Earth 4 President

Joey’s Philly Election Guide: Nov. 7, 2017

Hey friends– wow. I wish updated this blog more. I want to do that.

I just got back from FCNL’s Annual Meeting and it was the regular mix of feeling the weight of this weird world’s conflicts, and the inevitable hopefulness FCNL propagates (they can’t help it).

We lobbied for reduced Pentagon spending and increased funding for development, diplomacy and human needs, and getting an audit passed for rampant military spending (duh, right?).

Anyway maybe more on that later, for right now somehow ELECTION DAY is here ?! and here’s what’s up and who I’m voting for, in case you’re interested.

[PA/PHILLY BALLOT QUESTIONS]

1. Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to permit the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing local taxing authorities to exclude from taxation up to 100 percent of the assessed value of each homestead property within a local taxing jurisdiction, rather than limit the exclusion to one-half of the median assessed value of all homestead property, which is the existing law?

Apparently this is, as usual, more complicated than it sounds; eliminating property taxes would consequently increase income and/or sales tax, and somehow has the potential to take money away from schools. So no.

2. Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-TWO MILLION DOLLARS ($172,000,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows:

Transit $ 4,767,309
Streets and Sanitation $ 23,997,918
Municipal Buildings $ 95,666,840
Parks, Recreation and Museums $ 32,325,872
Economic and Community Development $ 15,242,061
Total $ 172,000,000

(The ballot will not include the numbers above, I pulled them from the actual bill)

This is up to whether you trust the City of Philadelphia to use the money in good ways for those things. Right now I feel pretty good about Mayor Kenny so I‘m probably going to say yes, I‘m down for more funding for those things, my bigger concern is what the city invests in the make that money back..

•••

[DISTRICT ATTORNEY]:

Determines what crimes will be prosecuted, and the severity of the charges.

✓ Lawrence (Larry) Krasner (D) hates bullies, opposes institutionalized racism, supports public education, is against the death penalty, speaks out against mass incarceration and is endorsed by Shaun King. He’s got my vote.

Beth Grossman [R] doesn’t seem terrible, in fact her views are generally pretty similar to Krasner’s across the board, however she is not boldly challenging institutionalized racism like Krasner is.

[CITY CONTROLLER]:

Fiscal watchdog; Basically anti-corruption check for money-stuffs via audits, as well as sometimes trying to save tax-payers some money.

✓ Rebecca Rhynhart (D) intends to find $10 million in wasted city money to put towards community needs. Sounds good. (She would also be Philly’s first female controller)

Michael Tomlinson [R] seems fine honestly, although Rhynhart has way more relevant experience, plus she’s a young badass woman which I of course want to support.

•••

[JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT]:

PA’s top court, which handles appeals and disputes from the lower courts.

✓ Dwayne Woodruff (D)

Sallie Updyke Mundy [R]

I was surprised to find ZERO information on either candidate’s website about where they stand on any issues. (?) But I saw a logo for PA Pro-Life Federation on Mundy’s website, and according to votesmart.org, Woodruff is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, so going off that Woodruff gets my vote. But it would definitely be cool to know more?

•••

[JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT]:

Handles appeals from the Court of Common Pleas in criminal cases and in matters involving children and families.

I guess judicial candidates don’t like to put how they feel about particular issues on their websites.. sorta makes sense because they’re supposed to be unbiased? But I tried to include a few things I did learn about some of them.

Statewide (Vote for up to 4)

✓ Carolyn H Nichols (D) Endorsed by PA Planned Parenthood PAC and Philly for Change
✓ Geoff Moulton (D) served on the board of the Natural Lands Trust. Endorsed by PA’s National Organization for Women (NOW) AND Joe Biden (♡)
Maria Mclaughlin (D)
Debbie Kunselman (D)
Emil Giordano [R]
Wade A Kagarise [R]
Mary Murray [R]
✓ Paula A Patrick [R] I know.. she’s a Republican! Also the first black woman to be endorsed by the PA Republican Party in a statewide race. I don’t know, she seems to have a reputation for being level and fair and I kind of want to vote for her. Is that weird??
✓ Jules Mermelstein (G) …He’s a little weird but he’s critical of the Trump administration and I like the idea of having a Green Party Judge, that could be a good opening to change the current partisan system. I’ll give him a shot.

•••

[JUDGE OF THE COMMONWEALTH COURT]:

(Unique to Pennsylvania) Responsible for cases involving government agencies and regulatory bodies, as well as any lawsuits filed by or against the Commonwealth.

It’s these judges who decide the fate of state laws, which is important in the next 4 years, as Pres. Trump sends issues of health, education, women’s rights and the environment to the states.

