Referedums and other questions

Grassroots North Shore's RESCUE LADY JUSTICE event this past Sunday was a wonderful chance to hear from and ask questions of several candidates. If you missed it, you will be able to watch a video of it in a few days. As a result of that event, Grassroots North Shore is announcing its endorsements. You can read the rationals for these choices on our website:

I'd like to say a bit more about the referendums. The first two questions will appear on all Wisconsin ballots and are the proposed amendments to the Wisconsin constitution. Both hinge on a phrase found in the legislative language but not in the language presented on the ballot. In Question 1, the current constitutional text reads that a judge can impose pre-conviction conditions "that are designed to protect members of the community from serious bodily harm." But the legislative language of the amendment would strike the word "bodily" and add the key phrase "as defined by the legislature by law."

In Question 2, the key phrase appears as part of a long proposed addition that provides copious detail about when a judge can impose cash bail. It adds language specifying that cash bail can be imposed "if the person is accused of a violent crime as defined by the legislature by law." In both cases, the key phrase specifies that the legislature has the power to define both what constitutes "harm" (in Question 1) and what counts as a violent crime (in Question 2).

So it is that phrase — "as defined by the legislature by law" — that gives the legislature new power, power that is currently part of a judge's discretion. The ballot language fails to include this crucial information about what the amendments would actually accomplish. And that's a key reason why we are leaning toward a "NO" vote on both questions.

In addition to Questions 1 and 2, all voters in Wisconsin will see Question 3. Although the difference between the effect of Question 3 and the first two questions is not apparent, at least on my sample ballot, it is simply advisory. In other words, the question appears on the ballot to encourage a people with a somewhat punitive view of those who receive welfare benefits to vote in this rather low turnout election. It asks whether "able-bodied childless adults [should] be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits." Wisconsin already has a requirement that they look for work in order to receive unemployment insurance. A similar requirement for Wisconsin Foodshare has been waived during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Milwaukee County, a 4th question — also simply an advisory one — appears on the ballot. (Other jurisdictions may also have additional advisory questions on their ballots.) Question 4 asks whether "Wisconsin Statute 940.04, which bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy without exception for rape, incest, or health of the patient, [should] be repealed to allow legal access to abortion care." It is clearly designed to attract voters who believe women should be free to receive reproductive health care without interference from the state.

Turning to the race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you should save the date. On March 21, Judge Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly are set to debate for the first and only time. Sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin, WISC-TV and WisPolitics, it will be televised live. Judge Protasiewicz is being attacked for declining to engage in additional debates. When she was asked why at the Grassroots North Shore's RESCUE LADY JUSTICE event, she gave a perfectly reasonable response. She is campaigning for the seat on the Supreme Court while she continues to work at her current, full-time job. So time constraints, rather than some other objection, underlies her choice. According to a post by WisPolitics, "The March 21 debate will be livestreamed by Channel3000.com. It will then be replayed at 4 p.m. by WISC-TV and WKBT-TV."

Absentee ballots that have already been requested will begin to be mailed today. If you have not already requested one, the time to do it is NOW and the place to do it is MyVote.WI.gov. While you're there, you should also check your sample ballot so you will know exactly what will be on it. Prepare to fill out your absentee ballot as soon as you receive it. In the February primary, unfortunately, 75 otherwise valid ballots were delivered to the Glendale municipal clerk the day after the election and therefore could not be counted. There are just two ways to return an absentee ballot:

  1. Put it in the US Mail.
  2. Hand deliver it to your municipal clerk during regular business hours.

A word of caution about both methods. Legally, all voters must mail their ballots themselves (although it would be hard for anyone to know who placed the ballot in a mailbox). The same holds true for taking a ballot to the municipal clerk. The clerk will refuse to accept a ballot delivered by someone other than the voter of the ballot!

And a word about our digital presence. Grassroots North Shore is expanding its digital presence. In addition to our website, our Facebook page, and our Twitter page, we now have a spiffy new Instagram page. You really should check it out!

Finally, ahead of this vital election, I have changed the way I list some events. So you will see a special section devoted to canvassing and phoning voters. Some people, like me, can no longer canvass. But we can buddy up with someone who can and drive them through the turf they're working. It saves the canvasser a lot of time. And you can phone voters, an activity many people dislike. But I always say, like an eye doctor, "is it better 1 or 2." Is it better to grit your teeth and phone or lose the election? You know what the right answer is. When the future of the state and perhaps of the nation at stake, each of us must do as much as we can to win this election! The links allow you to sign up for several canvasses or phone banks. So get busy.

SPECIAL EVENTS SECTION FOR CANVASSING AND PHONING

Canvassing is probably the most important way you can help secure victories for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz, Senate District 8 candidate Jodi Habush Sinykin, and Milwaukee Appellate Court candidate Sara Geenen. We've organized into Neighborhood Action Teams. Here are the links to sign up for the one that's most convenient for you. Each sign-up page has multiple day and shift options.


Join the WisDems for a phone bank! We will be calling voters to talk about the importance of voting in the State Supreme Court race and encouraging voters to make a plan to vote! Phoning takes place on many days and at many times. Go to a comprehensive listing and sign up.

OTHER ELECTION VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Write letters for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election with Vote Forward. We're sending the letters out on Tuesday, March 28. Overview: Help encourage Democratic-leaning voters to vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election by April 4, 2023. Background: The next Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice will rule on important issues that affect everyone in Wisconsin. Our letters can help provide more information about the candidates and motivate Democratic-leaning voters to participate in this critical election.Targeting: Fellow citizens who are unlikely to vote but likely to vote for Democrats when they do cast a ballot. Goal: This campaign seeks to increase voter turnout. This is a project of Vote Forward. Sign up.


Be a Poll Observer: the Voter Protection Project needs a lot more poll observers. It is our duty to remain diligent and protect our democracy. That’s why we’ve been building a team of poll observers to ensure every precinct’s voting process is smooth, fair, and equitable. Poll observers are the eyes and ears for our voter protection team at critical polling locations across the state. Without poll observers, we can’t rapidly respond to important issues at polling places as they arise. There are 3 Election Day poll observer shift options: All-Day (6:30am-8:30pm - this is our greatest need), AM (6:30am-1:30pm), or PM (1:30pm-8:30pm). You will have plenty of opportunities for breaks and meals throughout the day, and a place to sit down. Sign up.

