We have two months left to shape the outcome of a number of County and state legislative elections. Sign up to knock on doors, drop campaign literature, make calls to voters or help us recruit more volunteers. We have shifts available most weeknights and on weekends. See the memo for ways to get involved or reach out to one of our organizers.

Thank you and we hope to see you soon!

In Solidarity,
The Progressive Maryland Team

Quick Actions:
Get Involved in our election program!
Texting Tuesday – text for reproductive justice
Become a Member of Progressive Maryland

2022 Maryland Elections:
The Primary election is Tuesday, July 19 for offices up and down the ballot. Make your plan to vote! Here are options and dates to help you decide:
Early Voting: Thursday, July 7 – Thursday, July 14 Check your local Board of Elections website for locations and hours.
Mail In Option: Request a ballot until July 12 Click here to learn how you can request a mail-in ballot.
Tuesday, July 19: Primary Election Day Check your local Board of Elections website for locations and hours.
Starting today! Make your plan to volunteer with our voter contact program! We’re knocking doors, making phone calls, texting and supporting events with candidates. All you need to do is find a couple hours in your schedule to help us get the word out about the great progressive candidates running on our Slate.Sign up today! Contact Yves for more information. We’ll need folks for coverage at Early Voting and Election Day polling places, too, in July.
Our Throwdown Thursday phonebank is the place to be on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m Come meet like minded folks, have some fun and make a difference for one of our Slate campaigns.. 6–8pm. Click this link to let us know you’ll join

PM Endorsed Candidate Corner
Campaign Events With our SLATE!



Saturday, June 4, Canvass Day of Action for Krystal Oriahda, Democratic Candidate for Prince George’s County Council District 7. Come out and meet Krystal and some amazing grassroots activists! RSVP here. We’ll provide training, snacks, the walk list, and other support. Join us for a fun day out in the community.

We are rolling out more endorsements this week so stay tuned and you can view any new endorsements on social media!


Statewide & Federal Updates:

Medicare for All
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced his Medicare For All bill in the U.S. Senate. Fourteen Senators including Senators. Warren, Booker and Pedilla have signed on as sponsors. Please join us in urging Sen. Van Hollen and Sen. Cardin to do the same. Marylanders across the state support Medicare For All, a healthcare system where everybody is in and nobody is out. Just click the tool to send a message to our Senators: email tool. A special note about Sen. Van Hollen: We appreciate the time that he and his staff have spent meeting with us over the past year to discuss Medicare For All, pandemic relief, and related issues like the burden of medical debt and the soaring cost of high cost of prescription drugs. . We’re glad to see he’s back home! Once he’s able to focus on his Senate responsibilities again we hope he’ll sign on to the bill and that we can continue our conversation about Medicare For All and other health care policies.

Please contact Patty to get involved in our Health Care For All Campaign.

COVID
We’ve all seen the news about the growing increase in cases and it’s likely that many folks reading this have gotten COVID or have a family member who’s had it. Please get vaccinated, boosted and tested.Let’s do our part and push our elected officials to do their part by. allocating resources that will support the treatment and care people need now and over the long haul.

THE OVERDOSE CRISIS
We’ve had a victory! PM is part of People’s Action’s Drug Policy Cohort and PA shared this update: Huge congratulations!
We did it! The MAT Act passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee through the bill package: Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Wellbeing Act. This is the first time that the MAT Act has made it out of Committee, and it’s all thanks to the leadership of the People's Action Overdose Crisis Cohort and the support of the PA network! We hope the bill will pass the House floor next month.

Local Chapter Updates:

Progressive Harford
Thank you to all 23 attendees at our May Progressive Harford County meeting. We reviewed where the chapter is in its endorsement process and highlighted several upcoming meetings to get members active. We will announce endorsements and plans to support those candidates during our next chapter meeting on June 20. Contact Zack to learn more.

Anne Arundel County Chapter
Progressive Maryland is leading a campaign on behalf of Fair Elections Maryland to win public financing for County Executive and County Council races in Anne Arundel. The first step in the process is a petition effort to collect the 10,000 signatures from registered county voters required to bring the question to the ballot in November.

Anne Arundel is one of the largest counties in Maryland with over half a million residents and holds special political significance as the home of our state capital, Annapolis. A strong win here will not only ensure that Anne Arundel residents have a county government that reflects everyday people over corporations, but will also add to the growing pressure to pass a similar system statewide for the General Assembly.

Progressive Montgomery
Contact Patty for more information about our grassroots election efforts in Montgomery County.



State and National News:

Look here for fun stuff on national elections and the Trump Effect as well as less fun stuff about the rise in COVID infections in Maryland, and what some school districts are doing to respond.
Find it all in the News You Can Use blog post.


Events From Progressive Maryland & Our Allies


Wednesday May 25, 6:30 p.m. | Listening Session on the Police Accountability Bill Being Considered by the Prince George’s County.Hosted by County Council Member Ed Burroughs and County Council Member Deni Tavares. Register here.

Friday June 10 | Labor Night at the Nats
From Union City: This year’s Labor Night at the Nats is coming up; get your tickets now! The Washington Nationals play the Milwaukee Brewers and tickets are $17. The Community Services Agency gets $2.00 for each ticket. Click here to hit a home run for CSA’s Emergency Assistance Fund, or call Josh Grohs at 202-640-7714 or email [email protected]

Saturday, June 18 | 10 AM (Washington, DC) — We’re still a few weeks out but the Poor People’s Campaign is organizing a Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington & to the Polls in June! This event will be a declaration of the power of poor and low-wealth people to say this system is killing us, and it’s time to change it. Learn more and RSVP here.

Progressive Maryland BlogSpace:
We value creating space for our members to express their thoughts on any issues related to our campaigns. Have an idea for a blog post? You can submit writing, film, graphic design, etc. to be published on our website to the blog moderator Woody at [email protected].
New Today – National (elections stuff) and Maryland (well, more COVID)
NYCU: Reproductive rights and gun control newly possess Congress, D.C.
Hogan shows true colors by withholding training funds appropriated in state abortion bill
Celebrate our New Era PAC birthday and keep making change happen
People's Action May 3rd 2022 Statement Supporting Roe v. Wade
Oakland shuts down community school programs despite excellent outcomes
Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Monday, May 2, 2022
News You Can Use -- making sure your vote counts in Maryland
State board of ed embarks on fall 2022 engagement with schools Blueprint
>>Read more on the homepage of progressivemaryland.org


Click here to view this memo in your web browser


Progressive Maryland
P.O. Box 6988
Largo, MD 20792
United States
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