Statewide (Vote for up to 2)

✓ Ellen Ceisler (D)
✓ Irene M Clark (D)
Paul Lalley [R]
Christine Fizzano Cannon [R]

•••

[JUDGE OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS]:

PA’s court of general trial jurisdiction. Philadelphia’s 90 Common Pleas Court judges are divided into trial, family, and orphans’ divisions.

Citywide (Vote for up to 9)

(I took a look at all their websites and support each based on their endorsements and some language I appreciate.

Can I just say this is a super diverse line-up?! Only 2 old white dudes. I love Philadelphia)

✓ Stella Tsai (D)
✓ Vikki Kristiansson (D)
✓ Deborah Cianfrani (D)
✓ Shanese Johnson (D)
Mark B Cohen (D)
✓ Deborah Canty (D)
✓ Zac Shaffer (D)
✓ Lucretia C Clemons (D)
Vincent Furlong (D)
Vincent Furlong [R] (Yeah he’s running as both)

•••

[JUDGE OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT]:

Decides whether serious cases move to the Commonwealth Court, conduct preliminary hearings and arraignments, and set and accept bail in most cases.

Citywide (Vote for up to 2)

Matt Wolf (D)
✓ Marissa Brumbach (D)

•••

[JUDGE OF ELECTION and INSPECTOR OF ELECTION]:

This one is by division which is SUPER specific to where you live– basically it’s your neighborhood, and doesn’t seem super politically important (basically make sure the polling machines are working). I only have one candidate for each.

There are 1,686 divisions in the city, and you can use Committee of Seventy’s site to find out your own situation.

•••

SOURCES: 

http://www.plannedparenthoodpa.org/2017-primary-voters-guide/

https://www.seventy.org/

http://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/the-citizen-2017-general-election-guide/

Candidates websites.

In case you’ve never lobbied but are intrigued by FCNL’s awesome work

Maybe you’ve heard of FCNL.

I first came into relationship with Friends Committee on National Legislation by way of a push from a Friend. They said, “This is important, you are important, you should team up.”

So I attended Spring Lobby Weekend (begrudgingly!) in 2014 with expectations of feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and disappointed in our government. But somehow, over a few days, FCNL sneakily transformed me into a hopeful lobbyist. I entered my representative’s office on Capitol Hill alone, prepared, centered, and, I believe, effective.

Look at me now:

I had lobbied on ending the Authorization for Use of Military Force, an issue on which I certainly did not feel like an expert, but that I knew with my whole spirit was something that needed to be addressed in Congress.  I was impressed by the smooth organization of that conference—how calm and prepared I felt in my new lobbying shoes. I was immediately energized by the 4 “We Seeks” that define the mission of their operation:

​We seek a world free of war and the threat of war
We seek a society with equity and justice for all
We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled
We seek an earth restored

I felt supported by the logical and radical concept of using morality as a common denominator. It felt right to say, “I know we have different views but I think we can agree that a society with equity and justice for all is something worth working for, and here’s what I think will help make that happen.”

I’m 26 years old, and since I was a teenager I’ve felt embarrassed to be an American. I didn’t want to be associated with the reckless consumerism, the racism, the violent greed I tied with our history and our current system– character flaws I had learned to despise growing up in Liberal– and Quaker– circles.

It was through difficult open-minded conversations that I finally realized that my disassociation would not change a powerful country that desperately needs to change. I needed to be an American. I needed to be heard as one, and to be heard, I needed to speak.

But I thought I was already speaking, right? I told Facebook how I felt, and my liberal friends supported me with dozens of clicks. I complained to my mom about the broken system. She was very sympathetic. But eventually I had to admit that, although my mom is important, and social media is a critical tool, the reality is that sweeping political change comes from …policy.

And did you know that our representatives are hired by their constituents to take our concerns to the nation’s government? Since none of my representatives have accepted my friend requests (lol), I’m stuck with writing to them and meeting with them to let them know how I want to be represented. It’s still a little overwhelming, because the system is complicated, and what impresses me over and over again is how easily FCNL prepares ordinary people to talk to their representatives.

The bottom line is: You don’t need to be an expert. You just have to be a human. Bring your human experience with you, and tell your story; you are a lobbyist. Every time you tell someone what you need, you are a lobbyist. You can do this. And you have an incredible opportunity in the resources that FCNL provides at Spring Lobby Weekend (March 18-21, 2017)– this year the issue focus is eliminating economic injustice (specifically addressing healthcare and poverty in the U.S.)