ELECTION INFORMATION AND YARD SIGNS

Read and pass along a Guide to the 2023 Supreme Court Race from guides.vote. The Guide includes

  • a section on why your vote in this race matters;
  • a section providing an overview of the candidates's qualifications and positions on key issues like abortion and redistricting/gerrymandering;
  • a section on how to register and vote in this election, with dates and deadlines.

You can download a pdf or the Guide in English and En Español.


For additional information about the state candidates and the races in your community, visit our 2023 Elections pages. The index page has links to each community where you will find the names of candidates for each office and links to the online information we've been able to gather for each candidate.


The Democratic Party of Milwaukee County has Judge Janet Protasiewicz signs at the Office. Please stop in to pick one up! Location: 2999 S Delaware St, Milwaukee, WI 53221. Hours: Monday - Wednesday, 10:00am - 2:00pm. Thursday - Sunday: CLOSED. Office Phone: (414) 269-9287; Office Email: [email protected]. To make sure some are available, it's wise to call ahead.

Grassroots North Shore will also be distributing signs for Janet Protasiewicz and Jodi Habush Sinikin. I will let you know how to get them as soon as I know.

Read more
1 reaction Share

lessons we've just learned

This Sunday, Grassroots North Shore will present RESCUE LADY JUSTICE with featured speakers Judge Janet Protasiewicz (candidate for Supreme Court), Jodi Habush Sinykin (candidate for WI senator from Senate District 8), and Deb Andraca (Assembly Representative in AD 23) at the North Shore Presbyterian Church (4048 N. Bartlett Ave. Shorewood). We are meeting in person indoors for the first time in THREE YEARS! And it will be especially wonderful to see everyone up close and personal. Still COVID-19 has not gone away. So we recommend that you act prudently and wear a mask when you can. We will have some masks available for you at the sign-in table. So RSVP and enjoy the first day of daylight saving time with your Grassroots North Shore friends! (And don't forget to set your clocks one hour ahead before you hop into bed Saturday night.)

Last week I shared some maps of Wisconsin to show the counties that candidates won and the counties where the aggregate of the two liberal candidates prevailed. Here's more, and more expert, analysis of the outcomes. In the podcast (about 34 minutes long) Charles Franklin, the director of the Marquette Law School poll, talks about the primary and some election trends in the state. You'll find it here.

I promised I would have something to say about the two referendums to amend the state's constitution that will appear on you ballot. So here goes. To amend the state constitution, the exact same legislative language must pass two consecutive sessions of the legislature and THEN be offered to the voters via a ballot referendum. That's what is happening now. The issues these amendments address are complex and there are a number of different views about them. But precisely because they change our foundational document, we should take a bit more care to understand fully what each proposed amendment does.

So far there has been little discussion or analysis of them in the media or anywhere else I've been able to find. And it is a little curious that the Republican dominated legislature is choosing to put these amendments to the voters in an extremely low-turnout spring election. So Grassroots North Shore is suggesting that in the absence of strong supporting arguments with evidence, we vote NO on each of them for the following reasons.

  1. The proposed amendments would transfer power to the legislature from the judicial and from the executive branches of government.

  2. The legislature is using the constitutional amendment process for these matters, instead of simply passing laws to alter the way judges can proceed, in order to get around a gubernatorial veto. In short the majority in the legislature is gaming the system to get the results they want.

You should, however, take a few minutes to read the texts and then make up your own minds. You can read both the language that will be on your ballot and the actual legislative language on the Grassroots North Shore website.

Two warnings about absentee ballots have come to my attention this week. First, some people in Wisconsin are receiving "misleading mailers from a Washington, D.C.-based group that have incorrect information" on pre-filled absentee ballot application forms, according to an AP story on msn.com. the These mailers are coming from the Center for Voter Information, a group that has worked to register voters and elect Democrats across the country. The Center has admitted the mistakes but "was unable to say how widespread its mailing was." But voters are confused.

Second, in the primary we just held 75 mailed-in ballots were delivered in Glendale the day after the election — too late to count. This sort of problem happens in a lot of communities but the number of late ballots is usually very small. In this case, Mayor Brian Kennedy said that although the 75 ballots could not have changed the outcome of any race, they made up 2% of the ballots cast. In fact, the only contested primary on the Glendale ballot in February was the Supreme Court race. And Judge Protasiewicz won that primary with a whopping vote total of 63%. Because the Monday before the Tuesday election was a federal holiday, the post offices were closed, possibly adding to the problem. But in one case a voter in San Diego mailed a ballot on February 8, two weeks before election day!

The moral of the story: people voting by absentee ballot should take their ballots in person to their municipal clerk's office ahead of the election whenever possible. That advice, though, won't help people who mail absentee ballots because they are nowhere near their municipality. In that case, people who have to cast an absentee ballot should return the ballot as soon as it arrives and should check its status on MyVote.WI.gov a few days after it has been mailed. If the ballot has not been received with at least 10 days to election day, voters should call their municipal clerk for advice on what to do. Contact for municipal clerks is provided by the MyVote site.

And a final announcement: The Democratic Party of Milwaukee County will give anyone who completes 2 canvassing shifts in Milwaukee County a 50% discount on the price of tickets to the County Party Awards dinner on March 26th. The event will be held at the Italian Community Center at 5:30pm for drinks and 6:30pm for dinner. The party will announce the recipients of a number of awards, including Democrat of the Year Mandela Barnes. And Judge Janet Protasiewicz will be the gala's special speaker. So please find an opportunity (or 2!) to knock doors and talk to your neighbors. The events list has plenty of canvasses in a location near you for the three weekends before the election. Tickets for the gala, titled "Defenders of Democracy," are available now.

Read more
1 reaction Share

Five weeks and counting!

What a great Tuesday night we had last week! Judge Janet Protasiewicz received 46% of the statewide vote in a smashing victory for her. She of course did even better in our North Shore communities. In Shorewood and Bayside, she received over 70% of the vote. Glendale and Whitefish Bay awarded her more than 60% and River Hills came in with 54%. Only in Brown Deer did her vote total fall below 50%. But combined with the vote share for her liberal opponent, we can be pleased with the outcome: 67%! In Thiensville, she won 46%, the highest share of the vote. In Grafton, Cedarburg, Port Washington and Mequon she also won the most votes, 38%, 43%, 45% and 45% respectively. You can see all the county-by-county results online at the New York Times. And for a great appraisal of the outcome, you can't do better than to read Ben Wikler's piece on Daily Kos today.

