Voces de la Frontera is Wisconsin’s leading state-wide immigrant rights organization, and the advocacy arm of the group is Voces de la Frontera Action.
Because they are one of the primary groups we are looking to support this year, we asked them to participate in a Q & A with us on Balloon Juice.
Voces de la Frontera Action
Joining us today from Voces are Alejandra Gonzalez, Development Director, Fabi Maldonado, Political Director, and Alan Nichols, Data & Organizing Team Lead.
We asked them to tell us more about their organization
WHO WE ARE: Voces de la Frontera Action
Voces is a critical part of the Wisconsin voter engagement ecosystem in its unique ability to engage hard to reach new and infrequent Latinx and youth voters which are critical for state-wide and local elections.
We do this through a combination of different efforts:
- door-to-door canvassing
- phone banking
- our innovative relational voter program (RVP), Voceros por el Voto
Voceros por el Voto members, known as Voceros, create lists of Latinx family and friends who are eligible to vote. Voceros then communicates with Latinx voters, many of whom are low-propensity and new voters under-engaged by parties and campaigns.
In 2020, Voces de la Frontera Action (VDLFA) helped achieve historic Latinx turnout in Wisconsin. As a result of our efforts, 76% of eligible Latinx voters voted in 2020 compared to 46.7% of Latinx voters in 2016. The votes we turned out exceeded the margin of victory in Wisconsin.
By November 3, 2020, Voces had recruited 1,299 Voceros who in turn had a total voter network of 20,297 people. In addition to growing the RVP, we also focused on helping our community register to vote. In total, Voces supported 7,721 voter registrations and 7,390 absentee ballot requests.
The successful mobilization of the Latinx vote through our efforts demonstrates what can be accomplished by a trusted organization with leaders rooted in the community.
Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES)
Voces de la Frontera also has a legacy of powerful grassroots organizing through our multi-racial youth arm called Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) with chapters in local high schools across Wisconsin.
The student membership includes working class Black, Latinx, Muslim refugee, and white youth. YES leads Voces’ education, racial and immigrant justice youth campaigns. YES won in-state tuition for immigrant youth in 2009 (later repealed by Governor Walker in 2011) and recent wins include passing a sanctuary policy in Milwaukee public schools, Wisconsin’s largest and most diverse district.
YES has a history of organizing large scale get out the vote efforts canvassing in working class neighborhoods of color in Wisconsin.
The New American Program
The New American program was created to help Lawful Permanent Residents to become naturalized US citizens in order to petition their family members and build immigrant voting power. The program has a nearly 100% success rate and by mostly word of mouth recruitment brings people from all over the state. The Camino’s Legal Clinic offers free to low-cost legal counseling for our members and community members.
Fighting for Immigrants in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, so much so that courts have said it is “unconstitutional”, yet have offered little in addressing the problem.
This year, after the census information is formalized, there is no doubt that Latinxs will again represent the largest statewide ethnic voting bloc after the white community. Ours is a significant voting age population that includes 18 year old Latinx youth, the children of undocumented parents, those that have been able to adjust their status or naturalized, and new and infrequent Latinx voters we engaged in 2020.
We have an opportunity this year to influence a new 10-year map that is more representative of the communities that now exist in Wisconsin.
We have opportunities, in the next 3 to 5 years, to push Wisconsin to be more immigrant friendly, more supportive of low wage workers, and more progressive overall.
What can we, at Balloon Juice, do to help – with early donations right now, in 2021?
I asked the folks at Voces what they need, and what we could do to help make a real difference for their organization. What they need is a full-time field organizer.
Staffing Need: A Field Organizing Coordinator
In the 2020 cycle, the political director wore two hats – political organizer and political director.
There is much work to be done before the midterm election in 2022, That election is key, not only in determining the Democratic candidate for US Senate, but also as an opportunity to engage and educate voters, a dry run of sorts, leading up to the November 2022 elections.