If you are affiliated with PYM and are 18-35ish, the Yearly Meeting will provide funds for your registration as well as travel (and potentially housing). Check it out here.

More about Spring Lobby Weekend.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I love Spring Lobby Weekend. I LOVE IT.

-Joey

P.S. How many PYM YAFs can you spot in this video??

Pro Tips: Rejecting Powerlessness

Hey friends. It’s been a week since Election Day, and since then I’ve given an artist talk in Bethlehem, PA about art & activism, I’ve spent 4 days in DC at FCNL’s Annual Meeting, I’ve lobbied for sentencing reform, I’ve been knocked down, I’ve gotten up, and I’ve made a plan to reject powerlessness.

HERE IT IS:

1. Form a support team.

2. Plan a routine that incorporates self-care, community-care, world-care.

3. Make art/something.

I was shocked to find myself rejecting powerlessness within hours of the election results becoming clear to me. I felt prepared by the work I’ve been doing. But also acutely aware that I was dangerously close to depression and feeling helpless. I decided we need to be organized, and to be able to do important work I can’t fall down the rabbit hole, and to stay up I need support, and to get support I need to define my needs and my team. So I came up with a plan.

1. I asked 5 people to be on my A Team.

This means: Checking in by phone or text every few days. There are ~5 people in this pool so that I can reach out to one of my teammates each day saying “How are you?” with the pretext of asking for support. If I’m feeling beaten up and need support I can say something like “I’m feeling beaten up/broken” and my teammate can say something like “I support you, you are doing great work, how are you taking care of yourself? We are gonna get through this” OR they can say something like “I am not in a place to support you right now, is there someone else you can reach out to?” and I can call another teammate.

This team support is mutual, so I am also available for the same call/text.

Team B: Check in by email every few weeks about logistics/strategy/organizing and roles in the world. This is mostly made up of lobbyists in DC right now.

That is my support team to keep my head above water.

2. I fill this out every morning:

How are you?

How will you take care of yourself today?

What constructive action will you take?

What supportive action will you take?

When?

Who will you touch base with?

Then I make a list of what I want to get done during the day, both for changing the big world, and sustaining my small one. I remind myself I don’t have to do something huge every day.

3. I will make art.

That’s pretty much the same as always. Even if you don’t identify as an artist, finding an outlet for creative expression is important.

Feel free to modify this plan to your own needs and ways of being. I highly recommend it.

I also want to say that I understand that some people need to feel sad and broken right now, that is a really valid feeling. In my own self-care, I am trying to avoid potential feelings of powerlessness which could stem from those feelings, so I am trying not to feed into them. If you are a person in my life who is taking time and space to feel sad and broken, I support you, but I may not be able to give you a lot of time or energy because I’m fighting to stay focused, and want to surround myself with that kind of energy. So much love and admiration for those grounded enough to support each other through powerless grief.

I love you. Let’s work.

Today’s the day to vote for your future

It’s Election Day already !!

I intended to put out another post before the election with my thoughts on how to vote responsibly but it got away from me… here’s a really quick version, in case you also live in West Philly and agree with lots of my desires for the world. Like if you think humans including those who aren’t straight white men should be listened to and cared for in a world that’s hurting from gun violence, a broken education system, racism, unjust distribution of wealth, and a polluted and warming climate– to name a few– then check out who I’m voting for.

If you don’t know your polling place, look it up here real quick: www.votespa.com

- US PRESIDENT -

Hillary Clinton.

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you already lay awake at night terrified at the thought of a world where Trump has any political power. But if you are thinking of voting third-party I strongly recommend you think about the logistics of where you’re voting– I do want a third-party candidate to receive 5% of the vote so we can work towards a more just election system in the future. TODAY I’m voting for Hillary Clinton, and I wouldn’t say “ImWithHer” but I’m so so so against Trump and this feels like what we have to do right now. I’m trying to focus on the positive, like her progressive values and proven listening skills, and don’t want to focus on feeling powerless in a rigged system. More to come. Let’s just get her in office because I believe she can be compassionate and we can support her to move towards justice.

- US SENATOR -

Katie McGinty (D)

I can’t stress enough how much I want Toomey out of office. I’m worried that people who haven’t paid attention to politics assume that Pat Toomey, who has been our senator the last 6 years, is just fine. He’s not– he’s anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-environment, anti-immigrant, pro-war, pro-weapons, pro-death penalty, pro-consumerism; he has never represented my views on a single issue. (Source: Toomey’s voting records.)

Please don’t make me go back to his office when I lobby for social justice issues. Please vote for Katie McGinty and tell everyone in PA too!

