There's big news on the gerrymandering/fair elections front: Senator Dave Hansen and Representative Robyn Vining will introduce a nonpartisan redistricting bill, LRB 2062/1, and hold a press conference on Tuesday, June 4, in the Assembly Parlor at 11:30am. If you are going to be in the Madison area, please make time to show your support by attending that event.

And if you're going to be in the Milwaukee area on Tuesday, June 4, drop by our office at 5600 W Brown Deer Rd, Suite 116, between 3pm and 6pm to send a postcard to your own Senator and Assembly representative to urge them to support Fair Maps and the bill that will mandate a nonpartisan process modeled on Iowa's successful plan. We'll look up all the info you need and supply the postcards and stamps. Go to our RSVP or Facebook event pages for more information.

If you bring a cell phone, you can also call their offices and lobby them to support the Medicaid (BadgerCare) expansion. Not only would 82,000 more people in Wisconsin have healthcare coverage, but the state budget would be enhanced by millions of dollars that could be spent on education, infrastructure, environmental protection — you name it. Medicaid expansion is a win-win for our state. We want our Senators and Representatives to back it. You can let us know you're coming on our RSVP or Facebook event pages. Hope to see you there.

In other news on Fair Elections, federal courts in Michigan and Ohio have ruled extreme partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional, as have courts in Wisconsin (in 2017), North Carolina, and Maryland. Both the court in MI and the one in OH ruled that electoral maps must be redrawn before the 2020 elections! As expected, however, the Supreme Court, stayed those orders until the pending cases from NC and MD are decided by the end of June this year. Our own Whitford case, now enhanced with additional plaintifs to address the issue of standing that the Supreme Court used to send the case back to the trial court, will be heard in July.

Meanwhile, as late night host Stephen Colbert often says, Ariel Procaccia has a not-to-be-missed article in the La Crosse Tribune today on the role of statistical analysis in adjudicating extreme partisan gerrymanders. According to this account, math can be used to find problematic cases: "At the heart of [this] approach is the idea of testing whether the map in question is abnormal when compared against random maps that only account for legal and geographical constraints, and are generated in a way that's oblivious to partisan machinations." Although he offers no concrete evidence in support of his claim, Procaccia argues that the Court is more receptive to the so-called outlier-detection method than it appeared to be to the efficiency-gap method the Whitford case in part relied on. The piece is called To beat gerrymandering, do the math. It's worth the read.

This issue is very much in the national news lately (despite all the attention the press pays to His Idiot's tweets and other nonsense pronouncements). In The Hill, Lon Johnson reports that "only 2 percent of Americans say American elections work all of the time. It also found that fighting gerrymandering and corruption has bipartisan support, with 82 percent of Americans saying they are concerned with the corruption of the system, and believe gerrymandering is undemocratic and should be illegal." New Hampshire's Senate has just passed a bill to create a commission to redraw its legislative maps. And according to NBC news, half of the states have considered what's known as "prison gerrymandering" in the last few years. Six states have now passed laws "to require that prisoners be counted at their pre-incarceration addresses — instead of where they're serving time...." The change matters because "[w]hile a significant number of correctional facilities are located in comparatively rural areas that are largely Republican and predominantly white, prisoners tend to hail from urban, often Democratic communities...." We have the moral high ground on this issue. Help Grassroots North Shore, the Fair Maps Coalition, and fair-minded people everywhere win this campaign, all over the nation and right here in Wisconsin!

And finally, a heads-up on another issue Grassroots North Shore has singled out for attention as we head into the Democratic primary season: reforming healthcare, again. Confused by all the different healthcare proposals the Democratic Party's candidates for president are supporting? Then don't miss Robert Kraig's discussion, The Future of Healthcare in the US. He will explain what's at stake and what the various proposals set out to do. This will be a wonderful opportunity to ask questions of a healthcare expert! Grassroots North Shore is hosting the event on Sunday, June 23, at the Brown Deer United Methodist Church (5736 W Brown Deer Rd, Milwaukee). Doors will open at 2:30pm and the program will begin at 3:00pm (with lots of easy parking behind the church). As usual, we are asking that people RSVP on our website or our Facebook event page so we will have enough goodies for everyone.

EVENTS

Wed May 29, 2019

It's a strong NO for Denise P. Bartlett for the Fire and Police Commission., 9:30am - 10am
City Hall, 3rd Floor, Common Council Chambers.
Show up and show your support for a STRONG NO! We are demanding that Mayor Barrett appoints individuals that are interested and have applied for this opportunity, utilize different means to notify the community that this opportunity to serve exists, and fill all nine seats commissioner seats on the FPC. If the Mayor’s office or the Common Council needs suggestions on how to more effectively share this opportunity with the community let the community know and we cancertainly offer some suggestions. We demand Mayor Barrett to consider the communities need to have someone who can take a strong and fair stance along with a PROVEN track record for advocating for those who have been disproportionately affected by policies and law enforcement.

Gwen Moore Press Conference, 10:30am - 11:15am
Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Milwaukee
Congresswoman Gwen Moore will join local representatives and community partners to announce her legislation, H.R. 2751, Mamas First Act, to provide coverage under Medicaid for services provided by doulas and certified professional midwives. She believes "doulas are an important resource for pregnant women -- they are the best way for our nation to reduce black maternal and infant mortality rates." For more information, call the Milwaukee office, 414-297-1140.

