Local Leadership Meeting - 10/5/15

The leaders of a few of the Bernie groups in the South Hampton Roads area met for a local council meeting on October 5, 2015 in Norfolk, VA.  The meeting began at approximately 6PM.  Erica L., Mary Lou B., Jennifer L, and Elizabeth B. were in attendance.

We began with introductions.  Elizabeth B. said some words about herself and her group, Virginia Beach for Bernie Sanders, President 2016 and Mary Lou talked about South Hampton Roads for Bernie.  Elizabeth and Mary Lou both shared their next group meetings -- this Thursday, October 8th at 6:30 PM at Scrambled VB in Virginia Beach, and Monday, October 19th at 6PM at Cutting Edge Cafe in Chesapeake.

We also discussed what we plan to do as far as events and organization for our groups.  At least one debate watch party has already been planned in Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront at CP Shucker’s.  The VB group also plans to tackle Virginia Beach by dividing it up into its different socioeconomic areas and deciding where to canvass and flyer from there.  The VB group is also working on getting permission from various grocery stores in low-income areas to flyer outside of them.  The VB group will be designing and printing flyers for use by group members at these events.

Mary Lou then touched base on some of the information in the Get Out the Vote Training, but we will mainly be focusing on that in the future.  It’s more for a campaign in its later stages, and since we are still in our beginnings with forming our groups and finding our volunteers, we’ll take advantage of that training and their strategies down the road.

Jennifer then brought up that we should be working in tandem with the Sierra Club and any events/meetings they have.  She said that their members are very progressive and are great Bernie supporters, so we should be utilizing them in our grassroots efforts across our groups.

It was at this point that Elizabeth brought up a merger between the two Virginia Beach groups in order to strengthen VB’s Bernie outreach.  Jennifer was very open to the idea and they will both be continuing discussions to accomplish that goal.

Elizabeth suggested that a good way to keep our groups connected is to crosspost any event or meeting each group has across all of the social media pages each group utilizes, so essentially advertising for our local groups across all of our mediums.  For South Hampton Roads, Facebook is the primary medium, and for Virginia Beach, Facebook is in the process of becoming the primary medium.

We then moved on to discussing pro-Bernie businesses in our area.  Some names that came up were the Cutting Edge Cafe in Chesapeake, Scrambled VB in Virginia Beach, Croc’s in Virginia Beach, EcoManiac in Virginia Beach, the Old Beach Green Market in Virginia Beach, and possibly Cutlass Grille in Chesapeake.  We all agreed to actively search out these kinds of businesses in our areas and do what we could to support them.  Erica also mentioned EconomyPrinting.us, a union print shop in Portsmouth we should consider utilizing as groups.

We then ended the meeting on a few thoughts and questions.  Will Bernie’s campaign or another source allow us access to voter registration records?  If we can find out who voted in the 2008 primary, we can focus on them to campaign for Bernie.  We also need to find community leaders in lower socioeconomic areas and encourage them to join up with our grassroots efforts.

And with that, we ended our first leadership council meeting for the South Hampton Roads area at approximately 7 PM.  The next meeting time was not determined, but it is possible we will hold one again in the near future.

South Hampton Roads for Bernie Meeting Minutes - 9/15/15

Our monthly meeting for South Hampton Roads for Bernie was held at the Cutting Edge Cafe restaurant in Chesapeake, VA, and I'd like to say thanks once again to Melanie H. for allowing us to use your restaurant as a meeting place!  We had 21 people total at the meeting, which is an increase from the last monthly meeting held in August.

Mary Lou started the meeting at around 6:10 p.m.  Erica L. took down the minutes for the meeting and Taylor D. graciously took some candid pictures of our group to post online.

The first order of business were the introductions.  Each group member introduced themselves and gave one reason why they were here and any special skills they could provide as volunteers for South Hampton Roads for Bernie.  Reasons for attendance were varied -- society is headed in the wrong direction and Bernie is the answer for change; he's the first politician many have been excited about in a long time; and he just makes sense.

Mary Lou then asked if anyone wasn't a registered voter, and if they weren't, to get registered ASAP so they can participate in gathering petition signatures.  (To register to vote, visit www.vote.virginia.gov)  She then made sure to plug our Facebook group and stress that we are a grassroots organization that has no official ties to the campaign.  We haven't been hired on anywhere and are true volunteers.