Field Organizing Coordinator: full-time salary would be $45,000; if we can cover the position itself, Voces de la Frotera has committed to covering benefits.
Timeline for Proposed Field Organizing Coordinator
June 2021: Political director and organizing director will draft and finalize job description for field organizing coordinator.
July 2021: Post job description on VDLF/VDLFA websites.
Late July 2021/August 2021: Hire the organizing coordinator. Coordinator begins to establish relationships with current leaders and helps maintain/grow our current relational voter program.
End of November 2021: Field organizing coordinator will be fully trained on job responsibilities and duties and have a 2022 work plan drafted with goals and action steps.
December 2021: Field organizing coordinator begins working on the spring election in 2022 to reach goals with minimal support from political director.
?
If we decide to raise money to fund this new position, I think we would want to commit to funding this position for two years. Having a field organizer from August 2021 to August 2022 would be helpful, but that person would be lost at a critical time.
So I think if we want to try to do this, we would need to raise funds for the first year right away, and then raise funds again about 6 months later, so that person could be certain 6 months ahead of time that their position would be funded for two years.
It’s a lot of money, but I get goose bumps when I think about what a difference it could make if we could fund this field organizer position.
Voces committed to self-funding this new Voces position after two years, if we can provide funding for those two years.
Ask them anything!
Update: Okay, I have just one more thing to add.
We can only be effective in elections (which after all come around only once every 24 months) if people see us being out there and engaged every month and every day around the issues that affect them. Voces is an organization that does just that – they are a year-round full-service, advocacy, mobilizing, organizing operation.
With our help, they can be even more effective than they already are.
Alejandra Gonzalez
Hello Everyone!
My name is Alejandra Gonzalez and I am the Development Director for Voces de la Frontera Action. I am so excited to be here and answer any questions you may have. I appreciate the time and space!
WaterGirl
@Alejandra Gonzalez: Welcome!
Al Nichols
Hello all, pleased to be with you tonight.
Omnes Omnibus
@Alejandra Gonzalez: Thanks for doing this. I am a WI resident, and I wonder what you consider to be the biggest challenge in the state?
I have been talking you guys up in the comments section here for a while, so it is great to get you here.
Fabi Maldonado
Hola Everyone,
My name is Fabi Maldonado and I’m the political director for Voces de la Frontera Action! Thank you so much for inviting us to this space. We are very grateful to be on and answer some questions you all may have. Thanks again!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Omnes Omnibus: hello! Happy to be here! In the time that I have lived in Wisconsin– which is basically my whole life! I would have to say that extreme gerrymandering has to be one of the biggest obstacles. This is why organizations like ours are SO important. We are working year-round to politically and civically engage the immigrant and Latinx community to overcome that obstacle. Turning out as many progressive voters as we can is SO important.
SiubhanDuinne
Welcome Alejandra, Al, and Fabi! We’re pleased you could join us tonight.
Steeplejack
Voces de la Frontera Action: Have you seen any aspects of the voter-suppression laws that various states are passing that threaten your organization’s activities or advocacy?
Omnes Omnibus
@Alejandra Gonzalez: Are you having any difficulties with the voter ID requirement?
Fabi Maldonado
@Omnes Omnibus: Hola Omnes Omnibus, I know you asked Ale a question but I do want to add that one of the biggest issues we find here is that our state is a swing state and we have a Latinx population that can sway the vote locally, statewide, and nationally. This means we need long-term organizing which requires long-term funding. It’s tough to reach our community with only limited capacity as we do more than elections. Voces does electoral work, community education, policy implementation, we have a youth component and civic engagement programs that we do year-round. As you may know, it’s never-ending and thus we need to be ahead of the elections to build a base of strong leaders to lead the election work every year.
Fabi Maldonado
@SiubhanDuinne: Muchas gracias! Thank you for having us. We are very grateful.
Omnes Omnibus
@Fabi Maldonado: Thanks. My question was aimed at any or all of you. Ale was the only here when I started typing.