Refuel the Resistance, 5pm - 8pm
Bounce Milwaukee, 2801 S. 5th Ct., Milwaukee
Weekly gathering at Bounce Milwaukee's mezzanine bar for networking, inspiration or just to vent. Bring along any evidence of your civic resistance from the last week to get a beverage (up to $7) on the house, and compare notes with other individuals and groups working to make things better. More information.

Thu May 30, 2019

Human Rights Campaign Open House, 6:30pm - 8pm
MobCraft Brewery, 505 S. 5th St., Milwaukee
Please join the Human rights Campaign for a Volunteer Open House. Members of the Milwaukee Steering Committee and HRC staff will be in attendance to share upcoming volunteer activities and leadership opportunities for those looking to step up and join HRC in the fight for equality. More information.

Sat Jun 1, 2019

DPW State Convention, 10am - 9pm
Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, 1721 W. Canal St., Milwaukee
Caucus meetings, new delegate training, reports, speeches, hospitality suites. More information.

Stand for Peace, 12pm - 1pm
West National Avenue & Cesar Chavez Drive (South 16th Street), Milwaukee
Stand for peace in the streets of Milwaukee, every Saturday at noon. Organized by Peace Action Wisconsin.

Sun Jun 2, 2019

DPW State Convention, 8am - 1pm
Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, 1721 W. Canal St., Milwaukee
Resolutions, voting for statewide party officers, other business. More information.

Mon Jun 3, 2019

Violent Recidivism Conference, 1:30pm - 5pm
Marquette University, Eckstein Hall, 1215 W. Michigan St., Milwaukee
This free conference will consider what evidence shows about risk assessment, treatment, and sentencing and supervision options for violence-convicted individuals. Leading social scientists and legal scholars from across the nation will share their research, illuminating the challenge posed by violent recidivism and the difficult choices that lawmakers, judges, and prosecutors must make. More information, schedule, and RSVP (required).

Drinking Liberally Waukesha, 6:30pm - 9pm
Clarke Irish Pub, 314 W. Main St., Waukesha
Drinking Liberally Waukesha meets the first Monday of each month. More information.

Tue Jun 4, 2019

Violent Recidivism Conference, 8:45am - 2pm
Marquette University, Eckstein Hall, 1215 W. Michigan St., Milwaukee
This free conference will consider what evidence shows about risk assessment, treatment, and sentencing and supervision options for violence-convicted individuals. Leading social scientists and legal scholars from across the nation will share their research, illuminating the challenge posed by violent recidivism and the difficult choices that lawmakers, judges, and prosecutors must make. More information, schedule, and RSVP (required).

Grassroots North Shore Phone Bank, 3pm - 6pm
Grassroots North Shore office, 5600 W Brown Deer Road, Suite 116, Milwaukee
Give us just an hour! We're calling our Senate and Assembly representatives in support of the Medicaid expansion. And we're sending our them postcards urging them to support non-partisan redistricting. Bring a cell phone and drop in any time between 3 and 6 pm to make those two calls and write those two postcards. RSVP on our website or on our Facebook page.

LaTonya Johnson Fundraiser, 5pm - 7pm
Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St., Milwaukee
Please join State Sen. LaTonya Johnson for her birthday fundraiser! Sponsorship Levels: Host: $1,000 | Co-Host: $500 | Sponsor: $250 Friend: $100 | Suggested contribution: $50. RSVP or contact Joyce Brennan.

Wed Jun 5, 2019

Refuel the Resistance, 5pm - 8pm
Bounce Milwaukee, 2801 S. 5th Ct., Milwaukee
Weekly gathering at Bounce Milwaukee's mezzanine bar for networking, inspiration or just to vent. Bring along any evidence of your civic resistance from the last week to get a beverage (up to $7) on the house, and compare notes with other individuals and groups working to make things better. More information.

Grass Roots South Shore Meeting, 6pm - 8pm
Cudahy Library, 3500 Library Dr., Cudahy
Grass Roots South Shore meets on the first Wednesday of each month. For more information call Jim Balk, 414-218-5944.

Sat Jun 8, 2019

Implicit Bias Training, 9am - 2pm
Lake Park Lutheran Church, 2647 N. Stowell Ave., Milwaukee
Join MICAH, WISDOM, and members of the community to learn to recognize and understand implicit bias. Instruction, videos, and discussion will help to dig into implicit bias and why it's an important topic. Group and independent activities will allow for deeper self-reflection. In closing, discuss the way forward, personally and for our communities. Bring a dish to share for lunch. All are welcome! More info.

Stand for Peace, 12pm - 1pm
Brady Street & Farwell Avenue, Milwaukee
Stand for peace in the streets of Milwaukee, every Saturday at noon. Organized by Peace Action Wisconsin.

Laughing Liberally Milwaukee, 8pm - 10pm
Comedy Sportz Theater, 420 S. 1st St., Milwaukee
Laughing Liberally Milwaukee presents a night of progressive politicalcomedy. In addition to some of the finest progressive comedians Milwaukee has to offer, each Laughing Liberally Milwaukee will feature a special interview with a local political figure, journalist or activist. This month’s guest is Jasmine Gonzalez from the CLOSEmsdf Campaign. Advance tickets ($8).

Sun Jun 9, 2019

MKE Pride Parade, 2pm - 2pm
S. 2nd Street, Milwaukee
March in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community. This is a family-friendly event intended to promote a positive and inclusive environment. More information.

Mon Jun 10, 2019

Grass Roots South Shore Meeting, 6pm - 8pm
Cudahy Library, 3500 Library Dr. , Cudahy
Grass Roots South Shore holds its monthly meeting on the second Monday of each month. For more information call Jim Balk, 414-218-5944.