We then moved on to our current number one priority, which is to make sure Bernie Sanders gets on the ballot in the state of Virginia.  In order to accomplish this, we have a statewide goal of gathering 10,000 valid registered voter signatures, making sure that at least 200 come from each of the 11 districts.  Canvassing your neighborhoods for petition signatures may be a good idea depending on where you live, but standing on a sidewalk at a public event somewhere like a farmer's market will likely net you a significantly larger number of signatures.  Just make sure that when you're gathering signatures or even just out in public, make it a habit to wear any Bernie swag you have -- buttons, shirts, stickers, etc.  And turn in your petitions ASAP after getting them notarized!  Even if you only have one signature on a sheet, get it notarized and turned into the correct district leader.  That information can be found on VirginiansforBernie.com in the Volunteer Hub or just ask on the SHR for Bernie FB page and someone will get it to you.

It was then mentioned that Bernie needs money and volunteers.  If you're going to donate, make sure it is ONLY through Bernie's official campaign website which should redirect you to ActBlue, the official donation site for Bernie Sanders.

It was also brought up that the Chesapeake Democratic Committee meets every 2nd Thursday of the month and that we should definitely make an effort to attend their meetings and support Bernie.  The Virginia Beach Democratic Committee also is meeting this Saturday morning, and we should attend if at all possible.  More information on that meeting can be found here.

We then moved into a quick petition training session with Mary Lou.  If you need a brush up on this training, please check out this great video made by a Justin of Norfolk for Bernie.  Some extra information: we are allowed to fill out petition forms for disabled people but they MUST sign the form themselves, and P.O. Box addresses are not allowed.

We have access to one notary in our group, Sarah G., and the Chesapeake Democratic Committee has a notary that they are allowing us to use, Nancy M.  Get in touch with either to get your petition forms notarized or you can find a notary at banks, your credit union (free for members), UPS, or FedEx (but you’ll have to pay there).

We then moved on to national news about the Bernie Sanders campaign.  Bernie needs super delegates, especially since Hillary just received endorsements from four Democratic senators and Bernie has none.  He is leading Hillary by 10 points in Iowa and 22 points in New Hampshire and has recently hired staff in South Carolina to focus there.

Regionally, local groups are growing quickly.  Our own group is getting larger and having more people at each meeting we hold.  There are also FB group organizations in Norfolk, Hampton, and two in Virginia Beach (here and here) that we are encouraged to get involved with.

Jennifer L. then gave us a rundown of the Democratic Party of Virginia State Central Committee quarterly meeting held in Williamsburg last weekend.  She said that people came from all over the state, even from more rural areas like the western part of Virginia, and they discussed the Bernie movement.  The most pressing issue was to get an immediate tally of the current number of petition signatures out there.  The total number mentioned at the meeting was 3,500, but Jennifer was sure there are probably closer to 5,000 that just haven’t been turned in yet.  The statewide grassroots organizers want all 10,000 signatures by the end of this month so we need to do a big push to get that accomplished.  Gathering the totals now will help us figure out which districts need more signatures so we can focus energy there.

Jennifer also mentioned that she wants to petition downtown Norfolk sometime next week during the day, from about noon to 3 p.m..  And if anyone else wants to hold an event, put it on Bernie’s website and go do it!  The group will help as much as we can.

She also brought up the proposal from Virginians for Bernie to become an umbrella organization for all of the smaller groups across the state.  Jennifer posted the text of this proposal for everyone to read on our Facebook page and if there are no objections, we will approve that as a group.

The campaign will not talk to us about funding for legal reasons and collecting money for organizations is a gray area.  There is a legal loophole that allows people to pay for specific things, but we should NOT ask for money for “South Hampton Roads for Bernie” or any other group.  We each have a personal $1,000 spending limit before we have to file paperwork.  The statewide grassroots organization may be contacting a lawyer to come up with guidelines for the smaller groups to follow regarding financing.

There will be a meeting with the campaign sometime soon possibly in Richmond and each group is allowed to send one representative.  Those details should be made available soon.

The D.C. office is also sending out swag for events, and if you’d like some for an event you’re holding, contact Sandra Klassen of the statewide grassroots campaign.

Erica L. then gave a brief mention for the 2nd Virginia Beach group organizing at the Oceanfront and said that they will be holding weekly meetings with the next being this Thursday the 17th at Scrambled VB at 6:30 p.m.  Anyone interested is welcome to come.

This weekend there are at least two events going on.  Jennifer L. will be at the Bernie Booth at the Old Beach Farmer’s Market on Saturday the 19th and canvassing should be occurring for the Oceanfront.  We also are holding a booth at Mt. Trashmore on the same day at the Treasures at Trashmore event.  You can still sign up for the Mt. Trashmore event on BernieSanders.com.  We also encourage events in other places in the South Hampton Roads area, especially Norfolk.

Mary Lou attended the last Chesapeake Democratic Committee meeting and said they are willing to support us, but they cannot officially endorse a candidate at this time.  Once the nomination is secured, they can then move forward and push for whichever candidate wins.

