The RRT (Rapid Response Team) Action List compiles action items from the week and upcoming events into one place. If you would like to add anything to the weekly update, please send it to Dee Halzack at dee@solidaritylowell.com.

Solidarity Lowell Events and Actions

Support Our Slate of Endorsed Candidates

City Council
At Large: Vesna Nuon (https://www.facebook.com/vesnaforlowell)*
District 2: Corey Robinson (https://www.coreyforlowell.com/)****
District 4: Wayne Jenness (https://district4lowell.com)
District 5: Tooch Van (https://www.votetooch.com/home)**
District 6: Justin Ford (https://justinford.nationbuilder.com/)

School Committee
At Large: Jackie Doherty (https://www.facebook.com/electjackiedoherty/)
District 1: Stacey Thompson (https://www.staceyforlowell.com/)***
District 2: Hilary Clark (https://www.clarkforprogress.com/)
District 3: Susie Chhoun (http://www.susieforlowellschools.com/)*****

If you were unable to attend our Showcase, see the link the candidate forums section to a recording.

All of the campaigns can use help with canvassing. Knocking on doors is one of the most effective ways to get out the vote. Get some exercise while helping to elect progressives! Canvassing a little too much exercise? Try standouts, holding a sign and waving to passing motorists for an hour or more. Some campaigns are also doing phonebanking and textbanking. And if you own property that would be great for sign placement, that can help too. Contact the campaigns directly to volunteer.

And of course, there are fundraisers to support. Signs and fliers cost money. See Local Events for more information on those.

If we want to be a force for real change in Lowell, we need to help get more progressives elected and thereby demonstrate that we put our actions behind our endorsements.

*Vesna Nuon campaign volunteer opportunities
Standouts for visibility
Wednesday 10/27 4:30 to 6:30pm Nesmith and Andover Streets,
Chelmsford and Stevens Streets
Thursday 10/28 4:30 to 6:30pm Mammoth Road and Varnum Avenue
Bridge Street and VFW Highway
Friday 10/29 4:30 to 6:30pm Nesmith and Andover Streets,
Fletcher and Broadway Streets

Volunteers also needed for poll locations.

Canvassing door-to-door on Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 10:00. Anyone interested in helping can contact Judith Durant: judithdurant1 [at] comcast.net or 508.667.9230.

****Corey Robinson for District 2
Sign up for phonebanks and signholding
https://signup.com/go/YOCdbaK

**Tooch Van District 5 City Council campaign volunteer opportunities
Phonebanking and postcard writing
For more information go to http://votetooch.com

*** Stacey Thompson’s campaign is looking especially for folks to hold signs, phonebank, or host yard signs.
Email staceyforthestudents@gmail.com

***** Susie Chhoun’s campaign is looking for people to hold signs on Election Day at Butler School, 1140 Gorham St. and the Reilly School, 115 Douglas Rd. Sign up at http://www.susieforlowellschools.com/join-us.html (or just show up!)

Urgent Support Needed for Asylum-Seeker Marius

Marius has a new apartment and needs urgent assistance with rent money. If you are able to contribute, please send donations to Marissa Dupont.

Donations via:
CashApp – $gollygee17
Venmo – @owlnerd
Please put “Marius” in the notes.

Local Events and Actions

General Election

Vote by Mail
You’ve still got time to apply to vote by mail, but don’t wait too long. The mail is slower now.

Deadline to apply to vote by mail in municipal general election
Wednesday, October 27, 5:00pm

Due to slower mail, after October 20, you would be well advised to drop it off at City Hall directly. The USPS recommends allowing 7 days each way, for application to reach government, for ballot to reach you and for your completed ballot to reach government.

You can also download an application at http://lowellma.gov/votebymail and submit it by email (to elections@lowellma.gov) if you have the capability of completing a PDF file electronically.

If you can’t do it electronically, it is possible to complete a form in person at City Hall.

Elections & Census Office
375 Merrimack Street
Basement, Room 5
Lowell, MA 01852
978-674-4046

If you are voting by mail, once you’ve received your ballot, the U.S. Postal Service recommends allowing up to 7 days for ballot delivery.

Early Voting
Early Voting in person began October 20. And runs through October 29. 8-4 at the Senior Center. Later hours at various locations (each day different). For schedule: https://www.lowellma.gov/1583/Early-Voting

Absentee Ballot
Deadline to apply for in-person absentee ballots is Monday, November 1, 12:00pm

For all the rules, including who qualifies for an absentee ballot, visit:
https://www.lowellma.gov/408/Absentee-Voting

Lowell Votes Election Guides

For information on all candidates, in English, Khmer, or Spanish.
https://www.lowellvotes.org/2021guides/

Help Lowell Votes Get Out the Vote

Lots of our neighbors do not understand the new electoral system yet. They need to be educated and encouraged to vote. Some may even need help registering to vote.

1) Please consider signing up to participate in nonpartisan voter registration tabling and voter education at your site or at events in the City: http://www.tinyurl.com/2021LowellCitywideGOTV

Lowell Votes will provide you with a voter registration and education toolkit and you can choose what materials from here you would either like printed or to donate here.
http://www.tinyurl.com/LV2021MaterialsforPrint
http://www.lowellvotes.org/donate/

2) Upcoming phone banks, canvasses, and other volunteer opportunities: Lowell Votes needs 3-5 more people for every session and always welcome different language capacities.

There will be phonebanking on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30-7:30 going forward until the election (except for Indigenous Peoples Day) and Saturday morning canvasses will begin on September 25.

