Seacoast for Change: Our First 100-something Days

Saturday, May 9: Seacoast for Change volunteers join NH Freedom To Marry organizers and other local activists for a visibility and petition drive to support marriage equality in New Hampshire.

Of all the bone-headed debates swirling around the first 100 days of the Obama Presidency, one of the silliest is whether the President is trying to accomplish too much, too soon. Having two wars to contend with, an economic crisis of epic proportions, a badly broken health care system, climate change, and public education that fails to deliver the core skills Americans need to compete in the global economy, we're pretty lucky to have a leader in the White House who is prepared to act with speed and determination.

Throughout the campaign and again in his Inaugural address, President Obama cautioned the American public that the change we need to put our country back on track won't be easily achieved, and will depend on ordinary people stepping up to the challenge to act for the greater good. It was this call to action -- and a shared desire to make the most of the political moment -- that inspired the formation and recent organizing efforts of the Seacoast for Change Grassroots Network. In the months since the election, Seacoast for Change has evolved from an ad hoc network of campaign volunteers into a thriving action organization. Today, our primary purpose is to connect local activists and would-be activists with meaningful opportunities to "be the change."

I'm not an objective observer, but I'd say we've done a pretty good job of meeting that objective in our first 100-something days. Here's a short list of the actions and activities Seacoast for Change organizers and volunteers have coordinated or participated in since the end of January:

Health Care Reform: Seacoast for Change is actively supporting the NH for Health Care/Change That Works Campaign, and SFCGN organizers and volunteers are currently working with campaign staff on a series of outreach and action projects. Major opposition to policy reforms that guarantee every American access to affordable, quality care will be heating up soon, so stay tuned for updates and volunteer opportunities.

Save Our Bridges! Campaign: Seacoast for Change has become a full partner in the diverse coalition of concerned individuals and community groups fighting to get funding for urgently-needed repairs to the Portsmouth-Kittery Bridges.

Community Outreach/Public Events: In March, Seacoast for Change co-organized a public forum with House Speaker Terie Norelli on the State Budget (with the Portsmouth City Democratic Committee), followed by our first-ever Portsmouth Meet Your Legislators forum on April 4. Seacoast for Change organizers are also participating in the Seacoast 20/20 Community Vision project, a series of working conferences for change-oriented non-profits and community groups in the Seacoast area.

Supporting Economic Recovery & Renewal: In early February, Seacoast for Change hosted an Organizing for America Economic Recovery Meeting at the Friendly Toast in Portsmouth. To see how New Hampshire and other states will benefit from President Obama's economic stimulus plan, check out this cool map on the Organizing for America web site.

Advancing President Obama's Policy Priorities: Seacoast for Change is working with the NH Rebuild and Renew America Now! Coalition to build public support for the President's budget priorities on affordable health care for all, investing in green industry and renewable energy, and education for the 21st century. In March, we organized a successful phone bank to generate calls to members of Congress to ask for their support in passing the initial budget proposal. Local volunteers also participated in a nation-wide Organizing for America canvass to collect signatures in support of President Obama's budget priorities.

Corporate Accountability/Fairness for the Middle Class: As part of our alliance with the SEIU Change That Works Campaign, Seacoast for Change activists took part in demonstrations at Bank of America locations in Portsmouth and Exeter to protest corporate excess and demand accountability from financial institutions receiving bank bailout funds.

Marriage Equality: Seacoast for Change volunteers joined NH Freedom To Marry organizers and other local supporters of same-sex marriage for a Market Square rally and petition drive to urge Governor Lynch to sign the equal marriage bill.

Organizing Meetings & Group Discussions: We've continued to organize activities to connect, support, and expand the grassroots community, including monthly "Read for Change" discussion groups and regular progress reports and organizing meetings.

Community Service: In February, Seacoast for Change organized a "Change for Good" drive to raise small individual donations for Seacoast Local's (H)EAT campaign. In the coming months, we'll be organizing beach clean-ups and other service projects to benefit the Greater Seacoast community.

Supporting Democratic Party Candidates & Organizations: Seacoast for Change mobilized local volunteers to participate in Get Out The Vote campaigns for special elections in NH Senate District 3 and an open NH House seat in Windham-Salem. We've also welcomed discussions with leaders of Seacoast region Democratic committees who are looking for ways to engage Obama volunteers and build up a grassroots base. In June, we'll be recruiting volunteers to help staff the Portsmouth Democrats booth on Market Square Day.

It looks like our next 100-something days will be at least as busy and productive as the last 16 weeks. So keep in touch, stay involved, and join in when you can. Working together, we are making a difference -- in the Seacoast community and beyond.