WaterGirl
I forgot to put up the thermometer!
Voces de la Frontera Action
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Omnes Omnibus: through our year-round relational voter program “Voceros por el Voto” we have been really good about educating our voters on the voter ID laws and any changes to it. Our “Voceros” are able to inform and educate their voters and make sure that they have the necessary credentials to vote. This is especially valuable for the new voters that are a result of our New American Program.
SiubhanDuinne
@Fabi Maldonado:
Where does the bulk of your funding come from now? Foundations? Corporations or well-heeled individual donors? I assume you rely a lot on volunteers, but the projects you undertake year round must require a certain level of funding.
sab
@Fabi Maldonado: Early money is like yeast?
I don’t have recent ties to Wisconsin, but my grandmother was from there. Scots and Irish, but her great niece married the son of Mexican migrants. They are both lawyers and Democrats. Probably typical Wisconsin story.
ETA I’m in for a contribution.
Wolvesvalley
@Alejandra Gonzalez:
Welcome! As a resident of another swing state (Pennsylvania) with a heavily-gerrymandered legislature that is doing its best to engineer a state constitutional amendment that will gerrymander the state Supreme Court (and lesser appellate courts), I am happy to support the work you are doing and hope it will spread to other states, including mine.
Al Nichols
@Omnes Omnibus: A somewhat more ominous discovery (than voter ID) that we made when we checked some voter registration numbers last December was that the voter purge was very effective between 2016 and 2018 in stripping voters out of the pool. We mount big efforts to get people to register to vote but what we found out in many of our target wards was that we were not increasing numbers, we were hole filling.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
I was just about to say, Don’t be shy, put up a donation link!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Wolvesvalley: thank you so much for your support! I love PA! My fiance’s family lives in Pittsburgh and we will actually be there next week!
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
Just made a small recurring donation. You are awesome!!
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Thank you!
I just made a donation, too, but it still says zero. I guess I should give it a minute to catch up. :-)
edit: there is goes, the thermometer is working, yay!
Steeplejack
Threw in some money. Good luck and thanks for all your work!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@SiubhanDuinne: You are right! the year-round work consists of year-round funding. I will say that we get funding from many different sources, our work is mostly supported through partnership grants and individual donors. We also currently launched a sustaining membership program that provides more, for a lack of a better word, sustainable funding.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Steeplejack: Thank you so much!!
sab
@sab: Grandma’s uncle was governor back when Republicans were progressive. Francis McGovern. His record makes him seem like a Democrat.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@MomSense: Thank you!! Greatly appreciated!
Yutsano
よぅこそ! Or welcome for us English speaking type folks. I don’t live in Wisconsin. However I do live in a very red area in eastern Washington so I get the struggle!
I have a sort of general thought. Would education focusing on the progressive past of Wisconsin do anything? Maybe work the angle on how dairy associations help farmers handle price shocks as opposed to rugged individualism that makes a farm go under more easily. Just something rattling in my brain!
Wolvesvalley
I just put in some money, too.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Wolvesvalley: Ah! Thank you so much!
Fabi Maldonado
@sab: Yes, the earlier we get funding the more we can reach the community and engage the community to take action(s), in a nutshell. As you can imagine even if we get the funding it still takes a lot to hire, training folks, and plan out the program. So, yes the earlier the better it works on the back end of the program but also the stronger our outreach is in the long run.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
I shared the donation link on Twitter, too- I don’t have a big following but I do think it helps to share.
Omnes Omnibus
@Al Nichols: Then I take that the one of your aims to make sure people check their status regularly and that they are prepared for same day registration requirements. Is that correct?
SiubhanDuinne
@Alejandra Gonzalez:
Perfect, thank you!
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl:
I ponied up.
John Cole
Hello folks! Thanks for coming. I appreciate every thing you are doing! How can we help?
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Yay! thank you.
