P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
Start you week off with PD on the MIC 92.1 Air America Radio on mondays morning at 7:20. Every monday a PD member will be on the MIC updating you on the week ahead for Progressives. Tune in to hear the hot issue of the week, important oppurtunities to get involved in upcoming meetings, and to keep up to date.
If you miss a broadcast, check back on our website to catch up on what happened.
Posted by prodane at 11:20 PM
Brenda Konkel recently posted a blog entry on dane101 which links to an extensive breakdown of the city budget. Please visit this link to read more about it and check back here for more info on the city budget as it becomes available.
Posted by prodane at 04:40 AM
Progressive Dane is proud to have endorsed Robbie Lowery for Dane County Sheriff. We urge you to join us in supporting Robbie's candidacy and to become part of this exciting grassroots effort to elect a progressive, proven leader and effective manager to be our County's top law enforcement officer.
Robbie is in a tough primary contest and needs your support today. Donate to Robbie's grassroots campaign online at www.loweryforsheriff.com. There are also numerous opportunities to volunteer on this exciting campaign. Contact Lukas Diaz at diaz_luke(at)yahoo(dot)com or 262-443-3136 to sign up today!
In Robbie Lowery, we have found a progressive, experienced leader who shares our values. Robbie shares our tremendous concern about the rapidly increasing number of people we are incarcerating in Dane County, particularly the alarming numbers of people of color who are ending up in our jails. Robbie also shares our concern about the huge numbers of inmates who suffer from mental illness, struggle with alcohol and drug dependency, or face barriers associated with poverty.
Robbie Lowery is the one candidate running for Sheriff who knows the importance of ensuring that these troubled Dane County residents get the services and support they need instead of ending up warehoused in our jails at the taxpayer's expense. Without treatment and support, these individuals not only will not get the help they need, they end up cycling in and out of our jails, feeding the panicked cry for 'more jail cells'. Robbie Lowery understands this cycle and knows that to break it, we must, as a County, make significant investments in community partnerships, mental health, alcohol and drug, and literacy & education programs to truly serve these residents and divert them from our jails.
Robbie's 32 years of law enforcement experience (including 17 years in supervisory roles) will make him an effective, efficient and compassionate Sheriff.
Robbie currently manages a $13 million budget for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Robbie has supervised special agents, patrol officers, and overseen the movement of inmates. Robbie is a graduate of Beloit College and has impressive and extensive law enforcement and criminal justice certifications and credentials.
Robbie Lowery will bring the progressive voice to the Sheriff's Office that Dane County desperately needs. As Sheriff, he will emphasize not only high quality law enforcement, but preventative, collaborative approaches that address the root causes of crime in our community.
Join us in supporting Robbie Lowery for Sheriff.
Update - Yard Signs Have Arrived!
Be the envy of your neighborhood and show your support for a great candidate by placing a lovely Lowery for Sheriff sign in your yard!
If you have requested a yard sign, we will be delivering it in the next few days. If you haven't yet signed up to show your support for Robbie Lowery with a yard sign, click here to request one now.
Posted by prodane at 05:37 PM
This November, we have an historic opportunity to become the first state in the nation to defeat one of a constitutional ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. You can be a part of this amazing effort by joining the PD contingent on August 27th, 11am at the Labor Temple. The Fair Wisconsin Dane County Coalition, of which PD is a member, is hosting a huge door-to-door canvass. We're hoping to have hundreds of people out knocking on doors, talking to voters about how this ban hurts everyone.
Everyone is busy, but we only have one chance to defeat the ban.
Graduate students, young mothers, and people who already work overtime at their full-time jobs are stepping out of their comfort zones and knocking on doors because they know how important it is to win. Other coalition members have promised to recruit as many as 15 volunteers - can we show them that PD cares about this issue as much as their members do?
Don't let the next 82 days slip by! Join us August 27th, 11am at the Labor Temple!
