Author Archive
Local Justice & City Art
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 6/22/2020
DMO Update
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Want to organize in Virginia? Join the DMO VA state chapter call this Friday at 11am. Email Christine.Senteno@NationalDMO.org.
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Stay on the lookout for more Municipal Monday content!
- Time to build the movement for water security. Publish this sample op-ed in your local paper.
Quick Links
- Innovations Conference: Shrink the System – A virtual conference on policing and justice.
Ideas for Cities
Advisory Board Updates
News for Democrats
Junteenth & Combating Purges
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 6/15/2020
DMO Update
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We have upcoming state chapter calls for Maryland (1pm Wednesday) and Michigan (4pm Thursday). To join, or learn more about starting your own state chapter, email Christine.Senteno@NationalDMO.org.
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Couldn’t attend the first Municipal Mondays with Rep. Maxine Waters and Mayor Van Johnson? Stay on the lookout this summer for more Monday webinars featuring top Democrats, policy experts, and DMOs.
- Want to build the movement for water security? DMO now has a sample op-ed for you to publish in your local paper.
Quick Links
Ideas for Cities
News for Democrats
- Chaos In Primary Elections Raises Fears For November – Between COVID and intentional suppression efforts, Democrats need to be working now to protect the vote in November.
DMO Political Council Advice
Mark Schaur of Winning Connections
Telephone Town Halls: Safely Interacting with Constituents and Voters at Scale
As our country continues to adjust to life under Covid-19—coupled with nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd and racism in America— telephone town halls are an ideal tool to help elected leaders and candidates at all levels safely and conveniently communicate with constituents and voters at scale. Telephone town halls, essentially, are your own “radio call-in show,” controlled and moderated by you and your team. In the era of video conferencing, we’ve added a video livestream option to our traditional town halls, which place out-bound calls to a landline universe.
With the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Winning Connections-hosted telephone town halls are helping Democratic leaders engage in interactive conversations with constituents and voters at a time when in-person meetings are limited, if not impossible. The public is filled with uncertainty, and there is no better way to address their concerns and keep people informed than through live, interactive town halls.
During this period of social distancing and public wariness about “returning to normal,” we have seen an enormous surge in telephone town hall participation rates. And like the New York Times reported in April with the story “Surprising Poll Results: People Are Now Happy to Pick Up the Phone,” this isn’t a fluke. We are having longer conversations with more engaged voters who desire real conversations about the issues.
Winning Connections has facilitated telephone town halls this year for governors, mayors, U.S. senators, interest groups, and candidates. At this year’s Campaigns & Elections Reed Awards, Winning Connections took home the award for “Best Telephone Town Hall” for a town hall we ran for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan which featured Governor Gretchen Whitmer. If you’d like to learn more, contact me at ms@winningconnections.com or (269) 209-3940.
Mark Schauer is a former Battle Creek (MI) City Commissioner, MI state Representative and Senate Minority Leader, Member of Congress (MI-07), and 2014 Democratic nominee for Governor.
Municipal Mondays – Leadership in Crisis with Maxine Waters & Van Johnson
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Municipal Mondays Leadership in Crisis Monday, June 15th | 3:00pm ET / 12pm PT A time of great crisis calls for great leadership. Join Democratic Municipal Officials for our inaugural Municipal Mondays call as President Scott Benson moderates a discussion on leadership at the national and local levels. We will hear from the incredible Congresswoman Maxine Waters on federal efforts to provide coronavirus relief funding for state and local governments, as well as her legislative priorities as Chair of the House Financial Services Committee. DMO Blue Star Rising and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson will then discuss local leadership during civil unrest. As a black man, a former police officer, and now a mayor, Johnson will give his insight into what cities can do right now to fulfill their responsibility to all residents. Guest Speakers
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Register for Leadership in Crisis, with Rep. Maxine Waters and Mayor Van Johnson
Police Solutions & Obama’s Pledge
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 6/8/2020
DMO Update
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We have upcoming state chapter calls for Ohio, Maryland, and Florida. To join, or learn more about starting your own state chapter, email Christine.Senteno@NationalDMO.org.
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The right to running water in DMO’s Water Security Campaign has been added to the HEROES Act, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Call your representatives to demand permanent federal funding for water security.
- Want to build the movement for water security? DMO now has a sample op-ed for you to publish in your local paper.
Quick Links
- America’s Cities Were Designed to Oppress – From highways to hostile architecture, who was your city built for?
Ideas for Cities
- Thinking about a civilian police oversight board? Look to Seattle for their model.
- A Practical Guide to Defunding the Police – What do protestors mean when they say “defund the police”?
News for Democrats
- A call for mayors, city councils, and police oversight bodies to address police use of force policies – Take President Obama’s pledge.
Statement from Democratic Municipal Officials on the Killing of George Floyd and Ongoing Protests
Statement from Democratic Municipal Officials on the Killing of George Floyd and Ongoing Protests
We, the Democratic Municipal Officials of America strongly and unequivocally condemn the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, as well as the officers who stood by and watched the killing. We call for the immediate arrest of all officers involved, and hope swift justice can be served for George Floyd, his family, and the Minneapolis community.
We respect the anger of protesters marching against racial violence. As DMO President and Detroit Councilman Scott Benson stated, “Each time this occurs anywhere in America, it is felt by our entire community and reminds us of how dangerous life is and how quickly it can be snatched from one of our own. No one can expect this magnitude of hurt, pain, fear and uncertainty to be absorbed without manifesting itself in some way, shape or form.” Our local elected leaders feel this anger as their own, but we also cannot tolerate the selfish few who have taken it upon themselves to loot local businesses, or respond to this situation with violence.