I added the thermometer at the top of every page. We will leave it there through the end of June in the hopes that – if you guys are on board with this – we can raise the money for the field organizer coordinator position by then so they can move forward with hiring.
SiubhanDuinne
Just threw some money at the thermometer. Well-spent money.
japa21
Other than Milwaukee and Madison, which areas of the state do you see as having the best potential to benefit from your work and which areas seem to be the most resistant to your efforts?
sab
@Fabi Maldonado: As our Kay always says, ground workers are what we need. And can’t do that without money. And money two weeks before the election just goes for ads.
H.E.Wolf
Thank you for doing a Q & A at Balloon Juice! Your organization is doing the kind of work that makes a huge difference. Sending much appreciation to you all.
I’m online for just a few minutes (will read the full Q & A later)… looking forward to supporting Voces de la Frontera and by extension, our Wisconsin commenters here. ¡Viva La Raza!
Al Nichols
@Yutsano: I’d hesitate to comment directly on the point you raise because we’re not experts on dairy economics but I’d say in general that over the last 30 years many Wisconsin dairy farmers have been forced to sell out to corporate operations. I’d think any political program targeted at rural areas would have to address that and offer a way to keep small farmers from going under.
With respect to dairy farmers, both small-operator and corporate, we have had some success advocating for broader rights for immigrants, including especially the right for immigrants to get drivers licenses, because the inability to get licenses poses a huge burden on immigrants workers AND it makes it harder for the dairy operations to do business.
Another Scott
Thanks for the work you’re doing and for being here tonight. Wisconsin (like many other states) is a cautionary tale that shows how quickly a sensible, progressive state’s politics can be ruined. It’s vitally important that everyone eligible votes and participates as an informed voter in every election, everywhere.
Best of luck to you.
In for a monthly donation.
Cheers,
Scott.
Al Nichols
@Omnes Omnibus: Absolutely correct. And we keep pounding that message.
Fabi Maldonado
@John Cole: Hola John,
I think if you don’t live in our state we need as much funding support as possible to help us fund a full-time elections organizer. If you live in our state I would love to get you involved in our Relational Voter Program called Voceros por el Voto. In our 2020 election work, we were able to build a network of over 20 k people who activated a diverse group of folks that include Latinxs, multiracial youth, and rural voters.
Gracias!
MomSense
Do you have any good tips for how to counter the I’m disappointed by x so why bother voting sentiment? I’ve been seeing this from young voters on social media (friends of my kids and children of my friends).
Yutsano
@Al Nichols: I was thinking of the examples we have in the Pacific northwest where many dairy farms are part of coöperative agreements as a way of staving off more corporate interests. I mean we are kind of a bunch of semi-socialists in a lot of ways, our lack of a sane tax system notwithstanding.
SiubhanDuinne
@Anyone:
Perhaps WaterGirl put it up top and I didn’t catch it (will go back and look carefully), but could you please share your website/basic contact information?
featheredsprite
I’m in for a monthly contribution. You guys are awesome!
Tenar Arha
Hi folks, thanks for the Q&A. Glad to know there’s an organization like this in Wisconsin. And like Steeplejack said already, Good luck and thanks for all your work!
Thanks WaterGirl for the thermometer. I was happy to donate for a new field organizer.
Al Nichols
@SiubhanDuinne:
Sure, our 501-c4 non-tax-exempt arm has a website at http://www.vdlfa.org. The tax-exempt arm is http://www.vdlf.org
dc
Alejandra Gonzalez
@japa21: One of our biggest goals is to restore driver licenses for undocumented immigrants, something that we have had difficulty restoring because of our legislature. I was directly affected by this and can say that our work would benefit the whole state. A majority of Wisconsinites want driver’s licenses! Gerrymandering stops it from happening.
It is hard to really pinpoint areas that are the most resistant. Waukesha and Sheboygan are both actively participating in 287g, a federal program that trains their sheriff deputies to act as ICE agents, and that can very obviously deter folks from getting involved. Fortunately, we have very dedicated and passionate members on the ground doing very important outreach.