There is also a local election on November 3rd of this year and we are all encouraged to research the candidates and VOTE!  Two candidates in particular to look out for are Susan Hippen (running for state delegate for the 21st district) and David Washington, who attended this meeting.

We will also be holding a Debate Watching Party at CP Shuckers at the Oceanfront on October 13th at 7:30 p.m.  We have about 35 people signed up to attend so far and room for about 100, so please come and watch the first Democratic debate with us!

Dory S. then updated us on the Enough is Enough Rally, which now has a tentative date of March 5th, 2016.  More information will be made available on that soon by the organizers.

Mary Lou then brought up that we should be considering news releases for any bigger events that come up, possibly including the Debate Watch Party on October 13th.  We also should start writing letters to the editor, articles, etc. to help get the word out.  We also need to collect media contacts so we can more easily distribute letters, articles, and releases.  Veer in Norfolk is a possible contact we could utilize.

Jennifer L. mentioned a meeting on Monday, September 21st between the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce and some big oil companies to talk about drilling off of the coast of Virginia Beach.  The Sierra Club will be protesting from 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. and anyone interested in joining is welcome to do so.

Mary Lou also brought up that when you are out flyering and gathering petitions, just be respectful of anyone you come across, especially those who aren’t receptive to Bernie’s message.  We should do as Bernie does and not be negative so we don’t alienate people and turn them away from Bernie altogether.

Some local businesses that are open supporters of Bernie are the Cutting Edge Cafe (of course!), Morito Burrito in Virginia Beach, Scrambled VB in Virginia Beach, and possibly Cutlass Grille in Chesapeake.  These may be locations we look to for any events held in the future, particularly Debate Watching Parties.

Erica L. then talked about the various social media platforms the campaign wants us to utilize as grassroots supporters, particularly Slack.  Slack is a communication tool that allows us to connect in a different way from Facebook, mainly through the use of “channels”.  It also has the ability to upload files, documents, and pictures and archives all information put into it, making it 100% completely searchable.  If anyone is interested in receiving an invitation to the Slack team, they should ask on South Hampton Roads for Bernie or contact Erica L. at elandrum501@gmail.com.

At this point, David Washington, a future candidate for Chesapeake City Council, introduced himself to the group.  He will beginning his formal campaign after November 3rd elections are finished.  He was born and raised in Detroit and served in the United States Navy.  He also worked for the Obama campaign both in 2008 and in 2012 and served as the campaign manager for Dr. Ella Ward, the only Democrat currently on the Chesapeake City Council.  He will be co-hosting a party with Gene Waters this Friday at 7 p.m. and we are encouraged to come and Feel the Bern there.  It’s BYOB and potluck and will be held at Gene Waters’s home.

We then brought the meeting to a close at the two-hour mark and the next meeting was set for Tuesday, September 29th from 6-8 p.m., again at the Cutting Edge Cafe.  Be sure to RSVP here to join us!

News Release Suggestions for Bernie 2016

I am in no way affiliated with or paid by the official candidacy of Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont who is running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President. I started a Facebook group called South Hampton Roads for Bernie and network with other grass-roots groups, primarily Northern Virginians for Bernie Sanders 2016 and Bernie Sanders for President--Virginia. This week I appeared twice in our regional paper, the Virginian Pilot, with positive words for Bernie, so a member of another group asked  me to write up a few  suggestions for getting positive words about Bernie in traditional media. I am hardly an expert, but I promised to write up a few thoughts for the good of the cause.


My experience is that the easiest way to get published in local media is through a well-written and timely letter to the editor. Many newspapers also publish these letters online as well. The smaller the newspaper, the easier it is to get a letter published, but the narrower the readership will be. The instructions for writing letters to the editor are printed in the opinion section of the newspaper and can often be found online. For example, the instructions for the Pilot are available here.


Read these instructions carefully. For example, letter-writers to the Pilot are only allowed to be published once a month, so writers should make the most of the opportunity to write. Keep track of when the letter appeared in order to have a better idea of when you are eligible to be published again; there's no point in wasting time submitting something that has no chance of publication. Members of the group might want to space out their submissions to keep Bernie's name in the publication. One writer might focus on Bernie's record on the environment, another on family values, etc., and submit them in successive weeks. But any letter-writing is better than none, as long as it is positive for Bernie, interesting, well-written, and well informed.


If you are new to writing for publication, have a trusted friend help you proofread, and remember to use grammar- and spell-check. My experience is that letters that are short (150 words our less), timely, and related to something written recently in the newspaper are most likely to get attention. Be sure to follow any instructions on putting your contact information with your letter. Newspapers will often contact letter-writers for confirmation before actually publishing the letter, and they may want to follow up for stories, so accurate and thorough contact information is a must.


