What are you doing for your summer?
Grassroots – What Is It?
“Grassroots organizing involves people being drawn together by something
that they have in common, that has both personal and community
consequences, and granting themselves the authority to solve the problem
they are facing or creating the future they desire” – Janis Richardson
I think the best way to describe grassroots organizing is “bottom up, not top down”. It basically just means organizing and mobilizing people and is done at the local level instead of by central leadership. It utilizes people instead of money to communicate a message.
Imagine two candidates: One has ten thousand dollars from one donor, and another has ten thousand dollars from a thousand small dollar donors. Not only does the second candidate have more supporters, they also have no strings attached – no one to answer to but their voters.
Grassroots organizing is one of the most effective ways to win elections!
We proved this is Ada County by mobilizing our voters to turn out in the Ada Free and Meridian Library elections. Thousands of voter contacts were made by volunteers who were committed to keeping book-banners off local library boards. It is more than attending rallies and posting on social media; to be effective, volunteers must also be willing to knock doors, make phone calls and visit their neighbors.
Gala – Star River House
Perhaps you’re wondering why the Gracie Pfost Gala is being held in Star this year instead of a Boise location.
We have been working hard to build our base in all of Ada County, which includes Kuna, Meridian, Star and Eagle. We have very active Democratic districts in these areas, and for years those Precinct Captains and District Chairs have driven to Boise for meetings and events.
This year, we moved our central committee meetings to the Meridian City Hall to be more centrally located and increase attendance. (We meet the third Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm; all are welcome!)
*Note: for August, we are instead meeting at the Hillcrest Library in Boise because of Early Voting at the Meridian City Hall, but we’ll be back!*
In our efforts to continue to support all Democrats in the county, we started looking for venues for the gala in the western part of the county.
The Star River House is a perfect fit! It’s a beautiful facility with ample parking and easy accessibility for persons with disabilities. We have full use of the inside and outside of the building and it is located right on the Boise River. It has the amenities we need and is very affordable. Did I mention it’s beautiful?
The food, amazing speakers and camaraderie will be well worth a short 25-minute drive! Get your tickets here! https://adademocrats.afrogs.
Buy your tickets here! Get a whole table while they’re still discounted!
Boise School District Lawsuit
“There is no reason to keep me and my transgender classmates from continuing to use the same school restrooms as our peers, which school policy has allowed us to do for years,” Boise High School student and gender alliance club president Atlas Jones said in a press release. “It would be humiliating, distracting, and exhausting to try to make it through the school day without having proper access to bathrooms.”
Humiliated. Distracted. Exhausted.
It feels like these feelings are the whole point of awful laws like SB 1100, penned by the Idaho Family Policy Center and signed into law by Governor Little this year.
This law achieves two goals for Conservatives: othering and dehumanizing trans students, and attacking schools by opening them up to lawsuits.
Conservative parents aren’t the only ones who can use lawsuits, though. A new lawsuit has been filed by The Boise High School Sexuality and Gender Alliance alongside an anonymous trans student “Rebecca Roe” (amazing anonymous name, kudos to her). They intend to challenge SB1100 with the claim that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Title IX.
We sincerely hope that this lawsuit can restore rights to Idaho’s trans and gender non-conforming students.
To read more, click here: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/07/07/boise-students-sue-idaho-officials-to-protect-trans-youth-from-school-restroom-bill/
Events
Door knock with the Ada Dems!
Join us on Saturday mornings at 3085 N Cole Road, Suite 105 at 10:00 AM! RSVP HERE!
District Meetings & Other EventCheck out our events calendar for local district meetings and other events: Ada Democrats Events
Thanks for supporting local Democrats,
Lily Pannkuk, Field Director
Ada County Democrats