Candidate Forums

Solidarity Lowell Endorsed Candidates Showcase
https://youtu.be/5cGYD0TykS4

City Council
At Large: Vesna Nuon
District 2: Corey Robinson
District 4: Wayne Jenness
District 5: Tooch Van
District 6: Justin Ford

School Committee
At Large: Jackie Doherty
District 1: Stacey Thompson
District 2: Hilary Clark
District 3: Susie Chhoun

City Council Endorsement Survey Results for Showcase
https://tinyurl.com/ypunnxfp

School Committee Survey Results for Showcase
https://tinyurl.com/tda7y68

Organized by LTC, The Lowell Sun, Lowell Votes, and KhmerPostUSA
Search for LTCLowell MA Candidates 2021 on Youtube to see video of all the candidate forums they hosted.

DEI Consortium Candidate Spotlight
Watch any Spotlights you missed on the YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb7O-ece-ZaiKDGVxvWTJ8w

Other Events

Climate Displacement: The Future of Refugee Protection

Tuesday, November 2, 2021, 12:00pm ET
RSVP: https://www.hias.org/events/climate-displacement-future-refugee-protection

HIAS’ Vice President for Policy and Advocacy Naomi Steinberg will be joined by Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action to discuss the interaction between climate change and forced displacement and the Jewish values that lead us to action. They will be joined by Meshack Omweri and Kennedy Kinyanjui — two Social Workers at HIAS Kenya working directly with refugees from Somalia and other neighboring countries — to explore the connections between climate change and displacement; dive into the case study of Somalia’s drought, resource scarcity, and conflict; and learn how HIAS Kenya is working to holistically support the needs of this community.

Advance registration required.

State-level Actions

Support the Votes Act

Thank your rep for cosponsoring the VOTES Act tell them to ask the Speaker to bring it to a vote. All three Lowell reps are cosponsoring the bill.

Sample email
Subject: H.805, The VOTES Act

Dear Representative ???

Thank you for co-sponsoring H.805, the bill that will make voting reforms that worked so well during the pandemic permanent. Plus it will add a few more things we really need in Massachusetts.

Please ask the Speaker to bring the bill to a vote.

Thank you for all that you do for Lowell and Massachusetts,
[your name]
[your full address, so they can see you are a constituent]

Encourage Same Day Voter Registration

Ask the House Ways & Means Committee to be sure to include same-day voter registration in the bill it will report to the House floor. No Lowell Reps are on the committee, but you could write to the chair, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (Aaron.M.Michlewitz [at] mahouse.gov).

Sample email
I am writing to you in your capacity as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee to urge that you include same-day voter registration when reporting House Bill H.805 out for a vote in the House. Because of the college population in Massachusetts, too many people move in September. The deadlines for voter registration and registration changes effectively disenfranchise those people with regard to primaries. It is possible to handle the logistics of implementing the change and important to avoid disenfranchising people as much as possible.
Thank you.

Support the Common Start Act

Affordable childcare, early childhood education, and afterschool care. The Common Start coalition has a plan for all of that. We need to help them convince legislators to pass the bill.

Rally. Hold the date of November 14 for a rally in Lowell. Time, place, and speaker line-up details forthcoming.
Submit testimony. Deadline is Thursday, October 28, 5:00pm for submitting written testimony, letters of support, OR VIDEO (yes, you can send a video testimony) to James Wu at Common Start (james [at] field-first.com). All submissions will be sent to the Joint Committee on Education. Click on these links for step by step instructions and a template.
- Instructions in Writing Testimony https://tinyurl.com/6bv9ubtr
- Written Testimony Template https://tinyurl.com/7d8hjxfd

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Our State Legislators’ Info

Contact your state representative and state senator
(Find yours here: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator)

House Speaker Ronald Mariano: Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov 617-722-2500
Senate President: Karen E. Spilka: Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov 617-722-1500
Rep. Thomas Golden Thomas.Golden@mahouse.gov 617-722-2263
Rep. Vanna Howard Vanna.Howard@mahouse.gov 617-722-2800 x7302 / Google Voice: 978-272-9078
Rep. Rady Mom Rady.Mom@mahouse.gov 617-722-2460
Rep. Colleen Garry Colleen.Garry@mahouse.gov 617-722-2380
Rep. Tram Nguyen tram.nguyen@mahouse.gov 617-722-2425
Sen. Edward Kennedy edward.kennedy@masenate.gov 617-722-1630
Sen. Michael Barrett Mike.Barrett@masenate.gov 617-722-1572
Sen. Jamie Eldridge James.Eldridge@masenate.gov 617-722-1120
Sen. Barry Finegold Barry.Finegold@masenate.gov 617-722-1612

Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133

Solidarity Lowell is a volunteer group of community members of Greater Lowell working toward social justice by defending the human rights, dignity, and equality of all persons against all forms of hate and discrimination

Visit the Solidarity Lowell website: http://solidaritylowell.com

For more events not listed here, visit the full Events calendar: https://solidaritylowell.com/events/

To join our postcarding efforts to write to legislators on issues of interest , please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/h2V7gJ1e2WbY9dKU9

For volunteer opportunities, visit our Volunteer page: https://solidaritylowell.com/volunteer-opportunities/

For positive news visit Solidarity Lowell Upbeat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/326202548419687

October meeting (Endorsed Candidates Showcase) recording: https://youtu.be/5cGYD0TykS4
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Solidarity Lowell is a chapter of Progressive Massachusetts. Click here to join: https://www.progressivemass.com/contribute