Burnt Orange Report

No Nonsense Newsletter #3

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

From Glen Maxey, more good news

Over the past week, we’ve been responding to your volunteer offers and plugging you into projects and areas where your talents can best help our effort. We have accomplished a lot – thanks to your willingness to be a part of “No Nonsense in November,” the grassroots effort that will defeat the Constitutional Amendment that prohibits civil marriage and civil unions between same-sex couples inTexas.

Here’s what YOU helped accomplish!

FIELD OPERATIONS EXPANDING

No Nonsense in November has coordinators in the state’s 25 largest counties – following up on your offers to “act locally.”

We now have county organizations based out of the following cities – Abilene , Amarillo , Corpus Christi, Denton, El Paso, Longview, Lubbock, Marshall, Waco, South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, Tyler, Waco and Wichita Falls.

Building the No Nonsense in November statewide database to fuel our VOTER ID and GOTV efforts is the biggest priority. Waco has set a launch-goal of 350 new names this week and plans to e-mail their friends across the country to donate. What will you do?

FUNDRAISING
HRC Members Leading the Way to Raise Funds for Our Infrastructure

A little friendly competition is taking place in the fundraising effort spearheaded by Texas members of the Human Rights Campaign to raise $120,000 statewide for the campaign’s infrastructure. San Antonio has thrown down the gauntlet, saying they’ll reach their goal first. You can mail a check NOW!! Just include a note with your donation asking it be credited to one of these local city’s tote-board totals --- San Antonio , Austin , Houston or Dallas/Fort Worth. Watch our web site for dates when each city will celebrate reaching their goal, so you can join in!!

House Party Dates and How-To Information Ready for Launch

Dates have been set for the No Nonsense in November House Parties – the event that puts the fun in Fundraising. We’ll jump start the effort on September 2 with our first statewide House Party night. I’ll “attend” all parties by phone and look forward to talking to party throwers and attendees on a conference call.

September 30 has been set as the date for the next coordinated House Party, where we will have a celebrity guest on the conference call. Our goal is 250 parties that night. We’ll wrap up the House Party circuit October 28 when we hope to have 500-plus House Parties swingin’ across the state.

Remember, you don’t have to wait for a scheduled House Party night. You can throw a House Party whenever and as frequently as you like! If you signed on to help raise money, a House Party may be just the way to do it. The September 2 party is a good opportunity for people new to the House Party idea to attend one, see what it’s all about and then plan to host your own! Watch our web site for a tool kit on “How to Host A House Party” and find House Party locations near you!

“NO NONSENSE IN NOVEMBER” STUFF COMING!

Our regional offices will have t-shirts, bumper stickers and buttons that you can distribute at your House Party. Contact the office nearest you to get the materials. If you’re not close enough to one of these offices, e-mail Elizabeth at Elizabeth@nononsenseinnovemebr.com.

SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL STAFF HIRED

We are excited to announce that two new Regional Coordinators have joined us to work in the greater San Antonio area.

David C. Fisher has been active in the community for many years. He has served on HRC's Board of Governors and as a Board member of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. In San Antonio, he served as Co-chair of the GLBT for Kerry Committee and is currently serving on the board of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio and on HRC San Antonio Steering Committee. David most recently worked on the winning Elena Guajardo city council campaign as Field Manager.

Roberto Flores is a Corpus Christi native who has lived in San Antonio for the past twelve years. He has his Masters in Psychology and more than 30 years experience organizing in Texas, including in Houston where he lived for 15 years and served as a precinct judge and voter registrar. He is a member of Stonewall Democrats and the Texas Association of Chicanos, and he is Assistant Coordinator of Soulforce, San Antonio . Two things Roberto points to with pride are that he is 70 years old and he has been in a relationship with fellow organizer Dan Graney for 31 years.

We’ve certainly accomplished more in a week than the Legislature has all session. As they get ready to “Sine Die” on Friday without resolving the state’s school finance woes, you’ll notice that editorials and Letters to the Editor are singing our song – “The Legislature has failed Texans by leaving the real problems unsolved.” We need to position the Marriage Constitutional Amendment as an example of the Nonsense they did achieve … and that message is getting out there.

Look who’s joined the coalition this week … Union for Reformed Judaism, Latinos for Texas, Far North Dallas Group of Drinking Liberally, Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church … to name just a few! Check the web site for a current list!!

Keep it growing …

Glen Maxey
Campaign Director
No Nonsense in November

To contact our regional offices, see our web site www.NoNonsenseInNovember.com