Here's a map showing the winner of each county by color. (Click here for a larger version.) Note that Protasiewicz actually won Ozaukee County, while Dorow came first in Washington and Waukesha. Since the voters did not favor her opponent, it's possible that at least some of them might prefer Protasiewicz in the April election. To get a clearer picture of the split between liberal and conservative candidates in the aggregate, here's a map showing the aggregate vote totals by county. (For a larger map, click here.) That is, if you add the vote totals of Protasiewicz and Mitchell together and compare the result to the sum of Kelly and Dorow's votes, you approximate the vote total of the liberal candidate in the April 4 election. The result is an astonishing winning margin of nearly 8 points.

What the data show is that we can win this WI Supreme Court seat if we work hard to get like-minded people out to vote. Grassroots North Shore is sending out about 3500 postcards this week and next, to be followed up with phone calls. We have flyers to distribute in walkable places like Glendale, Shorewood, White Fish Bay, Fox Point and Bayside. We're working on putting together a smaller handout to give students on campuses in Milwaukee County. And of course we're canvassing like crazy. Go to our volunteer page to sign up to participate. In the events listings below you'll find oodles of opportunities to volunteer to canvass with the Neighborhood Team nearest you. In essence the whole five weeks to Election Day (April 4) is a Get Out the Vote effort. Please pitch in!

And join us on Sunday, March 12, for a chance to meet and hear from Judge Janet Protasiewicz, Jodi Habush Sinykin, and Deb Andraca. We're celebrating Grassroots North Shore's 19th anniversary! The event will be held at the North Shore Presbyterian Church (4048 N Bartlett, Shorewood) from 4 - 6pm. Since it is an indoor event and COVID doesn't seem to be done with us yet, we recommend that people wear masks and we will have some at the door in case you forget yours. RSVP.

Another way to help is to volunteer with the WisDems Voter Protection Team and become a Poll Observer with the Voter Protection Team in the Spring Election. Poll observers are the eyes and ears for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Voter Protection Team inside polling locations across the state. You will be the last line of defense against any problems voters might face in trying to cast their ballot, which makes poll observing the single most important thing you can do (other than casting a ballot yourself) to ensure a strong, healthy democracy. Poll observers will be trained by the Voter Protection Team and supported by our staff throughout the process.

Now that we're focused on the April election, don't forget about the referendums for constitutional amendments that will be on everyone's ballots. Grassroots North Shore has not yet taken a position on either of them, although that may change as we learn more about what's at stake. But you should at least read them — they're quite short — and also the actual legislative language. You can find them on our website.

There is a lot going on in international and national news right now. There's the situation in Ukraine and the situation with TFG in Georgia, in New York, and in DC. And then there's the Dominion defamation suit seeking $1.6 billion in damages. With possible punitive damages on top of that. If you haven't been following the twists and turns in the latest Dominion filing — for a summary judgment no less — have a look at the story at CNN online. One of the best bits is Rupert Murdoch's answer to a question about why Carlson kept giving air time to Mike Lindell — you know, the pillow guy: "It is not red or blue. It's green." In short, lying about the election results was a business decision. So shocking, isn't it. This is what CNN's analyst Oliver Darcy concludes: "at its core, Fox News is not a news network. News networks work hard to deliver the truth to their viewers. These documents reveal that Fox News executives and hosts knew the truth and yet they peddled election lies to the audience."

Read more
1 reaction Share

Hair on fire

Your hair should be on fire right now! Election Day is tomorrow. We have to work our fannies off to get a progressive jurist on the ballot in the April 4 election for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Lots and lots of people we've run across don't really seem all that aware of this election and its importance. We won't have another chance to remake the direction of this court until 2026! To finish tomorrow's primary with enough votes to claim a spot on the April 4 ballot, Democrats and Grassroots North Shore are continuing to Get Out The Vote on Election Day. So sign up for a shift either with the Fox Point Team or the Glendale Team. Shifts are 11am, 2pm and 5pm. I don't need to tell you how important it is to get out every last vote. So bring a friend. Knock some doors. And feel good while doing good.

The primary for the Wisconsin Supreme Court seat has received oodles of national coverage, for which we should be thankful. Here are just a few of the recent posts on Daily Kos:

And here are some national news outlets on the WI Supreme Court beat:

If you have not yet voted, tomorrow is your last chance. Check your polling place and see your sample ballot at MyVote.WI.gov. In a few areas, there are other races on the ballot. Vote in every race. If you need information about candidates on your ballot, you can find some by visiting our election pages. Just follow the link for your community. You will also find information about the referendums and an advisory question that will be on your ballot on April 4. After the primary tomorrow, I will have more to say about those.

Our next big event (on Sunday, March 12 from 4 - 6 pm) will — finally — be held in person at the North Shore Presbyterian Church (4048 N. Bartlett Ave. Shorewood). The event aims to RESCUE LADY JUSTICE. Speakers include our fantastic candidate for state Senate District 8, Jodi Habush Sinykin, and our equally fantastic 23rd Assembly District representative, Deb Andraca. And the icing on the cake? The progressive winner of tomorrow's referendum. So sign up! (We recommend that you wear a mask and will have some on hand if you no longer keep any at home.)

The April 4 election will be here before we know it. And again, Grassroots North Shore will be flooding the mails, heating up the phone lines, and pounding the pavement. We'll be starting the next round of projects next week. So please, please, please sign up for something.

One terrific way to get engaged is to help register eligible high school students with the League of Women Voters. Milwaukee Public School District has asked the League of Women Voters to work with them to conduct voter registration events at each of their 24 high schools during the open enrollment period, February 22 to March 15, for the April election. To cover that many schools, the LWV will need many volunteers! LWVMC members who would like to participate in the high school events should access the training materials. If you sign up on the Google form at the end of the training, your name will be placed on the high school volunteer list. New volunteers will be paired with experienced volunteers. If you have any questions about this please contact [email protected].

There's always an election cycle in Wisconsin, or so it seems. This year, though, we won't have another election after April until February, 2024. So we'll be able to think about other things that are important to us, our state and our nation. Stay tuned.

Because I want to get this version of the newsletter out a day early, so that you have time to sign up for canvassing on the final day, I am including only a few events. If others come to my attention later this week, I'll send an events-only email to you.

