J.R.'s program, BUILD YOUR OWN POLITICAL POWER

I'm not going to endorse the program, with the details that follow. But, it is worthy of your consideration. If you go, let us know what you think.

Monday, May 2, 8 p.m. at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 304 Morewood Ave., corner of Centre Ave.

You're already involved in the May 17 primary. You've got a candidate or a couple of candidates who you're working, a campaign that matters.

Why not work for yourself, too?

Many jobs you can do for your candidate can also build your own political power.

In fact, much of the most important volunteer work in a campaign helps you build a base for the future - especially when the volunteer work in the campaign is done well.

How to use your involvement in the upcoming May 17 primary to increase your own political power will be discussed Monday, May 2, at 8 p.m., at St. Andrews Lutheran Church 304 Morewood Ave., corner of Centre Ave.

We will NOT discuss and recruit you for any individual candidates. You probably already have a candidate in whom you are interested. We will discuss how you can help your candidate in ways that do the most for that candidate and also build your own political power

You want to make a difference for your candidates and your causes. This means increasing your own personal political power. Building your own political power can help accomplish personal goals for you and your community, and also can be fun

We will discuss various strategies, tactics and techniques.

The session will be right after the MoveOn May meetup, which is at that church at 7. However, you are welcome regardless of whether you are associated with MoveOn, Democracy For Pittsburgh, the Sierra Club, the Thomas Merton Center, or anyone or no one. (You don't have to attend the MoveOn meetup, although of course you're welcome.)

There will be more sessions later on how to build your own political power. Possible topics include: the Democratic Party Structure, Duties and Responsibilities of Committeepeople, Circulating Nomination Petitions (and how to challenge them), Turnout - How to "Pull" Voters, The Structure of a Winning Campaign, Electoral Politics and/or Direct Action?, Third Party or First?, The place of Anarchism in Progressive Politics, the Internet and Electoral Politics, Absentee Ballots/Provisional Ballots, and From Paper Ballots to Touch Screens.

The seminars will be planned to be especially useful to new committeepeople and people considering running for the Democratic Committee next year.

The "Build Your Own Political Power" seminars will be led by Jonathan Robison. Jon is a long-time activist in politics, the peace movement, and the community. He has worked in over a hundred campaigns, going back to Gene McCarthy in ’68, and ran three times for Pittsburgh City Council. He is an attorney and vice-chairperson of the 4th Ward Democratic Committee in Oakland.

The sessions may be on a regular monthly basis, structured so that people can attend ones that interest them. Interested groups will be consulted on the schedule, and those at the May 2 seminar will be asked about dates and a place.

Contact: Jonathan Robison, 154 N. Bellefield Ave. # 66, Pittsburgh 15213, 412-683-0237 jonmary1@juno.com