Steve in the ATL
My question is: Ron Johnson—WTF?
Al Nichols
@Yutsano: Sorry, you’re dragging me way out beyond my area of expertise. I believe there were more co-ops here at one time and I’ve heard of them currently, dealing with cheese manufacturers, but my sense is that the institutions they built here were not strong enough in most cases to withstand the pressures on them.
Fabi Maldonado
@MomSense: Hola MomSense,
I think the biggest thing is who is the messenger. Having a trusted messenger is key. This is why it’s so important for us to find folks who look like us, talk like us, and who share the same culture go into our community to engage folks. The second piece is political education. Our youth component, Youth Empowered In the Struggle (YES) is young politically engaged kids who are a powerhouse. We motivate young people to take action and then they go back to their friends, schools, and family members and activate them as well. It’s a long process it’s critical we continue to do that work.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Steve in the ATL: I know. I ask myself that every day. BUT we have a really good opportunity to change that next year!
MomSense
@Fabi Maldonado:
Very smart. Thank you.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@MomSense: just to add to Fabi’s comment, I think it is also important for youth to know that if an elected official disappoints you, you are 100% within your right to keep them accountable. Part of what makes our youth program so successful is that after elections, our kids continue to stay engaged through lobbying efforts, direct action, and individual committee work within our organization.
Tenar Arha
@Al Nichols:
Ouch.
SiubhanDuinne
@Al Nichols:
Many thanks.
Wapiti
@Fabi Maldonado: that YES program seems like it will pay dividends. A lot of people pick up their political position when they start voting and never switch.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steve in the ATL: Watch it, bub. We’re all working on that one.
MomSense
@Alejandra Gonzalez:
Good point. I try to explain that part of it is also that politicians won’t go out on a limb and take those difficult votes if they can’t count on us to vote in every election. And if we vote in every election then our votes are the ones they will work for.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@MomSense: exactly!
Al Nichols
@Tenar Arha: There is an upside, we’ve been able to build political coalitions in rural areas between dairy farmers and immigrants.
Omnes Omnibus
Another question: Do you do much coordination with BLOC or with Native American organizations?
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Wapiti: Definetly! Before I was the Development Director, I was the Youth Organizing Statewide Director, and before that, I was a YES member! I have to say, our students never cease to amaze me. They led our door-to-door canvass last year in Milwaukee and Racine and made sure that folks heard about the progressive candidates we endorsed. I can go on and on about how amazing they are and the work that they do, but this article captures it well: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/01/us/elections/in-chilly-milwaukee-young-canvassers-go-door-to-door.html
japa21
How is the media throughout the state either a help or hindrance in your getting your message out?
Spanky
Living in the Glorious People’s Republic of Maryland (Except Hogan), I don’t have much to add except $$$. I expect the frontpagers will hit up the morning commenters with the thermometer, too.
japa21
As a side note, a special thank you to Water Girl for arranging for these conversations. I’m not sure too many of those 9,999 blogs that are ahead of BJ can say the same.
Almost Retired
This is great, and you had me at “the votes we turned out exceeded the margin of victory.” Just curious about the demographics and distribution of LatinX eligible voters in Wisconsin (or at least the persuadable ones). Are they concentrated in Milwaukee and Madison, and are those the cities that your organizer would target? Or are there potential voters in smaller cities and rural areas? I really don’t want to let Wisconsin slip away, and organizing the Latinx vote may well be the answer.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Spanky: thank you so much!! We appreciate it!
Al Nichols
@Omnes Omnibus: With Native American organizations not so much at the moment. With BLOC we coordinate all the time, but it’s more top-level leadership and coalition work. You are probably familiar with the segregation and housing patterns in Milwaukee, it turns out that there’s little real overlap between the neighborhoods where we and they do our actual work.