For more information, contact Satya at 320 0254 or satya.vadia(at)gmail(dot)com
Posted by prodane at 01:53 AM
Dear friends,
Before I was elected to the Common Council, I spent years as a citizen fighting against a horrendous law that was on our books called the loitering ordinance. Under the guise of fighting against drug dealing, the law criminalized public space, had a massively disparate racial impact, and did not succeed whatsoever in reducing crime . Fortunately, a coalition of civil libertarians, racial justice supporters, and opponents of the failed drug war succeeded in getting the law off the books in 2002 after years of dividing the community.
I am saddened and shocked to report that a majority of the Common Council has announced its support for renewing this awful law, including all the body's Republicans and a hefty majority of those conservatives that identify as Democrats. Behind the scenes, lobbyists for the right-wing Common Sense Coalition have already claimed support from eleven alders, enough to put it back on the books, and without swift action from grassroots citizens, we face the horrifying prospect of once again criminalizing being black on city streets. Perhaps worst of all, this proposal is packaged in the guise of addressing the recent and disturbing rash of downtown violence, which of course it will do nothing to address.
TAKE THESE ACTIONS RIGHT NOW!
1) Email allalders@cityofmadison.com and tell the City Council "No to the discriminatory loitering ordinance!"
2) Email mayor@cityofmadison.com and thank Mayor Cieslewicz for his opposition to the proposal, which he rightly called "divisive and politically-motivated".
Thank you for your swift action! Together, we can stop this proposal!
Sincerely,
Progressive Dane
Posted by prodane at 03:13 AM
The Madison Metropolitan School Board has voted to go to referendum on the November ballot. The Board was unanimous in deciding to request $23.5 million in new spending. The decision followed an intensive review of other alternatives for managing budget cuts. The total MMSD budget is $332 million.
You'll recall that in 2005, citizens were asked three referendum questions totaling $48.1 million. Voters authorized $26.2 million for on-going maintenance but defeated $14.5 million for a new school adjacent to Leopold School and a $7.4 million increase in the Operating Budget.
This time, there will be one question asking for money for the following:
The tax impact on the average home in Madison ($239,400) would be $21 per year for 20 years:
Posted by prodane at 02:33 AM
Hate Rules? Well, somebody has to write them
A new approach to membership schedules—just what you were waiting for!
No, seriously, PD would like to save our staff person some time, and PD some money, by establishing one uniform renewal dates for all annual PD memberships. We hope that the new schedule will save on postage and allow staff to concentrate renewal efforts within a shorter time-span.
Under the proposal, all PD memberships will expire on April 30. All annual membership renewals will be due on May 1. Annual members who do not renew on time will have a three-month grace period before being dropped from active membership. New members who join more than half-way through the year will pay a reduced price for the period up to May 1.
The new membership schedule was approved at the July membership meeting. It will be phased in over the next ten months, as annual memberships expire.
Of course, you can avoid the membership schedule entirely by becoming a sustainer. Sustainers permit Progressive Dane to make a periodic withdrawal from their checking or savings account. Once begun, you are a member until you choose to stop the deduction. For more information about sustainerships, see our website at www.prodane.org/get_involved/become_member/.
Posted by prodane at 02:27 AM
Application deadline is Tuesday, August 15 at noon. You may mail your resume and cover letter to:
Progressive Dane
P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701
*Applications materials may also be e-mailed (as attachments) to office@prodane.org.
About the PD Staff Organizer
The organizer is Progressive Dane’s only paid staff. The position focuses on recruiting and retaining members, coordinating volunteers, leadership development, outreach, and office management.
To recruit and retain members, the staff person must have a passionate belief in progressive third-party politics; share the values that underlie Progressive Dane’s work; have the skills to communicate our values and work to others; and the ability to persuade them to join the party.
The staff person must be able to work on his or her own, be flexible, possess and ably use discretion, have good interpersonal skills, be creative and have a sense of humor. Basic knowledge of word processing, database and email programs is required, and some knowledge of website maintenance and graphic design is preferred.
