2018 Kickoff Meeting

February 2, 2018

We kicked off our 2018 Monthly General Meetings with a great crowd at Pack Library Auditorium Tuesday night. After a slideshow highlighting the jam-packed actions and events in 2017, we reviewed our Vision and Goals for 2018:

  • Getting out the vote for the 2018 mid-terms
  • Educating ourselves and the public about the issues
  • Informing and vetting candidates about issues that matter to us
  • Bringing the candidates to the people
  • Learning opposition candidates’ positions on issues
  • Working to “Flip NC” to stop the super-majority hold on the state legislature
  • Staying informed about state judicial changes, and working to protect a fair judiciary
  • Informing ourselves and the public about issues and actions we can take, through regular and consistent updates
  • Stepping back to look at the big picture, trying to understand current events in a larger framework
  • Recruiting more people in leadership and increasing diversity

Our featured speakers included four candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives:

Photo of four Congressional candidates for US House districts 10 and 11

Primary candidates (l. to r.): Scott Donaldson (D-11); Phillip Price (D-11); Gina Collias (D-10); and David Wilson Brown (D-10).

  • Scott Donaldson (District 11)—Democratic primary candidate, competing for the party’s nomination for District 11—scottdonaldsonforcongress.com
  • Phillip Price (District 11)—Democratic primary candidate, competing for the party’s nomination for District 11—Price4WNC.org
  • Gina Collias (District 10)—Republican primary candidate, competing against incumbent Patrick McHenry for the party’s nomination for District 10—GinaColliasForCongress.com
  • David Wilson Brown (District 10)—Democratic primary candidate, currently uncontested, running for the party’s nomination for District 10—DWB4Congress.com

Also running in the Democratic primary for District 11 is David Woodsmall, who had a prior engagement and was unable to attend. (See info at woodsmallforcongress2018.org.)

After presentations from each of the four candidates, we opened up to general Q&A from the audience and had to cut off questions for lack of time. We encourage everyone to read up on all the candidates and learn more.

Photo of raffle basket winner

January’s lucky raffle winner

Afterwards we held breakout sessions for members interested in getting involved in our U.S. Congress Watch team or our NC General Assembly (NCGA) State Legislature Watch team. One of the NCGA team members was the lucky winner of this month’s Raffle Basket, which included lots of goodies:

  • The book Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, by Jane Mayer
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander and Cornell West
  • $50 gift card to World Market
  • $20 gift card to 10,000 Villages
  • Blu-ray copy of the documentary film Merchants of Doubt
  • Two bottles of wine
  • Some fancy lemonade, and
  • Chocolate cookies

Be sure to get your raffle tickets at the next meeting!

Photo of people at January Indivisible Asheville meeting signing up for get-out-the-vote efforts

Signing up to help get out the vote in 2018

General meetings are held on the last Tuesday of the month, at 6:00 pm, at various central locations. Next month’s meeting will be on Tuesday, February 27, 6:00-7:30 pm, at Pack Library Auditorium (67 Haywood Street, Asheville, 28801) and features guest speaker Kelly Garvey, founder of the state legislative tracker KillTheBill.com.

 

Posted in News