While we support the brave police officers who have worked to keep peace across the country, we must also recognize not all police behave so admirably. Sadly, we have seen irrefutable evidence this past week how certain police activities can escalate non-violent protests. We must also not pretend that the killing of George Floyd was an outlier. These protests come as the inevitable response to the fear and pain inflicted on black Americans by racist police. Local officials bear the responsibility, however difficult and uncomfortable, of making sure our cities are safe from police violence as much as property violence.
Finally, we must recognize the failure of leadership coming from the President, who this weekend emerged from his bunker to tweet from a darkened White House. President Trump has actively participated in racist causes, instituting his “Muslim ban” on certain countries, calling the white supremacists in Charlottesville “very fine people”, and Mexicans “rapists”. This week he called for violence against our cities, saying “When the Looting Starts, the Shooting Starts”, and threatened to respond to protests with the “unlimited power of our Military.”
The words of President Barack Obama inspire us to move forward with the difficult task of rebuilding what has been destroyed. “It falls on all of us…to work together to create a ‘new normal’ in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment no longer infects our institutions or our hearts”.
At DMO, we know local elected officials are held responsible to all members of our community; the people of color who endure racism, non-violent protesters marching in solidarity, small business owners who stay awake for fear of looters, and the police, whom we have seen the best and worst of this past week.
These are the times when our local elected officials are called upon to do more than we can expect of anyone. As you lose sleep trying to keep your cities safe, field phone calls from angry constituents, and prepare for the long weeks ahead, know that we here at DMO stand by you, and are here to support you. With one last request, encourage your residents who are fed up with the negative messages that are coming from the White House to VOTE on November 3rd, 2020.
Safer Protests & Real Change
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 6/1/2020
DMO Update
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Join Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Giffords group for a discussion on gun violence prevention during the DMO Policy Council call, Wednesday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT. Email Nils.Robbins@NationalDMO.org for dial in details.
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The right to running water in DMO’s Water Security Campaign has been added to the HEROES Act, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Call your representatives to demand permanent federal funding for water security.
- We have a presumptive nominee, but primary season isn’t over yet. Help DMO Get Out The Vote on June 2nd and build momentum for November 3rd.
Quick Links
- Homeserve – Addressing New Challenges from COVID-19
Ideas for Cities
- Can science offer police a better way to handle protests? – When police show up to facilitate a safe protest, it protects police and demonstraters alike.
News for Democrats
- How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change – By former President Barack Obama
Pic of the Week
Job Losses & SNAP Online
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 5/25/2020
DMO Update
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Keep water flowing to every home – Join the DMO Campaign for Water Security
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The right to running water has been added to the HEROES Act, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Call your representatives to demand permanent federal funding for water security.
- We have a presumptive nominee, but primary season isn’t over yet. Help DMO Get Out The Vote on June 2nd and build momentum for November 3rd.
Quick Links
Ideas for Cities
- Join OpenGov on June 16th for a webinar on Maintaining Operations, Balancing Budgets, and Communicating Effectively in a Crisis
News for Democrats
- U.S. Could Have Saved 36,000 Lives If Social Distancing Started 1 Week Earlier – Keep that number in mind when pressured to reopen your city before it’s safe.
Pic of the Week
As deaths from coronavirus reach 100,000, cities must stand firm in enforcing social distancing policy.
DMO GOTV Week 2
DMO kicked off efforts last week to help get out the vote during this primary election season. Even if you don’t live in states with upcoming primaries, DMO is encouraging you and your volunteer base to get outhe vote from now until Election Day. As Republican efforts to suppress the vote are being rolled out, there will be many challenges for voters this election season. It’s up to us to make it as easy as possible for them to get out and vote.
This week we are asking DMOs to create a short video message on your phone to educate voters on the upcoming primaries.
Videos can include information on:
• Sharing Vote-by-Mail instructions with your constituency
• Mobilize your base to volunteer on a local or national campaign (from home)
• Recognizing voter suppression tactics now to protecting the vote later
If you create a video, please share it with Christine.Senteno@NationalDMO.org so we can promote your efforts on our social media sites.
DMO’s electoral focus will be on June 2 – the new Super Tuesday – when primaries will be held in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Montana, and New Mexico. The primaries are a dry-run to help get voters ready for the General Elections in November. DMOs can help ensure voters know how to vote-by-mail, can volunteer from home, and are prepared if they encounter voter suppression.
Here’s a video of a panel our President, Scott Benson participated at the DNC meeting in San Francisco last office. It shows the importance local elected officials play in keeping voter suppression in check.
If you haven’t already, please take the pledge to help DMO get out the vote because as DMOs know best, all politics are local.
Thank you for all that you do.
Christine Senteno
DMO Membership Director/Labor Liaison
HEROES Act & Lost Revenue
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 5/18/2020
DMO Update
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Keep water flowing to every home – Join the DMO Campaign for Water Security
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The right to running water has been added to the HEROES Act, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Add your name to the campaign above and make that security permanent.
- We have a presumptive nominee, but primary season isn’t over yet. Help DMO Get Out The Vote on June 2nd and build momentum for November 3rd.
Quick Links
Advisory Board Spotlights
Ideas for Cities
News for Democrats
- Sign up for DemList. As the Convention draws near, stay connected to the latest Democratic Party news and upcoming events.
Tenant Protection & Unacceptable Losses
Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 5/11/2020
DMO Update
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Keep water flowing to every home – Join the DMO Campaign for Water Security
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Organize your state before November. Attend the DMO Council of State Chapters call, this Friday at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. Email Christine.Senteno@NationalDMO.
org for details.
- DMO is standing with essential city workers. We have signed on to this SEIU letter calling on additional resources for the people keeping our cities running during COVID-19. You can still add your name today by emailing abe.silk@seiu.org.
Quick Links
Ideas for Cities
News for Democrats