The position is budgeted for 25 hours per week. Additional hours are possible in the future if the staff person is successful in recruiting more members for the organization. Evening and weekend work is occasionally required.
The staff person is supervised by the Co-Chairs of the Party and other interested Steering Committee members who join the Personnel Committee. The Personnel Committee meets bi-weekly with the staff person.
The staff person does not work on any electoral campaigns. (We do this to avoid cumbersome campaign reporting requirements and because we have plenty of volunteers for this kind of work.) Any electoral activities in which the staff person participates must be done on his or her own time and are strictly voluntary. Except as directed by the Personnel Committee, the staff person also does not participate in the work of Progressive Dane committees, with the exception of the Organizing Committee. The staff person may be an active member of any committee she or he wishes, but this activity is strictly voluntary.
The position pays $10.25 to $12 per hour, depending on experience. With only one staff person, Progressive Dane cannot offer group health insurance. However, the staff person may be able to negotiate some kind of benefits package with the Personnel Committee. The staff person works out details for vacation and sick days with the Personnel Committee. The staff person does not work more than 25 hours per week – this really is a part-time job and extra work is not expected.
The duties of the staff person are:
New Member Recruitment/Retention (55% of time)
The primary task of the staff person is to bring new members into Progressive Dane. The staff person should have the ability to:
·identify new sources of members;
·design and implement strategies for contacting potential members; and
·persuade potential members to actually join.
In the past, Progressive Dane has had great success in recruiting new members through various techniques, including mass mailings, house parties, door-to-door canvassing and speaking to sympathetic groups. However, the staff person has great discretion in how to pursue new members. The staff person will be required to develop a one-year work plan that will provide the context in which the staff person and Personnel Committee will evaluate the weekly work of the staff person.
In addition, the staff person is responsible for getting current members to renew their annual memberships and for upgrading annual members to monthly sustainers. This is currently done on a quarterly basis and involves a mailing to members followed by reminder phone calls. This requires putting together a mailing and several phone banks. The staff person does not do all of this work, but is responsible for recruiting and supervising volunteers to do these tasks.
Coordinating Volunteers (15% of time)
The staff person is also responsible for organizing our monthly volunteer night and periodic membership-related phone banks. At the monthly volunteer night, volunteers assemble the mailing of our newsletter and do other light work. (The staff person is not responsible for the newsletter, but is responsible for getting volunteers for this event.) The staff person must identify tasks suitable for volunteers of varying skill levels and supervise the work of those volunteers.
Progressive Dane also has volunteers who commit to working substantial, regular hours of work. Examples are someone that maintains our database or interns from the University or from MATC. The staff person is responsible for identifying tasks suitable for these volunteers and for supervising their work.
Office Management (20% of time)
The staff person is the first person to read our mail and email and to answer the phone. The staff person does not need to respond to all of this material, and indeed should not. But the staff person must be able to decide who should respond and get the material to the appropriate person.
The staff person is responsible for maintaining our database and is the keeper of a Progressive Dane mailing list.
In general, the staff person should not do those tasks that volunteers are able to do. The staff person may be under some pressure to undertake work on behalf of Progressive Dane committees and may be distracted by the minutia of office management. The staff person must have the ability to say no to any tasks that are not approved by the Personnel Committee and to forward to others those office management tasks that fall outside the staff person’s duties. The staff person should have a greater focus on recruiting and retaining members, and less focus on office management.
Meetings (10% of time)
The staff person must attend certain meetings. Attendance at these meetings is considered part of the job and is paid. Attendance at all other meetings is strictly voluntary (and therefore unpaid) unless approved by the supervisory committee. The meetings the staff person must attend are:
·Personnel Committee (bi-weekly on weeks when there are not Steering Committee or General Membership Meetings);
·Steering Committee (second Wednesday of each month in the evening);
·General Membership Meetings (fourth Wednesday of each month in the evening); and
·Organizing Committee (first Monday of each month in the evening.
Posted by prodane at 11:25 PM