Minutes January 4, 2021 • Sign on and welcome to participants by Dana Offerman. Dana expressed the importance of continuing the work at the local, state and federal level. Outlined the agenda for the meeting:
Review of the Strategic Plan Vote on Nominations for Chair and Vice Chair
Presentation on HR1 legislation
Mail Chimp (New email service)
Addition of Helen Herziger to the Steering Committee Team Reports
Tricia Sauer, Organizer of Indivisible for Arizona and Oregon
Tricia discussed why we need to continue the work and stressed that Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021. The military has said that it will not intervene in the political process. The Biden inauguration committee has announced their plans and is calling for a National Day of Action on January 18th. There will also be a COVID memorial service on January 19th to be held at the Lincoln Memorial. States and cities across the country are being asked to light up at 5:30 to honor the victims. There will also be a virtual parade of states on inauguration day.
Dana Offerman Explanation of the new email system Mail Chimp
Review of the Strategic Plan – 3 goals of the plan: Elect candidates who share ITAA values. Support policies that address free and fair elections (voter registration), racial and gender equality, global warming, affordable healthcare, economic equality and education.
New member recruitment.
Dana, Sally and Misty now sit on the state redistricting team.
Tricia has also established state teams. There will be more calls to action and request to contact your members of congress.
Membership in ITAA increased before the election.
There were no questions or comments regarding the plan. The plan was adopted unanimously.
Eileen Hollowell – Election of Chair and Vice-Chair of ITAA Positions are for a one year term and there are no term limits. Eileen nominated Dana Offerman for Chair, Margo Nichols seconded and Dana was elected by consensus. Eileen nominated Margo Nichols for Vice-Chair and Di Alexander second. Margo was elected by consensus. Questions regarding ITAA and the steering committee from participants. Guidelines for ITAA on the website and Steering Committee member information will be added to the website. Misty requested that members email her if you would like to be on a team. Total on the email distribution list is 340 which includes those who have joined from Indivisible and Strong.
ITAA Team Reports
Eileen Hollowell – State Team Team is active when the state legislature is in session (January 11th). Contact Eileen by email if you are interested in joining her team ([email protected]). There will be a Zoom meeting on January 10th at 10:00 a.m. A notice has been sent to those who were on the team last year. Request to Speak (RTS) training can be found on the Civic Engagement & Beyond website or the state team can help you navigate the process. Some of the activities the team anticipates include visits to the Arizona capital as voter suppression by the legislature may occur.
Jacolyn Marshall – Letters to the Editor Team The Arizona Daily Star in the January 1st edition recognized people who had submitted letters to the editor last year. 28 ITAA members were recognized and 21 of those were from the Letters to the Editor team. There are currently 24 members on the team. Jacolyn is asking members who would like to join the team to email her ([email protected]). The team meets every 3rd Sunday via Zoom. The next meeting is scheduled for January 17th. Members can review letters before they are submitted or write an opinion piece to submit.
Sally Simmons – Membership Team The team is planning a new member Zoom orientation. Sally will contact the new member with information. The team is also reaching out to various groups to promote diversity in ITAA.
Jan Counts & Karen Harris – Federal Team Jan and Karen did a Power Point presentation on HR1 (For the People Act). The presentation can be found on the ITAA website. The presentation helped to underscore why ITAA members must remain active. Additional information can be found on hEps://www.congress.gov. Karen stressed the importance of staying involved and ways to accomplish that.
Dana Offerman – Future Activities Dana discussed the Indivisible Arizona statewide teams under the leadership of Tricia Sauer: State (Eileen Hollowell), Federal (Jan Counts). Other teams are Redistricting, AnP-Racist Education and Action Arizona Team, Social Media Team, 2022 Governor’s Race Accountability Team and Community Building Team. Dana explained the redistricting process. Day of Action January 18th – Biden Inauguration Committee ITAA drop- in Zoom meeting on January 13th to discuss how to contact your members of Congress. Information on how to contact your MOC is also on the ITAA website. A new National Indivisible Guide will be distributed based on who controls the Senate. The next meeting is scheduled for February 1, 2021.