Citizen Action Weekly: Friday, December 4th 2020

Friday, December 4th

Attend 2020 Citizen Action of Wisconsin statewide membership meeting

On December 5th 2020 at 10:00 AM Citizen Action of Wisconsin will be (virtually) hosting its annual statewide membership meeting. This meeting will be open to all current members. During the meeting we will be electing the 2021 Board of Directors (including representation from the Driftless region). We will also be celebrating the amazing work that has been done across the state as we’ll as the work done by our individual co-ops across the state.

We have a lot to celebrate this year but we still have a lot of work ahead of us!  We hope to see as many of you as possible on this virtual annual meeting.  

RSVP to receive the Zoom link to join.

Tell Gov. Tony Evers we need a BadgerCare Public Option in his next State Budget

TAKE ACTION! Contact Gov. Tony Evers and tell him to make sure a BadgerCare Public Option is included in his next State Budget.

No matter what we look like, where we live, or what’s in our wallets, we all need good affordable health care. But for too long, we’ve let a powerful divide us to pad their own profits.

The COVID-19 pandemic reveals what has always been true, excluding people from health care is a threat to the entire community. Crippling costs deter the uninsured and everyone who can’t afford massive co-pays, deductibles, and surprise medical bills from seeking testing and treatment, helping the virus spread.

Healthcare is a human right and no one should go bankrupt because they get sick or delay medical treatment because they can’t afford it.

We need to make sure BadgerCare is opened to everyone in Wisconsin as a public option, lowering premiums and eliminating large co-pays and deductibles, so that all of us can get the care we need without going bankrupt or having to wrangle with an insurance company.

CONTACT Gov. Tony Evers and tell him to make sure a BadgerCare Public Option is included in his 2021-2022 State Budget that he will introduce in late January 2021.

Attend Gov. Evers/Lt. Gov. Barnes Budget Listening Sessions

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep folks safer at home, the governor is once again calling on Wisconsinites to share their thoughts on the 2021-2022 State Budget at a virtual listening session.

Thank you to the team who joined our Climate and Healthcare info session on Dec 1st to prep for the December 2nd State Budget Listening session! 

Wisconsinites who can’t attend a listening session can submit a written public comment on any topic at any time here.

If you are interested in participating in any of the remaining listening sessions, you can register to attend below.

Budget Listening Session on Criminal Justice Reform

Tuesday, December 8 at 6 p.m.

Register to attend here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0oceCqrTwiHd0K_jwSm7v77A94JrrcbHRP​

Budget Listening Session on Our Schools and Education

Wednesday, December 16 at 6 p.m.

Registration will be live one week before the listening session date.​

Attend The People’s Map Commission Meetings & Hearings 

If you can’t attend, submit written comments. 

Members of Gov. Tony Evers’ People’s Maps Commission will host a series of public hearings across Wisconsin to hear directly from experts and the public on redistricting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission is conducting all hearings virtually, but may reassess this decision at a later point. There will be at least one hearing for each of Wisconsin’s congressional districts.

Members of the public are encouraged to provide testimony at public hearings by registering to testify. Written public comments are also welcome at any time during the public hearing process. They encourage members of the public to submit written comments in advance of their congressional district’s public hearing.

More Information and RSVP 

Driftless Co-op Toy Drive

2020 has been a rough year for everyone across the Driftless region. That is why Citizen Action of Wisconsin Driftless Co-op, along with the Wisconsin’s Farmers Union and Adams County Democrats are sponsoring a Sustainable Toy Drive during the month of December to collect NEW toys to be distributed to struggling farmers, families of farm workers and families of undocumented farm hands in La Crosse, Adams and Vernon counties.  We want to make sure that we are giving back to the families that put food on our tables.

We are asking for sustainable toys such as books, puzzles, and wooden toys.  You can help by dropping off toys in person on  December 12th noon to 4:00 at one of the following locations. 

• Wisconsin 106 parking lot 1040 W Center st Adams Wisconsin 
• UU Fellowship of La Crosse 401 West Ave s La Crosse 
• Tractor Supply Co Parking lot 1202 N Main st Viroqua

It is our hope that people will donate to this community project to bring joy to children who might not  receive a gift otherwise. 

Please consider shopping locally owned, small businesses for NEW sustainable toys to donate, for example:

• DK Wood Toys – Sparta
• Larson’s General – La Crosse 
• Pearl Street Book – La Crosse (608) 782-3424
• KEPS Natural – Sparta 
• Kroner’s Hardware – La Crosse 
• Main Street Station – Viroqua 

If you wish to donate a sustainable toy by mail, or place an order online,  please send it to:

CAW Sustainable Toy Drive, C/O  Ben Wilson
116 s Rock Ave. Apt 1206
Viroqua WI 54665

La Crosse event link – https://fb.me/e/9sHOwjAAx
Viroqua event link – https://fb.me/e/4U6nWeZBw
Adams event link – https://fb.me/e/5EPQEbfor

Organizing the Driftless region in 2021 and beyond: building an urban-rural alliance

Over the past few years the Driftless region has become a political hotspot in the state of Wisconsin.  It is so amazing to see so many progressive groups create a permanent presence in the La Crosse area.  We are so happy to see allied groups such as Planned Parenthood, NextGEN, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, HRC, Our Wisconsin Revolution, LIT MKE, the ACLU, and Opportunity Wisconsin organizing in the area.  We know that together we all can mobilize our power and create real change!