 

Read more
1 reaction Share

the final push is here

As we turn our attention to the general election on April 4, please save the date for Grassroots North Shore's program "Rescue Lady Justice." It will be held Sunday, March 12 from 4:00pm - 6pm at the North Shore Presbyterian Church (4048 N. Bartlett Ave. in Shorewood). Jodi Habush Sinykin the Democratic candidate for Senate District 8, and Deb Andraca, Representative for the 23rd Assembly District, will be two of our featured speakers. But the main attraction will be the progressive candidate on the ballot for the Supreme Court seat. Who is that? We'll know in a week. It's never too early to SIGN UP! And by the way, if you are one of those people who fret about two MAGA judges winning the primary, I have just the balm for you. Ben Wikler, chair of WisDems, has published a crystal clear piece on just why that outcome is so very unlikely. He's done the math so you don't have to. And he's shown his work in pie charts. Check it out.

Meanwhile, the double-edged sword that is Daniel Bice has brought us the news that a sentence Judge Jennifer Dorow issued last year has been overturned by the Appeals Court because the sentence was too lenient and did not meet the legal requirements for the offense. Former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly declined to comment on the matter but he or his allies have been attacking her for being "soft on crime." Dorow's been hitting back at Judge Grogan — who wrote the unanimous Appeals Court decision — by posting in their entirety the comments of the "conservative" radio, Mark Belling, who is supporting Dorow. Belling attacked Judge Grogan, who (according to Bice) is backing Dan Kelly. Bice writes, "in an article on his website, Belling wrote that Grogan was calling local lawyers to 'mock' Dorow and 'crow' about the appellate court ruling."

While we're looking ahead to the April election, Grassroots North Shore is offering many projects to inform voters about the elections and to get out the vote. So of course we need your help both right now and for the April 4 general election. Here are some of the things you can do by contacting the person who is leading each project or by volunteering on our website:

  • Go to local university and college campuses to talk to students about the importance of the spring elections. Contact Norma Gilson or call 414-588-1241.
  • Phone strong Democratic women in our North Shore communities and Ozaukee County. Contact Nancy Kaplan (443-465-1920).
  • Canvass with our Neighborhood Action Teams: see the Events List for Saturday, February 18, and Sunday, February 19. There will also be canvasses on Monday, February 20, and Election Day. And the whole process will begin again after the primary. So start now and continue into spring!
  • Write postcards to strong Democrats in Ozaukee and Washington Counties ahead of the April 4 election. Contact Norma Gilson or call 414-588-1241.
  • Deliver Grassroots North Shore leaflets to our North Shore neighbors ahead of the April 4 election. Contact Norma Gilson or call 414-588-1241.

You can also volunteer with the Voter Protection Team: Join the Ballot Cure Program! WisDems are thrilled to announce the return of their ballot cure program for the April election! Ballot cure is a process whereby we contact voters whose absentee ballots are at risk of rejection and walk them through their options to make sure their vote will count. It's concrete, gratifying work that has a tangible impact on the lives of voters across Wisconsin and serves as a critical voter education opportunity for future elections. Unlike the fall, trainings will run for just one week, so be sure to sign up here to get involved! The same page will provide you with an opportunity to sign up as a Poll Observer, Voter Protection Phonebanker, and/or Poll Worker.

We're just a week away from the primary. So I hope everyone has already voted by absentee ballot, plans to vote early in-person, or has a plan to vote on Election Day. In Milwaukee early in-person voting began on February 7 and ends on Saturday, February 18, at a number of locations throughout the city. See specific information on the Milwaukee Election Commission site. In Ozaukee County and in the North Shore suburbs, early in person voting ends on Friday, February 17. For information specific to your municipality, see the information on GRNS' website.

If you don't yet know enough about the progressive candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, you can find anything you need online. Here are some ways to get up to speed.

To be as prepared as possible, you should look up a sample of your ballot at MyVote.WI.gov. Those of you who live in Wisconsin Senate District 8, will find an extra primary on your ballot. Unlike the primary for Supreme Court, municipal elections, and school board elections, this special primary is a PARTISAN one. And it's confusing. There are three candidates vying to be the Republican nominee but only one Democrat. Because Wisconsin has an open primary system for partisan elections, you can choose to vote in any party's primary. There's a spot to fill in your choice. But you can vote in only one. If you choose to vote in the Democratic primary, cast your ballot for Jodi Habush Sinykin. You can find information about her on our elections website. The links to her online information are available on the page for each community that is within Senate District 8.

Those of you who live in Milwaukee will see contested primary races for city council in Districts 1, 5, and 9. The League of Women Voters Milwaukee County has posted candidates' responses to their questionnaire. So be an informed voter and don't skip these "down ballot" races.

The Milwaukee Public School Board has recently passed a resolution to develop a specific plan and timeline to increase voter registration and actual voting by eligible high school students! It's about time. So there will be several voter registration opportunities at select DMVs and at city high schools. I'll have more information for you next week since online registration does not begin again until after the primary. It will run from February 22 until March 15.

I'm a little apologetic about using the newsletter so exclusively for information about voting. But only a little. So let me end with some analysis of important national news. As you probably know, Jack Smith, the Department of Justice Special Counsel in charge of the investigations into the Jan. 6 events and the Mar-a-lago documents scandal, has subpoenaed former Vice President Pence. Today's news is that Pence plans to challenge the subpoena, not on the grounds of executive privilege, but on the grounds that being compelled to testify would violate the "speech or debate" clause of the US Constitution. A truly novel claim. Read about it in this piece by Laura Clawson at Daily Kos.

The multitude of efforts by TFG to overturn the 2020 election can get to be pretty confusing. But Talking Point Memo's Josh Kovensky has put together a cogent explanation in his article How The Fake Electors Scheme Explains Everything About Trump’s Attempt To Steal The 2020 Election. He has persuaded me that everything, including the Insurrection, hinged on getting fraudulent electors to displace the certified ones on January 6. It's really worth reading.

Read more
1 reaction Share

We have lots of work to do

Today marks just two weeks until the critical spring primary. So what's on the ballot? Many people will have only the Supreme Court race to consider. That was the case for my husband and me. People in parts of Ozaukee County and Washington County, however, will also see a PARTISAN primary for the candidates vying for the nomination for the 8th Senate District. You'll have to choose whether to vote in the GOP primary, where there are several candidates, or in the Democrat's primary, where only Jodi Habush Sinykin is running.

Municipal clerks began mailing out absentee ballots on January 31. So the window to request one with a realistic chance that it will be delivered to you and then make it back to your municipal clerk by election day is quickly closing. Remember: you cannot use a drop box to return your ballot. You must put it in the mail yourself or you must personally return it to your municipal clerk. If you have not yet requested an absentee ballot and would like to do so, today is the day to go to MyVote.WI.gov. You can also see a sample ballot for your location, get contact information for your municipal clerk, look up information about early in-person voting, and find out where your polling place will be. Grassroots North Shore also offers information about early in-person voting.

