08/15/12 Newsletter: Building the Movement, Hitting the Streets

Greetings supporters of the movement to put the people in charge of
public resources in Oakland!

Normally we only send out one email per week, but a bunch of new folk
have been signed up to our email list and we have updated info for
everybody about upcoming actions.

What makes the Community Democracy Project
(http://communitydemocracyproject.org) strong is that, beyond
discussing issues amongst ourselves and saying “If only there was a
movement…” we are hitting the streets and, person by person, helping
build the movement that will change the way people relate to
government and public policy in Oakland and beyond.

If you are tired of being a spectator to history and want to help make
history…
If you are tired of business-as-usual-politics and want to change the game…
Join us.

*The responses of people in the communities we have been surveying
have been amazing. We have been learning a lot about the issues that
people care the most about, and almost everyone we meet thinks our
proposal to put the people in charge of the budget is a good idea. As
is often the case, it seems the organizing work will be less about
convincing people the idea is good than it will be about helping
people see that, by working together, we can win. But this is a
fundamental problem of our age, and one we gladly and boldly confront.

*This Saturday our street teams are conducting surveys and chatting
about local democracy and people-powered budgeting with people around
the Grand Lake Farmers’ Market. Meet at 11:30 am in front of the Kwik
Way Burger Joint at 500 Lake Park Avenue. We’ll chat over food at the
Farmers’ Market, do an orientation and mini-training for new folks,
then spread out in teams. RSVP so we’ll know you’re coming and we’ll
bring enough of our new snazzy CDP badges.

*Speaking of snazz…now that we have our logo design down and are
starting to expand our visibility, we need help snazzying up our
website. If you or someone you know is a good web-designer, holla.

*Do you live or work in Council District 7? As the City Council races
get going, we’ll be making the rounds at the candidate forums, and we
invite you to come out, too. We want Council hopefuls to take a stand
on community-based decision-making, and plant a seed for all in
attendance! The District 7 candidate forum will be held Wednesday,
August 22 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Allen Temple Baptist Church
8501 International Blvd. Oakland, CA 94621. Email Sonya at
sonya….@gmail.com if you will be there!

*We continue to work with the folk of OpenBudget:Oakland (formerly
known as Hack the Budget) to design and develop an app that will help
the people of Oakland both understand and critically engage and
discuss the city budget. The web
interface–http://hackthebudget.herokuapp.com/ –will soon get a major
overhaul, including drill-down capabilities allowing people to view
specific programs and funds. Stay tuned!

*Our regular strategy pow-wows happen Tuesdays at 8. If you wanna come
to the next one, let us know and we’ll send you the details as the day
approaches.

All the best =)

–Shawn, on behalf of the CDP Team

Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.
–Martin Luther King Jr.