Judy Stadtman
Organizer, Seacoast for Change Grassroots Network

Save Our Bridges! Campaign Gearing Up for April 28 Rally

Back in December 2008, Seacoast for Change volunteers met to discuss what sort of causes and actions our grassroots network should prioritize going forward, and a number of supporters expressed an interest in working on local issues. In response to those comments, I've made an effort to reach out to other community-directed organizations that share our commitment to progress. One of the top concerns raised by the forward-thinking leaders of Seacoast Local was the precarious state of the Memorial Bridge.

Seacoast for Change has joined an ad hoc coalition of Greater Seacoast non-profit and business groups seeking to raise public support for repair and rehabilitation, rather than replacement, of the Memorial Bridge and its upstream neighbor, the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge. Both spans are in urgent need of attention -- the Memorial Bridge, which is ranked No. 1 on the NH Department of Transportation's "red list," is estimated to have a remaining lifespan of 5 years or less. Permanently removing either bridge from service would have a significant impact on the Seacoast area economy, with small businesses in Kittery taking the hardest hit. The Memorial Bridge also has historical, cultural, and recreational value for members of the surrounding community, and is a scenic attraction for local residents and out-of-town visitors.

Several recent stories and editorials in the Portsmouth Herald address the uncertain fate of the two lower Piscataqua spans (links to new and past articles on the bridge debate are archived on the New Hampshire Gazette web site -- you can find them here). Plans to repair the Memorial Bridge for long-term use have been completed, and federal dollars to cover nearly all of the cost of rehabilitating both bridges are available through President Obama's economic stimulus package. These projects are shovel-ready -- work can begin as soon as state officials on both sides of the river authorize funding. NH DOT has signed off on the proposed repairs. Officials at ME DOT remain favorable to replacing the older bridges with a single, high-span structure to be built at an unspecified location between the existing spans. The older bridges would not necessarily be demolished, but would be closed to all cross-river traffic.

While particpating in the Save Our Bridges! campaign may seem unrelated to our usual efforts to organize in support of President Obama's policy priorities, I feel this project is entirely consistent with the spirit of his vision to rebuild and renew America by investing in essential infrastructure and promoting civic engagement. It's also a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with local groups who do not necessarily see their primary mission as political, but understand the importance of mobilizing popular support to solve public problems.

The Seacoast Save Our Bridges! campaign will formally kick-off with a lunch-hour rally on Tuesday, April 28. Visibilities are planned in Portsmouth and Kittery locations -- stay tuned for details. The campaign is also launching a petition drive and a letter-to-the-editor writing campaign (you can check out the PortsmouthBridges web site for updates and sign the petition online).

Our Economic Recovery Meeting (and what we really talked about)

A small but engaged group turned out for the Seacoast for Change Economic Recovery Meeting at The Friendly Toast on Wednesday, February 11. The Portsmouth event was one of approximately 3,500 gatherings organized by grassroots volunteers in over 1,500 cities in response to a call by Organizing for America (aka "OFA 2.0") to gather friends and neighbors to share fact sheets and talking points on the Obama administration's stimulus plan. The main focus of the meetings, according to the event hosting guide, "is to share your story, the story of your neighbors, and collect the stories of your community during this economic crisis" -- and report it all to OFA 2.0 through the organization's web site.

As OFA 2.0's first official attempt to enlist the pro-Obama masses to support the President's agenda, the economic recovery meetings have received considerable press attention (WMUR sent a news crew to cover our Seacoast get-together). Not all media reports have been positive (there's a good summary here on the FiveThirtyEight blog), with several news stories and commentaries painting OFA 2.0 as dead on arrival. Even the most optimistic coverage acknowledges that convincing a diverse and independent-minded grassroots base to amplify President Obama's message with a single voice is going to be tricky, and the whole thing could fall flat if the budding army of citizen activists grows disenchanted with OFA 2.0's not-so-inclusive approach to social movement organizing. But it's also clear from reports that Seacoast for Change is one of dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of well-organized, ready-to-go grassroots groups planning action in communities around the country.

On the topic of media reporting, it was pretty obvious that the WMUR reporter who covered Wednesday night's event had been assigned a story on public reaction to debates about the stimulus plan in relation to NH infrastructure spending -- which is an important and timely issue, but I can assure you that those of us who gathered at the Toast last night did not spend the entire evening to talking about the sad state of the Memorial Bridge, and what to do about it. We did, however, talk about the need to increase education spending and create new jobs by investing in green industry, solving the health care crisis, filling the gaps in publicly-funded safety net through community service, and the causes and consequences of extreme income inequality in the United States. (Due to a technical glitch, we did not view a short video of DNC Chair Tim Kaine responding to questions about the stimulus package and announcing the soon-to-be launched recovery.gov web site, which you can watch here.)

With the stimulus bill on track for a final vote before the end of the day, it's worth noting that although far from perfect, the recovery package is -- as Bernie Horn writes for the Campaign for America's Future blog -- "the biggest and boldest progressive legislation of the past 40 years" and a Darn Good First Step.