Dear friends,
A former social studies teacher, Johnson is unabashed in his support for the Chicago Teachers Union. The union’s endorsement helped him win the primary. We are watching this election with interest, even though it is not today’s big race.
The main event today — nope, not that — is in Wisconsin. I’m feeling confident in victory for Judge Janet because polls indicate that Americans are
10 to 15 percent more pro-choice than before Dobbs in state after state and national data.
Abortion is proving to be both urgent and politically useful as a policy issue. The alignment of the crisis created by Dobbs and the activation of young voters has created “a new era of political possibility.”
I have to offer my disclaimer: I’m not a pundit. I’m an optimist, and I thought George Santos would have been drummed out of office by now. Still, I’m planning to celebrate a big win in Wisconsin.
Voters and legislators continue to respond to the attacks on bodily autonomy with boldness. A few days ago, Maryland legislators passed a bill to expand gender-affirming care and to cover costs with Medicaid.
Generally, I try to filter out celebrity news, but some exceptions are called for. Madonna added to her upcoming tour a concert in Nashville, featuring Bob the Drag Queen as the opening act. She is thumbing her cosmetically-altered nose at Tennessee’s anti-drag legislation and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.
Meanwhile, a federal judge temporarily blocked Tennessee’s drag ban because it violates the First Amendment. Litigation is ongoing.
Young people have been flooding Tennessee’s capitol to demand stricter gun legislation. There have also been trans activists occupying buildings there. I continue to invest my hope in young people.
The delay in the NYS budget creates opportunity for us to keep the pressure on. Many legislators have gone home now that they passed a budget extension. But the governor, Assembly speaker, and Senate majority leader are the three folks wrangling over the budget this week.
Hochul seems to be determined to change the state’s 2019 bail reform law, which is a dubious effort to address public safety concerns.
Let the three people in the room know where you stand on the Clean Slate Bill and changes to 2019 bail reform. This quick action is from the NYCLU.
The Governor’s housing proposal is also on the line, and in this case, her plan is a worthy effort to address the housing crisis.
Phil Ramos, one of the rare suburban Assembly members to come out in favor of Hochul’s plan, explained why the legislative counter-proposal, which relies only on incentives to build, is insufficient.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of incentive you give them — a wealthy community, before they allow Black and brown people in, they’ll walk away from any amount of money,” Mr. Ramos said.
Hochul’s proposal includes a process to override local opposition if communities fail to comply.
Call on legislative leaders to support a housing program with both carrots and sticks to enable the state to increase housing stock in New York State. I made it easy!
Tell NYS leaders to budget for universal school meals! This quick action is from School Meals for All NY.
New York City is investing in two pilot programs to expand career and technical education (CTE). Currently, about 60,000 high school students in NYC schools have access to some CTE programming, which is significant, but does not meet the demand. The city plans
to increase coursework focused on career skills, add new concentrations in fields ranging from education to health care, expand opportunities for early college credit, and offer more paid work opportunities before students leave high school.
NYC public schools are fighting their way back from the pandemic. Another of the Governor’s lesser ideas is to lift the charter school cap. This generally results in the defunding and even displacement of public schools.
Tell the Governor not to use public education funds to expand charter schools. I made it easy.
Look out for the young folk, since they are looking out for all of us.
with love,
L