- ATTORNEY GENERAL OF PA -

Josh Shapiro (D)

- AUDITOR GENERAL OF PA -

Eugene DePasquale (D)

- PA TREASURER -

Joe Torsella (D)

I also like Kristin Combs (Green Party)

- U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
& U.S. HOUSE REP SPECIAL ELECTION -

Dwight Evans (D)

In case you haven’t heard, Chaka Fattah was indicted for corruption.

- PA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES -

Jim Roebuck (unopposed)

——————————-

BALLOT QUESTIONS:

1. “Shall the Pennsylvania Constitution be amended to require that justices of the Supreme Court, judges, and magisterial district judges be retired on the last day of the calendar year in which they attain the age of 75?” (instead of the current rule that they retire at age 70)

2. “Should the City of Philadelphia borrow ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY-FOUR MILLION THREE HUNDRED THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($184,303,000.00) to be spent for and toward capital purposes as follows: Transit; Streets and Sanitation; Municipal Buildings; Parks, Recreation and Museums; and Economic and Community Development?”

(The weird thing about this is that City Council has the authority to change what the money is used for)

- Get to the polls folks. Feed Love. -

P.S. Today I was #242 at 11am is Cedar Park Philly. <3

It’s All Connected

I was proud to make signs for and walk in the March for Clean Energy on Sunday, as part of the SURJ contingent– Showing Up for Racial Justice. 

People of Color are disproportionately affected by climate disruption. I saw this when I was in New Orleans a couple month ago– because the Lower Ninth Ward is still rebuilding 11 years after Katrina, while the French Quarter is thriving. My heart broke when I learned about the prisoners in New Orleans who were not evacuated– those who were essentially tortured, and those who died because their lives didn’t matter in the eyes of those in power. And I remembered what I’d learned about mass incarceration, and how black Americans are imprisoned at almost 6 times the rate of white Americans. Race justice and Climate justice are connected, which is why I made these signs.

Thank you everyone who showed up on Sunday. I heard there were about 10,000 people there.

How Millennials Can Tip the Scale on Climate Change Politics

I’m honored to have a piece published on Green Philly Blog: Mixing Climate Justice and Politics: Why it’s necessary even though it hurts.

Check it out!

(Green Philly Blog)

#ClimateDisrupted

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to this event, and much gratitude to those who made it possible! Especially Transport Cycles, City Love, and Little Baby’s Ice Cream!

Check out the coverage in Spirit News.

Your Votes are Your Voice

Yes, your vote is your voice.

WAIT

Your VOTES are your voice. It’s an election year and I know it SEEMS like it’s only for the President of the United States but actually, look at all the votes you have to cast in Pennsylvania on Tuesday!

• One of PA’s two seats in the U.S. Senate;
• All 18 PA seats in the U.S. House of Representatives;
• The entire PA House of Representatives (203 seats);
• Half of the 50 seats in the PA Senate (Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 in Philadelphia); and
• The state’s three row offices: Attorney General, Auditor General and Treasurer.

First of all, I got most of my info from Committee of Seventy which was super helpful! I recommend it to find out about your own district’s elections.

If you don’t know your District, look it up here really quick.

I did my research on the Democratic candidates for my own votes, and I’ll share them with you in case you also live in West Philly and agree with lots of my desires for the world. Like if you think humans including those who aren’t straight white men should be listened to and cared for in a world that’s hurting from gun violence, a broken education system, racism, unjust distribution of wealth, and a polluted and warming climate– to name a few– then check out who I’m voting for.

Senator

This one is the most important.

Toomey is up for re-election. I know from personal experience with his staff (who have been wonderful to work with despite our differences), and from his voting record, that Toomey is not interested in addressing climate change anytime soon. Basically if you’re liberal at all, please make sure you vote for a democrat for Senate on Tuesday.

The Democratic candidates are Katie McGinty, Joe Sestak, and John Fetterman. Honestly I’ll take any of them but Fetterman gets my vote– he’s pretty much the Bernie Sanders of Pennsylvania, and he rules.  (Follow him on social media!)

House Rep (District 2 - 19143)

Chaka Fattah has been in office for 20 years and he’s doing some great stuff (well, you know, except for the whole getting indicted for corruption thing). But otherwise he’s good on climate and prison reform, two things I’ve lobbied on, among other important issues. Not sure what will happen with him.

The other Democratic candidates are Dwight Evans, Brian Anthony Gordon, and Daniel Muroff. I actually like all of them, they’re pretty good on most issues. I would say Dwight Evans seems to be the most Philadelphia-focused, and Dan Muroff has the best website (that’s a thing! Transparency is so important). Muroff is also super against gun violence, he’s got Black Lives Matter right on his issues page, and he’s good on environment. I’ll probably vote for him.

