Take Action
You voted in the primaries. Plan to vote again in the runoffs.
You got out and voted! And in two months, you can get out and vote again. Several statewide and Austin-area races will proceed to a runoff election between the top two candidates. This includes the race for Governor, US House races in TX-10, TX-21, and TX-31, and the race for Texas House district 46.
Important Dates
(NOTE: When you vote in the runoff you must vote in the same party election as you did in the primary. You cannot switch to vote in the other party’s election.)
Last day to register to vote: April 23
Early voting: May 11 – May 18
Election day: May 22
Texas Tribune’s guide to the runoff elections >>
Keep calling BS!
The GOP-led Congress desperately wants to move on from gun legislation. They want the headlines to stop and the conversation to end. They want to silence you. Don’t let that happen.
There are several piece of gun legislation currently stalled in Congress, including the “Fix NICS” bill (which John Cornyn supports, and which Democrats want to expand). At this point, there is no excuse for stalling. Lives are at stake. Doing nothing is not an option, and our reps need to keep hearing about it.
They had working metal detectors in their school. When will people realize that this isn’t a School Only Issue-that it’s not about Protecting the Schools it’s about Protecting Everyone. This happens at Malls, Churches, On front Porches – THE COMMON THREAD IS GUNS AND GUN CULTURE
— Emma González (@Emma4Change) March 8, 2018
Prepare to March for Our Lives on March 24 >>
Calendar Highlights
- Monday, Mar. 12, 6-8 PM, 816 Congress Ave #1600 – Run For Something co-founder Amanda Litman shares how RFS can help you or someone you know run and win (Facebook event; tickets)
- Thursday, Mar. 15, 4-10 PM, Auditorium Shores – Voto Latino hosts free Dream Out Loud concert to highlight the risk of inaction for Dreamers and their communities (Facebook event; tickets)
- Friday, Mar. 16, 12-2 PM, State Capitol to Texas Education Agency – Texas students, teachers and parents rally with Houston Justice Coalition, Next Generation Action Network in Dallas and Austin Justice Coalition to protest the privatization of public schools disproportionately affecting black and brown neighborhoods. (Facebook event).
- Next Week: Monday, Mar. 19th, 9 AM, William B. Travis Bldg, Rm 1-104, 1701 N. Congress Ave. – Texas Commission on Public School Finance holds first meeting open to public comment on (Facebook event)
Congress Critter Corner
A Long Goodbye for Climate Denialist Lamar Smith
Climate denialist Lamar Smith has always been an odd choice for chairing the House Science Committee. Washington Post:
“Smith…has used his position to criticize National Science Foundation grants, question climate scientists and try to curb climate research.”
Organizers in Smith’s District TX-21 applied steady pressure over the past year to send Rep. Smith into retirement. Now, Democrats Mary Street Wilson and Joseph Kopser, who won first and second place in last week’s primary, head to a runoff election in May. Both candidates list their positions on climate on their websites.
Wilson: “We only have one planet. There are no ‘do overs’ if we destroy it.”
Kopser: “Climate change is real and scientists globally accept that emission of carbon dioxide through human consumption of fossil fuels is its principal contributing cause.”
On the Republican side, neither candidate lists environmental issues on their websites, although Matt McCall says “We need to scrap all subsidies to renewable energy and promote natural gas.”
Read: Mary Street Wilson Wants to Break the Mold in Texas >> (Dame Magazine)
Read: An engineer and a mathematician will face off in Texas’s next primary election >> (Washington Post)
Action spotlight
Photo credit: Indivisible Rosedale FB
The Indivisible Rosedale Huddle greeted SXSW attendees with a special REPEAL AND REPLACE banner drop! They were joined by members of Indivisible Cypress, Beto campaign volunteers, and supporters from across the country. On a related note: Katie Graham has made a short documentary (Liberty Hill) about activist Karen Collins.
Organization spotlight
United We Dream Austin is an affiliate of United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation—a powerful nonpartisan network made up of 55 affiliate organizations in 26 states. UWD organizes and advocates for the dignity and fair treatment of immigrant youth and families, regardless of immigration status. They seek to address the inequities and obstacles faced by immigrant youth and believe that by empowering immigrant youth, they can advance the cause of the entire community—justice for all immigrants.
UWD Austin organized an action last week on March 5th, the arbitrary deadline Trump gave to Congress to pass a permanent solution for over a million undocumented youth, to draw attention to this crucial moment and highlight the dignity and strength of immigrants. Since September 5th, immigrant youth have taken action in DC and across the country to demand a clean Dream Act, yet congress has chosen inaction. We stand with UWD and will not stay quiet or back down; we demand permanent protection as immigrant youth continue to lose their DACA protection and continue to be dehumanized.
Your moment of Zen
Just like house cats, big cats like boxes. Big Cat Rescue provides extra large ones, so they fits:
…and now a word from our Treasurer
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