If you have not yet met the progressive candidates for the Supreme Court seat or learned about their views, there are several ways you can do so.

  1. Watch the video of A Supreme Opportunity, available on our YouTube channel in 3-5 days. You'll learn a bit about the way the current WI Supreme Court has ruled in crucial election law cases and hear from both of the progressive candidates — Judge Janet Janet Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz) and Judge Everett Mitchell.
  2. Visit our Elections page devoted to the Supreme Court race. That page includes links to our questionnaire for each candidate as well as links to their websites and other social media.
  3. Assuming that either Judge Protasiewicz or Judge Mitchell will be on the April 4 ballot, you will have a chance to meet him or her on March 12 at the Grassroots North Shore's RESCUE LADY JUSTICE event. Here's the page to RSVP. You will also get a chance to meet Jodi Habush Sinykin who will flip the 8th Senate District and block a Republican legislative supermajority, and Deb Andraca, the State Representative for the 23rd Assembly District, who showed us how that district-flipping thing works!

Now the pitch: we need more volunteers NOW, ahead of the primary. So go to our volunteer page to sign up for handing out flyers, canvassing, phoning, and more. Right now we're in need of people to go to local university and college campuses to talk to students about the importance of this primary election. In addition to signing up through our website, email Norma Gilson or call 414-588-1241. Norma will provide you with talking points and flyers. It takes about 1.5 hours of your time, weekdays from 11:15-12:30. We also need people to phone strong Democratic women in our North Shore communities and Ozaukee County. Contact Nancy Kaplan (443-465-1920), who is organizing the phoning. You'll receive a set of instructions, phone and voicemail scripts, and a call list of about 45 names. Phone from home on your own time over the next two weeks to try to drive turnout.

You can be a better-informed voter by visiting our page on the elections where we list races and provide information about candidates, organized by county and community. The page also has information about the two proposed amendments to the Wisconsin constitution as well as an advisory referendum that will appear on the April ballot. For the primary, we have information about the contested races for Alderpersons in Districts 1, 5, and 9 of Milwaukee with links to candidates' social media pages. There is a primary in each of these races. More candidate information will be available as we get closer to the April 4 election.

Now for the news. Tonight, President Biden will deliver this year's State of the Union address. There are many ways to watch it so be sure you do. And tomorrow he will be in the Madison area to tout his economic successes and plan for the future. I could not find any details about this event, making it impossible for people in the Milwaukee area to attend. It's the first time the president has visited Wisconsin since he spoke in Milwaukee on Labor Day last fall.

In case you haven't heard, legal jeopardy for The Former Guy continues to increase. Zach Schonfeld recently published this piece in The Hill: "Prospects rise for NY charges against Trump in Stormy Daniels case." In it, he notes that

"New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s latest moves suggest prosecutors are nearing a decision about charging former President Trump in connection with a $130,000 hush payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. The Manhattan district attorney’s office this week escalated the fight by empaneling another grand jury in the case and presenting witnesses."

We've heard something similar about the investigation in Georgia, where a couple of weeks ago DA Fani Willis said that charging decisions were "imminent." All I hear, though, is crickets. Of course there's plenty of other litigation targeting him. The US Department of Justice is working on some things, the Attorney General of New York has brought a civil suit (which is scheduled to go to trial in the fall), and a judge has ruled that the E. Jean Carroll rape and defamation cases against the philanderer-in-chief can go forward. At least one of these cases will go to trial in April. I can't wait!

The events list is suddenly a lot longer than it has been in a while. There are lots and lots of opportunities to volunteer there. So sign up for something.

Read more
1 reaction Share

!

Dear {{recipient.first_name_or_friend}} — 

With just three weeks until the primary (February 21), here's what you need to do:

  1. MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE!
  2. Check your registration, polling place, sample ballot, and request an absentee ballot at MyVote.WI.gov
  3. Find information about the candidates who are on the February 21 ballot at our Elections page.
  4. Find early voting times and places for your community on our early in-person voting page.
  5. Ask five friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors to vote in this super low turnout election.

On my ballot for the primary, there is only one race: to determine which two candidates will be on the April 4 ballot for Supreme Court Justice. This phenomenon is likely to be the case in many municipalities across the state. In the seven north shore communities and in Ozaukee County there are hardly any contested races in the primary. But this primary is on EVERY BALLOT IN THE STATE. Don't you dare miss it.

The candidates are not shown as affiliated with any political party because this election is supposedly nonpartisan. But we all know that is not the case. There are two progressive judges running: Judge Janet Protasiewicz (pronounced pro-tuh-SAY-witz) and Judge Everett Mitchell. Visit our page devoted to this office for links to the candidates' responses to our questionnaire, their websites and other online information. And vote for ONE of them!

There are a lot of other resources you might want to consult. In his column Murphy's Law in Urban Milwaukee, Bruce Murphy details The Radical Views of Kelly and Dorow, the two "conservatives" running in this primary. The piece delves into Regent University's law school where Kelly and Dorow both got their law degrees, exploring the school's principles and its standing among law schools in the US. He also notes that Kelly — a Scott Walker appointee on the Wisconsin Supreme Court but who lost his election for a full 10-year term in 2020 — "wrote a book, in 2014, with strikingly unorthodox views on the law, declaring that that 'all authority' comes not from the U.S. Constitution but from God." As for Dorow, Murphy cites her letter applying to Walker for a vacant seat on a Wisconsin Circuit Court: "her application for the judgeship condemned the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision by the U.S. Supreme Court as the 'worst Wisconsin or U.S. Supreme Court decision.' The 6-3 ruling cited the Due Process clause of the 14th amendment to strike down the sodomy law in Texas." He goes on to say that "press accounts of her debate performance [on january 9, 2023] raised questions about her knowledge of the issues. 'Dorow spent most of the time during her answers referencing a plastic binder of notes in front of her,' PBS Wisconsin reported. 'On most questions, Dorow read from a prepared script and did not answer fully,' the Journal Sentinel observed."

The Wisconsin Examiner, in a piece by Henry Redman, exposes the views the two "conservatives" espoused at a December 6, 2022, event held by the Republican Women of Waukesha County for “celebrating conservatives in law.” It provides insights into more than judicial "philosophy" and is well worth the few minutes it takes to read.