State House & Senate

Jim Roebuck is running unopposed. He seems pretty cool. There’s no election for State Senate for me this year, but in case you’re wondering it’s Anthony Williams.

However, if I lived in the 177th district (Bridesburg, Northwood Mayfair and parts of Port Richmond, Fishtown, Lawncrest and Tacony) I would DEFINITELY vote for Joe Hohenstein!

Attorney General

Dems running are John Morganelli, Josh Shapiro, and Stephen Zappala. I like Shapiro the best, but I couldn’t actually get to Zappala’s website because it’s broken. Whoops.

Anyway Shapiro seems to support women and LGBT folks, and also wants to crack down on environmental crimes/doesn’t like fracking, and he’s endorsed by Obama so I’ll take him!

Auditor General

I actually just found out what this is. It’s the “fiscal watchdog” (Ha!).

Our current Auditor General is Eugene DePasquale, who I’ve never heard of, and he says “The most important issue for Pennsylvania is job creation“, but also says some of those are green jobs, and he says some other decent things about environment. He’s just running against a Republican who’s pro-life according to his official Facebook page (what does that have to do with auditing?) and also has a broken website.

Treasurer

Joe Torsella is the Democrat running and he has the word Transparency all over his website and I’m into that.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, I’m voting for Bernie!

That’s who I’m voting for. Go Vote! Even if you vote against all the people I just named, do your research and just vote, because otherwise what’s the point of living here.

You Matter. Vote.

#ClimateDisrupted: Tell Your Story

Over the past few months I’ve worked with another Philadelphia artist to curate/organize an event that brings together art, music, poetry, and storytelling to show how Philadelphians are affected by climate change in our city’s own language– ART.

This has been an energizing and inspiring experience– not just because it has offered me the gifts that come with collaboration, it revitalizes me to see the interest and intrigue among artists and activists in Philly who care about climate disruption.

The original idea behind this event was the create visible evidence (OK sure, a photo-op) to show my senator’s office that we, Pennsylvanians, are concerned about the health effects, community struggles, and economic threats that come with a changing climate, and hopefully Senator Toomey won’t be able to look away (or at least we shouldn’t let him).

You are invited to join the story, join the movement (and yeah, the fun) on April 30 at Transport Cycles (rad bike shop in Fishtown) from 6-10pm.

There will be art, music, poetry, an info hub of local resources for action, ice cream from Little Baby’s (!) and a Story Wall for you to add your own piece. Check out www.phillyclimatestory.com for more, and join the event on Facebook to help spread the love.

Supporting Each Other in the face of #BigOil

Tonight I attended the public hearing for Philadelphia Port Authority’s proposed plan for one of their sites– and I was not alone! Frankly, it was an opportunity for Philadelphians to say “We do NOT want another oil facility in our city; we want jobs and we want them to be clean.”

There were more than 100 people there, including several local politicians, and many climate-minded organizations were represented (including Moms Clean Air Force, PA Interfaith Power & Light, Green Justice Philly, 350 Philly, Clean Air Council, Earth Quaker Action Team, Action United, and more), plus many many concerned individuals. For an hour and a half, dozens of people took the chance to comment and ask questions about Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ plan for the Southport Marine Terminal Complex, currently a green space next to the Navy Yard. (Somebody actually suggested a public park, which I LOVE the idea of..)

This was a powerful experience. It really inspired me to be surrounded by people from such diverse communities with the same intentions– to feel safe, healthy, and economically stable in the place we call home. One of the points that came up again and again is that those intentions and desires are not mutually exclusive– we can have a healthier environment AND jobs!

This also inspired me to reach out to as many people as possible to show Senator Toomey how committed we are to a healthy future in the face of a changing climate, in the face of the fossil fuel industry, and in the face of the pride of corporate and governmental leaders who are focused on “business as usual”.

I’m energized by the turnout and the passion tonight, and I want us to follow up. (Their next board meeting is: 1pm 3/22 at 3460 N. Delaware Ave)

The Port Authority seems genuinely committed to at least seem like they’re being transparent about this whole process, and encouraged everyone to check out their website, and submit comments and questions to:

Kate Bailey,                  
Director of Procurement
                 Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
                 3460 N. Delaware Avenue, 2nd Floor
                 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19134
                 Email: Kbailey@philaport.com

Onward!

P.S. Did you know that 1 in 4 kids in Philadelphia have asthma, and that Pennsylvania pays $9.4 billion in pollution-related health care costs each year? (http://www.momscleanairforce.org/state-of-pennsylvania/)