Click here for my letter the Pilot published if you need a sample letter. Notice I finished the letter with something interested readers could do: the name of our group they could join on Facebook to connect with other Bernie supporters in our region. Other letters might end with an upcoming Bernie event (online or otherwise) or other ways readers can find out more about Bernie or otherwise support him.


Don't assume reporters will contact you using the information you left with the newspaper, however. Bill Bartel's article, featured in Sunday's Pilot, came half as a surprise to me. He actually contacted me through Facebook, and I was lucky to spot his message in my "Others" folder, which we all need to remember to check regularly. Reporters often work under the heavy pressure of deadlines, so be sure to return calls or messages in a timely manner. If you feel someone else in your group would be better-equipped or informed to handle the media or this particular reporter, give the reporter that person's contact information or have the appropriate person from your group promptly contact the reporter. But don't ignore or delay the reporter, at least not for long.


When talking to reporters, keep in mind that they are people, too. I am unfailingly polite to them, and I try to be energetic and well-informed enough to answer questions to their satisfaction. But if I don't know something, I say so. I will direct them to other sources or resources if I can. I am also *extremely careful* about what I say. Watch some of Bernie Sanders' own interaction with the media to see how this is done. When a hook is baited with an opportunity to talk negative about an opponent, for example, he won't do it. He sticks to the issues and talks about them convincingly and energetically. Please be aware that there are a few bad-egg reporters who have an axe to grind or are careless and who will misinterpret or misuse what you have to say, but my experience is that these are rare. Nevertheless, it behooves you when speaking to them to remember that anything you say can wind up in the media, and to choose your words carefully. Give him or her a story. Have a list of talking points to lean on as needed. Think about how he or she might want to slant it for the publication's readership and give information that is useful. Be willing to invite them to upcoming meetings or events if interested.


If the reporter reports about Bernie well, be sure to follow up with a few quick words of thanks. An email will suffice. The contact information is usually easily found online through the newspaper. Believe me, reporters hear constant complaints if they even get the most minute details of a story wrong. Appreciation is much more rare, and they will remember it, and you, if you give it. If they make an important or egregious error, politely let them know and ask for a correction, but I generally don't sweat the small stuff (like if they misspell my name).


My experience from working on other efforts is that television coverage is harder to get. When a call comes from a television reporter, it often follows from interest that arose through a newspaper article. The same caveats and suggestions apply with television reporters. Remember their deadlines are even tighter. If you are going to be on television, think carefully about what to wear.


The easiest way to invite the media to an event is through a news release. They are simple to write. Again, brevity and clarity are important. Click here for instructions and a sample news release. Please realize that the media get flooded with these; it doesn't matter (at least as far as I can tell) whether you deliver them by email, by FAX, or in person. The bigger the news media, the more of a flood of these they get. If you already have a relationship established with a reporter at the media you are targeting, it might help to send it to his or her attention and ask that they forward it to the appropriate person, or to ask them for a name to send it to. I would only send a news release for the most news-worthy items that I or my group can come up with. Less important events, like monthly meetings, I might consider submitting for free through any available local or regional events calendars such as this one for Hampton Roads.


Keep a list of your media contacts, where they work, and how to contact them. Keep the list updated (I must admit I'm terrible about this). About two to three weeks' lead time is about right to send your news item. Any earlier, and it will be sure to get lost. If you send it too last-minute, it will be less likely that a reporter will have time to cover it. I find this mostly luck of the draw, but it doesn't take a lot of time to send out a news release, and they sometimes work, especially on a slow news day. If I take the trouble to write a news release, I send it to all the local and regional media I can think of. If one outlet doesn't take interest, maybe another one will. Again, instructions on how to submit to each outlet can be found online. Organize these contacts so they will be easier to find next time you need them.


Don't be offended if a reporter shows interest and then drops your story or event, especially if it's for television. The reporter may have the best of intentions, but a more news-worthy (to them) event came up last minute, like a shooting in a neighboring town. Stay polite and keep the reporter who showed interest informed, and he or she may find time to include you next time.


When you get positive media coverage, be sure to share it as best you can on social media. This draws even more members to your group and generates even more excitement for Bernie. If there is a comments section, have members of your group leave positive comments for Bernie with the letter or news item. I have seen people scan newspaper articles and then post that online, but I suspect that's a potential violation of copyright law. I would look for the article online and post a link directly to that. Give it a day or two if you can't find it online right away. An amazing amount of content gets published, although not all. If you are having trouble finding it, email the reporter who wrote it for help. Sometimes they can help you, sometimes not. Remember to be polite and not a pest about anything you need. Again, the reporter will remember next time.


I hope these ideas help. Comments or further ideas or experiences are welcome.