John Nichols, associate editor of the Capital Times, published a piece in early January setting the background for this race and rightly demonstrating that Justice Roggensack, whose resignation creates this judicial opening, led a Court that has been highly partisan: "In recent years, Roggensack has been part of a conservative majority than has turned the Supreme Court into a national embarrassment. With her fellow conservative judicial activist colleagues, Roggensack undermined public health measures during the coronavirus pandemic, eroded nonpartisan oversight of elections and embraced gerrymandering of legislative districts to favor the conservative majority's Republican allies." And he points out that "since 2018, conservatives have lost two places on the high court bench with the easy elections of a pair of mainstream progressive jurists. Justice Rebecca Dallet won in 2018 by a 56-44 margin, and Justice Jill Karofsky won by a 55-45 margin in 2020." He concludes "For progressives, the question is which contender would be the strongest in an April general election against a conservative. If voters bet right, and if Roggensack’s seat is taken by a progressive, the court will be able to revisit the issues it got wrong during Roggensack’s tenure."

Spencer Black, a regular columnist for The Capitol Times, has a January 24 piece, From elections to drinking water — court election could seal Wisconsin's fate, discussed the race and, like Nichols, urged voters to "support the strongest candidate." Only he does make a choice. Black has a deep knowledge of politics in this state. As he's been talking to "politically knowledgeable folks around the state," he finds that, despite the fact that Judge Everett Mitchell's "rulings on key issues as a justice would likely be very similar to those of Judge Protasiewicz," those he consulted shared the "unanimous opinion is that Protasiewicz is far and away the strongest progressive candidate." Grassroots North Shore does not endorse a candidate when there is more than one progressive running in a single race, as there is in this one. So you should read Black's piece with an open mind.

PBS Wisconsin has a good summary of the January 9, 2023, debate with the four candidates. And you can watch interviews with Dan Kelly and Judge Everett Mitchell online. And as you talk about this election, be sure to follow the advice of Wisconsin Conservation Voices' Messaging Guidance for 2023 Supreme Court Race. The advice is sound political messaging regardless of the topic — for example, in the current election "center our shared values of freedom in your messaging. Offer specific examples of court cases that relate to people’s real-life concerns, be clear that power lies in the hands of the people, and that this will have impacts on our state for decades." And "use hopeful, unifying words that are clear and easy to understand." As examples, the document lists "For All; Freedom, fair, accessible, unbiased; voting maps that represent our communities."

Finally, a small diversion into national news. Apparently George Santos has recused himself from his House committee assignments. See the coverage on the Washington Post site or on Daily Kos. He-who-shall-not-be-named may be facing criminal charges at long last. The potential charges stem from his hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, according to NBC News. And CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) declares Fani Willis is going to indict Trump soon. Here’s what that looks like." Fani Willis, of course, is the Fulton County District Attorney who recently wrapped up a special purpose grand jury investigation of potential criminality in TFG's effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. At the January 24 hearing about the matter, she argued that the report the grand jury submitted should not be made public until charging decisions are made, decisions she said were "imminent."

Now the nag: yes it is cold outside but the work still needs to get done. In the Events list below, you will find that canvassing season has begun. Turn out to canvass! Help ensure that we get at least one progressive for Supreme Court Justice on the ballot in the April 4 election. The Glendale Team, the Fox Point Team, the Brown Deer folks and others will be hosting these events throughout this election season. Bundle up and join in.

 

Read more
1 reaction Share

alarms are ringing

The elections this year — both the primary and the general — are matters of some urgency. In fact, we should be hearing alarm bells! Two really vital matters will be on the primary ballot: a slate of four candidates for Supreme Court justice and, for those living in Wisconsin Senate District 8, a special election to fill the vacancy created when Alberta Darling retired from her seat. And assuming at least one of the Supreme Court candidates who share our views wins enough votes to appear on the April 4 ballot, we need to pull out all the stops to get that person elected. If we manage to elect Jodi Habush Sinykin to the state Senate, we will prevent the GOP from having a supermajority with the ability to impeach and convict any state officer they choose. And if we can elect a progressive to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, we can change the direction of the state!

As I mentioned in last week's newsletter, Grassroots North Shore is presenting A Supreme Opportunity, an online program featuring renowned election law expert Nicholas Stephanopoulos — you can read about his work here — and the two progressive candidates on the primary ballot for the Wisconsin Supreme Court nomination. This is your opportunity to hear from these great candidates — Judge Everett Mitchell and Judge Janet Protasiewicz (pronounced “pro-tuh-SAY-witz”). Both graduated from highly reputable law schools (unlike their MAGA opponents) and both have considerable judicial experience. Judge Protasiewicz received her law degree from Marquette University and presides over a branch of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Judge Mitchell presides over the Juvenile Division in Branch Four in Dane County. He received his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. He has also earned a degree form the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Please sign up to attend this webinar and to donate online or by check (Grassroots North Shore, PO Box 170684, Milwaukee, WI 53217-8056 — Please write "fundraiser" on the memo line). We're suggesting donations of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, and $1000 but a donation of any amount will be gratefully received. The funds we raise will allow us to continue or work through the 2024 elections (all FOUR of them). As you know Grassroots North Shore is an all-volunteer organization. But even though we don't pay any staff, we do have expenses: for our website, for our communications, and especially for our work on elections (postcards and postage, phone lists, flyers, and posters all cost money to print). [Please note that contributions to Grassroots North Shore are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.]

The Supreme Court seat primary will be on the ballot everywhere in the state. It is, as Politico deemed it, "The most important election nobody's ever heard of." As the Politico article points out, "Voters must first navigate an unusual primary before choosing the new justice. There are four judges running for the position, which is technically nonpartisan, with two on either side of the ideological divide." In other words four candidates are running in the February 21 primary for the two available slots on the April 4 ballot. The first and second place finishers in the primary will go on to the April 4 election. So it is certainly possible that we could face — not a choice between a judge who shares our values and a judge who does not — but a "choice" between two judges who definitely do not share our values. An article in the Isthmus explains how this horrendous outcome could happen.

As the Politico article points out, "Control of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court is on the ballot this spring, and the contest could decide the fate of abortion rights, redistricting and more in the critical swing state." A loss would cement conservative control, and the fate of our freedoms and futures, for many years to come. Alarm bells are truly ringing. So we must do our darndest to get people to vote in both elections for this seat this year.

