From Mike Ferguson, Sunrise Olympic Peninsula Hub coordinator:
Whew! February was a very busy month for Sunrise and the Green New Deal! Please take a moment to read our updates and commit to the simple actions we are asking of the community. Here is a summary of what has happened locally and across the country this past month and what is coming up this month.
On February 5th, over 800 Watch Parties for Sunrise’s National Green New Deal Strategy took place, laying out the plan to gain congressional support for the GND resolution. Maybe you attended a watch party in Port Angeles or Port Townsend? 2 days later, the Green New Deal Resolution was announced by Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, and we hit the ground running! 1 week after the GND was released, the office visits started, culminating with over 250 office visits all across the country on the GND National Day of Action. Here on the Peninsula we had nearly 30 people show up to Derek Kilmer’s Port Angeles office, and there were organized visits in Bremerton and Seattle, which were attended by some of our members.
One thing we didn’t expect was Mitch McConnell’s plan to try tanking the Green New Deal before we were able to build up the popular support it will need. McConnell announced he was bringing the resolution to the floor of the Senate. This prompted our #SenateSprint campaign, where we shifted our focus to getting support from our Senators. During some of the Senate Office visits across the country, we saw responses from Senators who have long campaigned on climate issues but have fallen short in offering how they plan to respond to the challenge in front of us.
HELP OUR LOCAL HUB!
Sadly, none of our congressional delegation have stepped up to join the growing number of co-sponsors. This means that we need to build up support locally for the Green New Deal and put more pressure on our Congress members! To help build a groundswell of support, we are asking you to take two simple actions:
1) Add to our contact list! We need to better connect with organizations and activists across the Peninsula that see the opportunity in the Green New Deal. If you know of any local organizations/activists/organizers that we should be connecting with, please add their name and any contact information in the form below. We will reach out to them personally: http://bit.ly/SunrsieCoalitionBuilding
2) Help our Local GND Resolution gain support! Individuals from Indivisible Bainbridge have drafted a one-page Green New Deal resolution to get local elected officials, organizations, businesses, community leaders and individuals to sign on in support.
This document affirms support for our local Green New Deal resolution and is a summary of the resolution put forward by Sen. Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. If you wonder how we will get our hesitant Congress members to co-sponsor the Green New Deal Resolution, look no further! Please forward this to community leaders across the Peninsula and ask them to consider signing on in support. If this applies to you in any role, please add your organization/name to the list. If there are any questions or suggestions around this, please do reach out to us. Here is this the link: http://bit.ly/WAGNDResolution
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 12th meeting with both Senators’ staffs in Seattle: The Kitsap Environmental Coalition and Indivisible Bainbridge Island reps meet with both Senators’ staffs on the second Tuesday of each month. We also plan on regularly attending this meeting to continue to pressure our Senators to support the Green New Deal and other smart climate legislation. Send an email if you would like to join.
March 15th Youth Climate Strike: The National Sunrise Movement will be working with the youth-led US Youth Climate Strike on March 15th. Go to the US Youth Climate Strike, https://www.youthclimatestrikeus.org, to find out more and connect with a state lead for the action. If you know youth that are active or concerned around the climate crisis, please forward this link to them.
Meeting with Rep. Kilmer: We are trying to set up a meeting with Derek Kilmer when he is back in the district in late March/early April. If we cannot get a meeting in Port Angeles, we will join Indivisible Bainbridge for their monthly visit to Rep. Kilmer’s Bremerton office.
Community forums on a Green New Deal: We plan to bring awareness around the Sunrise Movement and the Green New Deal to communities around the Peninsula with forum presentations. In these forums, we will elevate the stories of people who stand to benefit from the Green New Deal and help everyone understand that the GND isn’t about taking away cows or cars; it’s about building things up and investing in the American people.
Sunrise Movement – Olympic Peninsula Hub Launch Party: We plan to officially launch our hub and invite more of the community to take part some time in April. If you would like to help organize this event with us, please send an email. We’d love to have you on board!
We thank you all for being a part of this important movement and moment! It is going to take a mass movement of millions of people standing up and demanding that our government take action on the climate crisis. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. If you are on Facebook, you can stay tuned to our regular posts here:
https://www.facebook.com/Sunrise-Movement-Olympic-Peninsula-2175936525992375/
In Solidarity,
Mike Ferguson, Hub Coordinator
Sunrise Movement – Olympic Peninsula
(360) 565-6647
