Michelle Obama's Closing Argument
A Quick Morning Meeting
to Help Tenants
Facing Eviction
Sunday October 25, 2020 at 7:00pm
As you probably know, the eviction moratorium in Massachusetts is set to expire on Saturday, Oct. 17th, and there is no indication that Governor Charlie Baker is willing to extend the moratorium even a single day. The Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court now says our state could see anywhere from 25,000 to as many as 200,000 evictions starting next week.
The Baker administration has announced plans for rental assistance funding, and claims to be "in the process of developing a path to provide legal representation" for tenants facing eviction. But while that path is being discussed, you can be sure that eviction proceedings will plow ahead without adequate legal representation for tenants facing eviction. Even the CDC's eviction moratorium will not stop the proceedings, although execution of final judgments will be delayed through the end of the year.
Our state representatives are fighting to extend the moratorium (shout out to Mike Connolly's recent efforts), and our own Sen. Sal DiDomenico has proposed Senate bill S.913, "An Act to Ensure Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings." The Cambridge Ward 3 committee has formally asked the Cambridge Democrats to consider a resolution supporting Sen. DiDomenico's bill before the end of October, and we will do so in a brief meeting Sunday morning, October 25th at 10am.
Sadly we have not turned the corner on COVID, so the meeting will be a Zoom videoconference that you can attend with your computer, tablet, smartphone, or even by calling in on your landline telephone if you're feeling old-school. Details of how to connect to the meeting have been sent to the CDCC email list, and the meeting will also be live-streamed on YouTube Live and Facebook Live if you'd like to watch without participating.
Where and When:
Sunday October 25th at 10:00am
Location is wherever you happen to be!
Agenda:
I. Approve minutes of previous meeting
II. Officer reports
III. Debate and vote on a resolution supporting S.913
IV. There will be no program
V. Announcements
VI. Adjourn
Forty-Two Days Left
The election is just six short weeks from today. In some places, voting has already begun!
First things first — today is National Voter Registration Day. Go to iwilllvote.com right now to register and make a plan to vote — and make sure your family and friends do the same.
This week, Democrats are honoring the memory and legacy of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg by fighting tooth and nail for the democracy she served. Won't you join the fight?
Virtual Phone Banks
The main focus of our fight this week is phone banking, which is the most effective way to reach voters this year — and we need you to help reach voters all across the country in battleground states. As you might imagine, phone banking is different during a pandemic. We meet in groups over Zoom while calling, so the camaraderie is virtual but almost as real as in the Cambridge Dems physical office of past elections. And you don't even have to leave your house!
Each virtual phone bank will begin with a training for those who are new or need a refresher — if you're an old(ish) hand you can skip it.
Many thanks to the Cambridge for Biden/Harris Campaign Captain Nancy Alach for all her work and for organizing these phonebanks! Click on the links above to sign up!
Postcard Writing and Texting
- Some volunteers have signed up to work on postcards to voters in Florida to ensure that they have all the information needed to vote by mail. If you'd like to help, please contact Helen Jackson by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or phone 617-945-0675 to request a packet of postcards. Note that the deadline for mailing postcards to Florida voters is Oct. 7, so if you're interested don't delay.
- Many folks have asked about text banks (like phone banks but texting instead of voice calling) — stay tuned, plans are in the works on the national level and we'll be up and running soon.
Cambridge for Biden/Harris Facebook Page
Please like and share the campaign's Facebook Page!
Great — let's get to work so we can win in November!
Systemic Racism
and Politics
During the Pandemic
Thursday September 10, 2020 at 7:00pm
We are excited and delighted that our good friend Brian Corr has agreed to be our speaker when the CDCC meets online to kick off the fall campaign on September 10th.
You know Brian as the esteemed Chair Emeritus of the Cambridge Democrats, but oh there is so much more. Until last year Brian served as president of NACOLE, the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement, and before that worked as the first statewide field organizer for the ACLU of Massachusetts, where among other accomplishments he organized a task force focused on civilian oversight in response to allegations of police misconduct and racial profiling in the City of Lawrence, Mass. He has also served on the board of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a Boston-area nonprofit that assists and empowers both families who have lost children to homicide and families whose children have taken a life — while conducting education and advocacy work to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of violence on individuals, families, and communities.
Brian is also a member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee, has chaired the advisory board of the Haiti Development Studies Center at UMass Lowell since 2016, and… well, you get the idea. This guy is awesome. Brian is stepping forward to take on one of the most pernicious and intractable strains of American life and history, and so he will speak to us on the topic: "Systemic Racism and Politics During the Pandemic"
Sadly the coronavirus still walks among us, so the meeting will be a Zoom videoconference that you can attend with your computer, tablet, smartphone, or even by calling in on your landline telephone if you're feeling old-school. Details of how to connect have been sent to the CDCC email list, and the meeting will also be live-streamed on YouTube Live and Facebook Live if you'd like to watch without participating.
This is our annual budget meeting, so we will take care of passing a budget and then take on more fundamental economic issues of housing as we debate and vote on a proposed resolution of support for Massachusetts House Bill H.3924, "An Act Enabling Local Options for Tenant Protections," which would remove the state's prohibition on rent control and provide tenant and foreclosure protections.
Where and When:
Thursday September 10th at 7:00pm
(wards may meet virtually at 6:30)
Location is wherever you happen to be!
Agenda:
I. Approve minutes of previous meeting
II. Officer reports
III. Budget discussion and approval
IV. Debate and vote on H.3924 resolution
V. Brian Corr speaks about systemic racism
VI. Announcements
VII. Adjourn