Republicans are hoping to stimulate greater turnout than these off-year, nonpartisan elections usually generate. In addition to the dark money pouring in, the egregiously gerrymandered legislature plans to put four referendums to amend the state constitution on the April ballot. These measures have already been passed by two different sessions of the legislature. So the referendums on the April 4 ballot will determine whether the constitution will be amended. The League of Women Voters of Dane County held a terrific forum on these proposed amendments and has also posted a great resource explaining what each proposed amendment would actually do. You can read the Resource Guide here. Let's make sure that the Republican attempt to juice its base turnout for the April election backfires and revs up turnout on our side instead!

I'll cover the specifics of these issues in a future newsletter. But right now, the important thing is making a plan to vote, both in the February 21 primary (so that we don't end up with a choice between two unacceptable judges for our Supreme Court) and in the April 4 election. There are three ways to vote in Wisconsin elections: with an absentee ballot, during early in-person absentee voting, and on election day.

  1. Request absentee ballots online at MyVote.WI.gov.
    • An absentee ballot will be mailed to the address you specify during the request process about 21 days ahead of the election. So if you are going somewhere warm and sunny for the February primary and/or the April general election, be sure you request that your ballot be sent to where you're going to be.
    • Be sure to leave plenty of time for the US Postal Service to get your completed ballot back to your municipal clerk before 8pm on election day! (You cannot use a drop box to return a ballot in these elections!) We recommend mailing it back to your municipality by February 14 if possible.
    • Also be sure you have an eligible Wisconsin elector witness your ballot envelope. He or she or they do not have to be registered to vote but does have to be eligible to vote in Wisconsin. Also, the witness does have to fill out a complete address (no abbreviations): street number, unit number (if applicable), municipality, state and zip code.
  2. Vote early in-person at your municipal clerk's office on weekdays from February 7 to February 17 for the primary and March 21 to March 31 for the general election.
    • Our website has early voting details for almost every municipality in the North Shore suburbs of Milwaukee and in Ozaukee County. The information includes a phone number for the clerk's office. You should plan to check the policies around in-person early voting with that office before you go.
    • You can register to vote online or by mail until February 1. After that you can register when you vote early in-person or at the polls on election day.
  3. Vote on election day: February 21 for the primary and April 4 for the general election. Check your polling place and review a sample ballot for your area at MyVote.WI.gov.

PLAN AHEAD!!

In addition to making your own plan to vote, you can help register voters with Supermarket Legends at two DMV locations. You will be working in a warm inside office environs at the N. Teutonia Avenue or 74th and Mill Road DMV locations. Sign up for a 2 hour shift whenever you are free and any time six days a week. All training and materials are provided. Contact James Balk.

And now for some news. In case you missed it, last Sunday was the annual Women's March. Although there were marches in dozens of cities, this year the main event for the National Women's March took place in Madison to focus national attention on the upcoming Supreme Court race here. More than 1000 people marched to the state capitol and into the rotunda. See the coverage in the New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Cheryl Maranto, co-chair of Grassroots North Shore, organized a delegation of our supporters and produced signs for them to carry during the program. We're proud to have been represented at the event and to show our support for women's rights.

In insurrection news, "Bigo" Barnett was convicted on all eight counts, four felonies and four misdemeanors in all. He's the guy made famous in a photo of him with his feet on a desk in then Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office. The jury took only two hours to reach these verdicts, so open-and-shut was the case against him. His lawyer wants to appeal on the grounds that the jury members weren't really his peers — apparently because they didn't come from Arkansas. He will be sentenced in May. You can read more details in a post on Daily Kos.

In even more important insurrection news, four more Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy, among other charges, bringing the total to six convicted on this most serious charge. A number of Proud Boys are currently on trial for seditious conspiracy also. But so far at least, none of the Very Important People who instigated and financed the insurrection have been held accountable or even indicted.

Finally, in the Dominion defamation suit against Fox News, NPR reports that "Fox News' defense in defamation suit invokes debunked election-fraud claims." The defense of Fox News seems to depend on something the lawyers call "'omitted context' for the seemingly incendiary remarks by such hosts as Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo, as well as their featured guests, including Trump and his former campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell." The context is relevant because, they argue, the debunked statements were newsworthy and therefore "an appropriate journalistic response to stark claims about the functioning of American democracy." In short, the argument goes, the organization can repeat and amplify any ridiculous, and dangerous, nonsense it likes as long as it's also being spouted by so-called Respectable and Important People who the organization can contend are newsworthy. Let's hope this kind of argument does not hold up in court.

Read more
1 reaction Share

It's an emergency!

The spring elections — a primary on February 21 and a general election on April 4 — will be upon us before you know it. And despite the fact that nonpartisan elections are little noticed with low, low turnout, this year's so-called nonpartisan contests will define the state of democracy in Wisconsin for the foreseeable future. I kid you not!

First and foremost, there is an election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Two progressive candidates will be on the primary ballot — Judge Janet Protasiewic and Judge Everett Mitchell — along with two "conservative" (by which we mean MAGA) candidates. The two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary will advance to the April 4 election. And that means if we fail to turn out, we could find ourselves with no progressive candidate to vote for. Both Judge Mitchell and Judge Protasiewic support voting rights, fair election maps, and a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. Neither of the "conservative candidates" do. Please read the candidates' responses to our Grassroots North Shore questionnaire, visit the links to the candidates' online information, and plan to attend our Supreme Opportunity Annual Fundraiser on February 5 from 7:00 — 8:30 (on Zoom). Judge Mitchell and Judge Protasiewic will introduce themselves to you at that event. (More about the program anon.)

Just as important is the special election in state Senate District 8. Until the day Alberta Darling resigned her state Senate seat, the Republicans held a supermajority in that body. And that meant they could impeach and remove any state officer they pleased without a single vote from any Democrat. It works like this: a majority vote in the Assembly impeaches a civil officer of the state. The Senate then holds a trial. If 2/3 of the senators present vote to convict, the impeached officer is removed from office. Fortunately the legislature was not in session in November and December, 2022. And because they are currently down a seat, they won't be able to act on such grave matters as impeachments until a new State Senator is seated after the special election. If Senate District 8 is once again represented by a Republican, Robin Vos has already declared their intentions. And that's just part of the reason this special election is so, well, special.