Citizen Action of Wisconsin is both thrilled and proud to stand with such wonderful organizations.  It also allows us the chance to step back and look at the relationships being built on the ground and find where we fit in.  No one group can do it all.  While we want to be able to lend support to all the other groups and organizing efforts it is also important to find our niche.

After conversations with our local members, the local leadership team, and our statewide directors it seems clear that our local co-op should be focused on building a rural-urban alliance to fight climate change, fight for universal healthcare, improve rural quality of life, work on housing issues and elect progressives on the local and state level in areas both rural and urban.  We want to build a coalition of areas progressives that will fight for each other and break down the divides between rural and urban progressive voters.

We still want to stand by and support our amazing allies on all the wonderful work they are doing but we want to focus in on where we can make the greatest impact.  There seems to be a gap in area organizing around rural progressivism.  We want to fill that.  We want to be an organization that knows its urban members will stand up for rural members and rural members will stand up for urban members.  The only way that we can move Wisconsin forward is to make sure that no one gets left behind!

Citizen Action of Wisconsin North Central Organizing Co-op Has Eyes on Spring Elections

There are school board races, the race for WI State Superintendent, and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The Wood County Democratic Party has invited us to have the opportunity to meet the three candidates running for State Superintendent. 

Topic: WCDP General Meeting
Time: Dec. 7th, 2020 at 6:30 pm

Join the Zoom meeting here!
Meeting ID: 881 1403 9840; Passcode: 504837

Or, you can call in if you are not familiar or are unable to use Zoom. Here’s the call-in information: 312-626-6799, Meeting ID: 881 1403 9840; Passcode: 504837

Speakers: Jill Underly, Deborah Kerr, Sheila Briggs

Citizen Action in the News

Dana Kelley, Citizen Action’s lead organizer for our new North Side Rising Organizing Co-op in Milwaukee’s African American community, was covered in Wisconsin Public Radio’s story on Green New Deal policy in the Biden Administration. Read it or listen to it here.

Citizen Action’s Robert Kraig spent a full hour on the Jeff Santos show talking about Biden’s cabinet appointments (so far) and the work of Congressional progressives to become a more powerful force in national policy. Listen here.

Are you running for office or considering running? Attend a Wisconsin Progress candidate training

Wisconsin Progress is excited to announce their annual winter training series and this year they are going virtual. Local elections are as important as they’ve ever been and thier Advanced Local Elected Campaign Training is a great way to prepare for your run. They are offering shorter trainings this year on Field, Finance, and Communications so you don’t have to spend a whole day in front of your computer. 

All trainings will be offered through Zoom; sign up below to get access:

Tuesday, December 8th, 2020 6pm- 8pm – Virtual Communications Training
Thursday,  December 10th, 2020 6pm-8pm- Virtual Fundraising Training
Saturday, December 12th, 2020 2pm-4pm – Virtual Field Training
Tuesday, December 14th, 2020 6pm-8pm – Virtual Fundraising Training
Thursday, December 16th, 2020 6pm-8pm – Virtual Communications Training
Monday, January 4th, 2021 530pm-730pm – Virtual Field Training
Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 2pm-4pm – Virtual Field Training
Thursday, January 7th, 2021 6pm-8pm – Virtual Fundraising Training
Saturday, January 9th, 2021 6 pm-8pm – Virtual Communications Training

“Vos’ COVID-19 plan fails Wisconsin” Battleground Wisconsin Podcast

We discuss the adolescent and divisive COVID-19 legislation introduced by Robin Vos and Assembly Republicans that cuts funding for school districts and fails to address the historic pandemic bludgeoning Wisconsin families. We review Trump’s illegitimate lawsuit which seeks to change the rules of the game after the election and throw out hundreds of thousands of legal ballots in Milwaukee and Dane County. We kick off the State Budget fight that commences with Governor Tony Evers’ budget that he must present early next year. We discuss our top budget priorities, including a BadgerCare Public Option, Pharma Reform, and Green New Deal initiatives, and encourage our listeners to contact the Governor. Become a Citizen Action member and attend our Annual membership meeting this Saturday, December 5th, 10am – Noon.

Become a Citizen Action Co-op member today!

Attend Citizen Action Annual Member meeting
Saturday, December 5th, 10am – Noon.

Facebook post of the week.