Sure Lurkalot
To MomSense’s comment about the youths getting discouraged, what seeds of change can be sown to remedy the gerrymandering? As I recall, Democrats get the majority of votes but the minority of legislative seats and thus the gerrymander goes on and on.
Omnes Omnibus
@Al Nichols: That makes sense.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: I am falling down on the job! :-)
In less than a minute, the link will be up top.done!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Almost Retired: The Field Organizing Coordinator would definitely increase our capacity and allow us to target those more rural areas, in addition to Madison, Milwaukee, and Racine, which are the areas we mostly focused on during 2020 election. We’d like to build presence in Kenosha and extend what we have in Green Bay and Waukesha.
Al Nichols
@Sure Lurkalot: You are right about the Dems getting the majority of votes but the minority of seats and it happens in both the Senate and the Assembly. Addressing that is one of the biggest questions facing the left. There is a “Fair Maps” initiative that has been going on here for a number (6? 7?) of years, that’s trying to create a “People’s Map” and get it into court for a decision following the governor’s veto of the Republican map.
WaterGirl
@Alejandra Gonzalez: Can you and Fabi say a little bit more about what the field organizer coordinator would do? What impact that position could/would have?
Any sense of how many more potential voters you could reach and turn out of you had someone in the position?
Is my impression correct – that Fabi is having to wear two hats as things stand now? That he is the political director and then does what field organizer coordinating that he can manage in his spare time?
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
I can hear Fabi guffawing all the way from Georgia.
WaterGirl
Fabi had to take off, and I think Alejandra has to leave soon, but I want to take a minute to thank all of you from Voces for spending some time with us and and answering all our questions!
Al Nichols is happy to stay for awhile if there are more questions.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: It’s Wisconsin :-) but I have to agree with you!
I plan to do a follow up post tomorrow so I can get a feel for whether we at BJ are up for trying to raise the 45k that it will take to fund this position.
They do not have funding for this position in their budget, but when I asked if there was anything in particular they needed, this was the clear, considered response.
I hope we can do that for them, but we’ll have to see what others here think about that. It’s a a lot of money, but knowing that we raised 1.7 million dollars for the 2020-21 cycle, I have to think it would be possible to raise the 45k in month if we were invested in doing that on Balloon Juice.
I guess that’s the question that remains.
Omnes Omnibus
Semi-OT: WI’s Tom Tiffany is one of 14 GOP Reps who voted against the Juneteenth holiday. (Might be more in Four Directions part of WI, but still, fuck him).
Alejandra Gonzalez
@WaterGirl: Fabi wears a lot of hats as the Political Director and we have identified one less he should be wearing. As the Political Director, he oversees the relational voter program, manages our Fair Maps Campaign, and organizes lobbying for Driver Licenses. Having a field organizing coordinator year-round would not only make these campaigns more effective and successful, but it would also increase our capacity for big elections like the ones in 2022.
Al Nichols
@WaterGirl: Alejandra and I can both stay until 9 central time.
WaterGirl
@Alejandra Gonzalez: That makes sense.
Thank you so much for giving us nearly 2 hours of your time this evening, and please thank Fabi for me, as well.
edit: I just saw Al’s comment – makes that 2.5 hours!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Alejandra Gonzalez: any work we do in Wisconsin, truly makes a difference. We have yet to determine a quantitative number of how many more voters we can reach if this position is filled, but it is clear from our last 3 elections that Wisconsin is balanced on a knife-edge. Anything that can expand our operation is important.
WaterGirl
@Alejandra Gonzalez: Yeah, we thought the fight in 2020 was for everything. Then we thought the runoff election in Georgia was for all the marbles.
And now here we are again for 2022, and we will be here again in 2024. We have to turn back the tide against democracy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Al Nichols: I need to go, but I want to thank you and everyone in your organization for the work that you do and you, Alejandra, and Fabi for taking the time to be with us tonight and answer our questions. Go Bucks!
Alejandra Gonzalez
@Omnes Omnibus: thank you so much for joining us and for your donation!