Jodi Habush Sinykin, a Wisconsin native and environmental lawyer, is running for the 8th WI Senate District, which includes Bayside, part of Brown Deer, Fox Point, River Hills, Whitefish Bay, Thiensville, Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton, then westward to Germantown, Richfield, some of Menomonee Falls and Sussex. You can and should read about her life and passions on her website and keep up with her activities on her Facebook page and Twitter account. Endorsed by the UAW and by Daily Kos, among many other organizations, she will be a tremendous asset to her constituents and to the future of our state. If you live in Senate District 8, you MUST vote for her in the special election primary on February 21 AND IN THE GENERAL ELECTION ON APRIL 4.

If you don't live in SD8, you can still volunteer with the campaign and you can donate funds through her Act Blue page. Bonnie and Leon Joseph will be hosting a fundraiser for Habush Sinykin on Sunday, January 22, from 2:00 — 4:00pm, at their home (see the address on the donation page). Or you can go and donate any amount at the door. No doubt there will be oodles of dark money sloshing around this campaign — which is why every dollar you can give can help elect her. The recent special election of a Democrat for a Virginia state Senate seat in a Republican-leaning district should give us hope. But remember: hope is not a plan. It will take real work to get this job done. And that means YOU.

On that note, let me pitch making phone calls to strong Democratic women ahead of the primary and the general election. We were very successful with our phone campaign for the 2022 elections, reaching over 6200 women. The results — a BIG shift from Republican to Democratic votes in Ozaukee County — speak volumes about what grassroots activities can help produce. Governor Evers even WON Port Washington and Thiensville! I'm organizing the phone effort now and would really appreciate hearing from you at [email protected]. We will begin calling and leaving voicemail messages around January 30. Once you contact me to let me know that you will volunteer, I will send you a list of people and phone numbers to call, some brief instructions, a script you can use, and another, shorter, script you may be able to use to send text messages or leave short voicemails.

IMPORTANT SPECIAL EVENTS

Sunday, January 22

National Women's March in Madison, 11:30am – 1:30pm
Wisconsin State Capitol

The National Women’s March has chosen Madison as its primary site in order to highlight the critical role that the Wisconsin Supreme Court (SCOWI) race (primary Feb. 21, election April 4) will play in advancing reproductive health care after SCOTUS overturned Roe. Gov. Evers’ challenge to the oppressive and misogynistic 1849 abortion ban is currently in the courts and will inevitably end up before SCOWI. Flipping this seat will flip the balance of the Court from conservative to progressive, enabling both fair relitigation of our outrageously partisan gerrymandered voting maps and striking down the abortion ban under our state constitution.

We will have leaflets available for distribution to attendees. Cheryl Maranto – 414 429-1583, [email protected] – will coordinate leaflet distribution and act as a clearing house for carpooling. Since the March is THIS SUNDAY, please contact her ASAP if you plan to attend.

Sunday, February 5

A Supreme Opportunity, 7:00 – 8:30pm
online

The annual GRNS fundraiser will showcase the two Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates we support in the February 21st primary, and will feature Professor Nick Stephanopoulos, the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and frequently contributes to Election Law Blog, as our primary speaker. Please join us online to hear from Professor Stephanopoulos and from our two great WI Supreme Court candidates, Judge Everett Mitchell and Judge Janet Protasiewicz. RSVP here. Even if you can't attend, consider donating to support the work we do.

If you need yet another reason to get engaged in the spring elections, you should know that voter suppression is alive and working in Wisconsin. Don't just take my word for it. An Urban Milwaukee exposé documented that Bob Spindell, the chair of the 4th Congressional District Republican Party and a fraudulent elector from 2020, emailed his supporters bragging that “we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.” The Spindell email goes on to gloat that “…this great and important decrease in Democrat votes in the City” was due to a “well thought out multi-faceted plan.”

Finally, the League of Women Voters Wisconsin is holding voter registration drives at the DMV on Mill Road (7301 W. Mill Rd., Milwaukee). They're looking for volunteers for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from January 11-February 1 and February 22-March 15, 11:00am-1:30pm. Sign up to help fight voter suppression by making sure all eligible voters are registered!

Read more
1 reaction Share

As we start the new year ...

year of our political dreams!

Let's begin with a little look ahead. We will have two regular elections, for nonpartisan offices including an extremely important seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, on February 21 (a primary) and April 4 (general). Grassroots North Shore will soon put up the names of progressive candidates together with links to their online information. Our Elections page currently displays which offices are going to be on ballots in our area. Check it out.

You can find out more about the two progressive candidates — Everett Mitchell and Janet Protasiewicz plus three "conservatives" — at a forum sponsored by Citizen Action on Wednesday, January 11, at 7:00pm in a Zoom webinar. Sign up here.

We also have two special elections to fill vacant seats. One is in Mequon on Tuesday, January 10, to fill a seat for Alderman District 8. Nancy Urbani is a candidate. The second special election will fill the vacant Wisconsin State Senate District 8, formerly filled by Alberta Darling. Jodi Habush Sinykin is the only progressive in the race. You can visit her Twitter account and donate to her effort. If you live in Assembly Districts 22, 23, or 24, she will be on you ballot, both on February 21 and April 4. Even if you're not, she needs your help, and she needs your financial support.

We highly recommend that you sign up for absentee ballots for all elections in 2023. The weather is unpredictable in February and even in April. Some of you have plans to abscond to a sunny spot for the winter. And some may have shorter vacations planned that include one or the other election days. But voting in these 2023 elections is critical if we hope to have a Wisconsin Supreme Court that can review the radically gerrymandered voting maps and can rule on whether the 1849 law banning abortion is still legal. Voting absentee is absolutely secure. You can track when your ballot has been sent to you and when it is received at the clerk's office with MyVote.Wi.gov. (To return your absentee ballot, you can either drop it in the mail or take it to your municipal clerk's office. Drop boxes are not available for voting!)

Grassroots North Shore will hold our annual fundraiser on Sunday, February 5, 7:00 — 8:30pm with Nicholas Stephanopoulos, professor of law at Harvard University whose research and numerous public appearances focus on election and constitutional law, and with presentations by Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Everett Mitchell. Our Fundraiser is the kick-off of our Spring days of action. We will be doing our best to elect a new WI Supreme Court Justice AND a Democrat for the State Senate in District 8 (and thwart the GOP supermajority). Sign up here.

I apologize for the early and short newsletter this week. I've been traveling to visit family and friends in Baltimore and Ocean City, Maryland. But I'll be back at my desk by mid-week and beginning to recruit volunteers for the various tasks we'll be undertaking for the February primary. Meanwhile, I've been enjoying the crazy clown show going on this week in the US House of Representatives. Perhaps you have been too. The serious crazy, though, comes next. Hang on.

Read more
1 reaction Share