Al Nichols
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks to you and everyone for having us in to visit!
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: It’s never ending. We just need to gear up for a long slog. There are more of us, and we are better people. Voces (and all the other groups doing organizing and advocacy) and the people on this blog are the proof.
WaterGirl
@Al Nichols: It looks like the conversation may be slowing down, so you guys can feel free to head out, but perhaps one of you could check back on the thread in the morning in case there are any more questions or comments after you head out?
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: Yep. Heads up, shoulders back, and ready to face the fight ahead.
Alejandra Gonzalez
@WaterGirl: Thank you so much for the opportunity! I will make sure to stop by tomorrow morning!! Have a good night everyone!
Al Nichols
@WaterGirl: Agreed, thanks for having us, I’ll check the thread in the morning as well. Good night, all!
SiubhanDuinne
@WaterGirl:
No, I’m in Georgia!
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Got it! You could hear it all the way over in Georgia Duh
I did know you live in GA, I’ll blame that on being tired!
Omnes Omnibus
@SiubhanDuinne: I don’t know. Third Base!
Mousebumples
I’m another Wisconsinite (Rep Gallagher’s gerrymandered House District). Thanks for participating in this Q&A!
I enjoyed reading all of the questions and answers to date. I was planning to make a donation but wanted to clarify a point first –
I currently do a recurring monthly donation to WisDems and was going to do the same for you all… But then saw the request for $$ for the new position. Can’t fund that all by myself, of course, but would a larger chunk of change *this week* be better for you all than the same amount split up into multiple contributions over, say 6 months?
Thanks again for all that you do! ?
something fabulous
So sorry I wasn’t around for this live! Thanks so much for checking back in again in the morning; some of us west coasters will likely still be chiming in. This goal sounds both fantastic and achievable, which is the best! I know I’ll be in for my small mite at the end of the month, and will be cheering you on throughout. Thanks so much for all you do for our WI friends.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: Hi Mousebumples,
I will answer this for them, and then they can chime in later when they see it.
Yes, a bigger chunk of change in the next week or two would have a bigger impact if we are able to donate enough so they can hire a field organizer.
I believe that having a field organizer would be a game-change for Voces, and the impact would be enormous. A field organizer coordinator would have a multiplier effect.
Regular donations are always needed, and I’m sure they are appreciate of every single donation. But, yes, this money now would affect everything they are able to do for 2022.
Having this new position would impact every decision they make going forward.
Al Nichols
@japa21:
I was reviewing the thread from last night and noticed that none of us caught your comment and answered it. Apologies for that, I’ll try to do so here.
The media environment in Wisconsin, like most states, is more or less broken. It’s dominated by local TV news and national cable TV news; print journalism is dead or dying. Since we can’t rely on these sources to cover our activities we generate our own coverage through Facebook. As it turns out, a lot of people in the communities we reach out to use FB as a media and news source so that’s advantageous. There is also a Spanish-language media environment that’s mostly invisible to English speakers, so we work to get coverage on the Spanish-language radio stations and Telemundo. This requires that we build relationships with people at these media outlets and keep feeding news to them, so we have a comms department that is specifically detailed with that job.
Al Nichols
@Steeplejack:
I believe this is another comment we missed, so again, apologies.
The situation here w/r/t voter suppression laws is not as bad (yet) as it is in AZ, TX, FL for example. Those states are Republican trifectas so the bills can move much more quickly through the legislatures. That’s why the decision by the TX Democratic elected officials to boycott the session mattered so much. Here, we have a Democratic governor so the legislation will not fare as well. If they gain traction here then yes, they will threaten our activities and advocacy big time.
Steeplejack
@Al Nichols:
Thanks for swinging back to answer the questions.
neldob
Mkay, the donation tis done. I gave a chunk instead of monthly. Hope it helps and thanks for all the good work.
WaterGirl
@neldob: Thank you so much!