Live Streaming of the Next Steps Working Meeting

UPDATE: Logistics has announced that they have facilitators for Fresno and Davis and San Diego. Please email the following for information:

For Fresno: Jason Scott, jason@jasonscott.com
For Davis: Linda Waite, Exec@GSAFEweb.org
For San Diego: Kent Hartman, hartman.kent@gmail.com

The logistics team for the Next Steps Working Meeting has issued the following, an update about their plans to stream the meeting, which Unite the Fight will host.

On Sunday, August 9 at 10:00 a.m., a diverse array of groups and individuals from around the state will be gathering at the historic Jewel’s Catch One in South Los Angeles for the Next Steps Working Meeting to plan for the ballot initiative campaign to repeal Prop 8.

The title of this meeting is intentional – this will not be a talking heads event, but an opportunity for the community to get down to brass tacks and create plans and committees to get the work done.

We know that it is not practical for everyone across the state to come in person to this meeting, but we do want everyone to have the opportunity to discuss, plan, join, and work on the next steps we need to take to gather the signatures this fall.

Therefore, we are looking for 3 locations that we can stream to. Activists who attend these streaming sessions can view the proceedings in L.A. and then discuss and plan among themselves, finally conveying a summary of their discussions to their counterparts in LA.

To make this happen, we need a location in each of the following areas: Bay Area, Central Valley/Fresno, and San Diego. And we need someone to volunteer in those locations to provide the necessary equipment, receive the stream, and facilitate the discussion. There is no budget for this – these volunteers will be providing an important service to the community out of their own goodwill.

To volunteer a location and to facilitate, please email JaneWishon@yahoo.com

Agenda for Next Steps Summit Released

The logistics team for the August 9th Next Steps Summit, a working meeting in Los Angeles that will tackle actual next steps for an upcoming ballot initiative to undo Proposition 8, has released an agenda in advance. It is subject to change.

I. 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Sign-in, Coffee-fueled Meet & Mingle
II. 10:00 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.: Introduction and Overview of Goals
III. 10:20 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.: Keys to a Successful Signature Gathering Campaign

1. 10:20 a.m. to 10:40 a.m.: Brief Presentation
2. 10:40 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.: Questions and Answers

IV. 10:55 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.: First Working Group Session

1. Choosing the Language of the Ballot Initiative
2. Media and Messaging During the Signature Campaign
3. Outreach to People of Color (POC) Communities During the Signature Campaign
4. Partnering with Non-LGBT People and Organizations in the Signature Campaign
5. Role of Visibility Events During the Signature Campaign
6. Any Other Groups (Self-Chosen)
   

V. 12:05 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Working Lunch

1. 12:05 p.m. to 12:25 p.m.: Get Food and Commence Eating
2. 12:25 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Small Groups Report to Entire Group
   

VI. 1:00 p.m. to 1:55 p.m.: "What It Takes To Win"

1. 1:00 p.m. to 1:07 p.m.: Introduction by Rick Jacobs
2. 1:07 p.m. to 1:37 p.m.: Presentation by Steve Hildebrand
3. 1:37 p.m. to 1:55 p.m.: Questions and Answers

VII. 1:55 p.m. to 3:05 p.m.: Second Working Group Session

1. Fundraising for the Signature Gathering Campaign
2. Identifying and Creating Signature Gathering Events and Locations
3. Recruiting, Organizing and Training Signature Gatherers Statewide
4. Outreach to Religious Communities During the Signature Campaign
5. Administering the Signature Campaign
6. Any Other Groups (Self-Chosen)
   

VII. 3:05 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.: Seventh Inning Stretch (Break)
IX. 3:20 p.m. to 3:55 p.m.: Small Groups Report to Entire Group
X. 3:55 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Closing Remarks
XI. 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Happy Hour (Networking) (Optional)

Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager to Attend Sunday's "Next Steps Summit"; Tentative Agenda Released

"We are not Frankenstein, lurching toward the finish line no matter what," Jordan Krueger of Equality Network and of the Next Steps Summit logistics team told Unite the Fight.

The Coalition for 2010 (formerly known as the Coalition of the Willing) will be hosting a Next Steps Summit August 9 in South Los Angeles, where they hope action items will be confirmed in order to move the California LGBT population forward in getting an initiative on the ballot to end Prop 8's rule.

On Saturday it was confirmed that Obama's national deputy campaign manager, openly gay Steve Hildrebrand, will appear and inform the process at the summit. Hildebrand's extensive knowledge and key role in the largest and most successful grassroots campaign in our nation's history, will add an element of expertise not easily ignored by either side of the 2010 or 2012 debate. The number of attendees on both sides of the issue are likely to increase, especially given Hildebrand's appearance and that this summit's focus will be action points and "deliverables."

However, many in the community are still concerned about the coalition's focus on 2010 and how that may skew the summit. "We want everyone there. We need to hear their concerns," Jordan responded. "There's only so much we can do if they're not willing to attend."

I asked about the agenda since many are still not clear on what will happen at the summit. Jordan gave me a tentative agenda that he says was 90% confirmed. A final agenda will be released early this week.

AGENDA

Morning: Key notes and panel discussion, including Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy national campaign manager. Q&A session. (This will last about an hour and fifteen minutes. I don't have time breakdowns for the rest.)

Breakout Sessions (Subject to change, and this does not reflect all sessions but just a few.)

• Signature gathering
• Ballot language
• Fund-raising
• Outreach and Relationship Building
• Messaging
  

Attendees can call out ad hoc sessions if need comes up. Groups will come back and report on decisions and next steps to all.

WORKING LUNCH

Second breakout for sessions, but these will be different from first break out.

Report back again with decisions and next steps.

Closing

Happy Hour

After going over the agenda with Jordan, I raised concerns about certain topics being discussed and next steps decided upon in break out sessions, such as the ballot language and messaging, which requires lots of expertise and knowledge of the political campaign process, assets many in the community lack, including yours truly.

"It's our desire to have experts in the break out groups, but they will not facilitate," Jordan said. "Let's all come to a consensus together instead of having the experts say this is how it should be."

When it comes to ballot language, objections have been raised. If the language isn't legally solid, it can open the door to many lawsuits from the opposition trying to undo any initiative that we work really hard to pass.

At the Leadership Summit in San Bernardino, it was requested that all cameras be turned off and that the press either leave or consider the conversation "off the record" when the topic of ballot language came up. That's how sensitive and essential ballot language can be. Give the opposition any hints on what you come up with and you give them immediate ammunition to undo your work. On top of that, the specifics of whether or not to include the issue of school curriculum in regards to marriage equality is a gray area for many in the community.

"Everyone is in agreement that there has to be testing" of ballot language, Jordan said. "There is an understanding of significant cost to testing and that will be brought up for discussion at the summit. We understand it is critical to going back to the ballot."

According to the organizers, tickets are going fast, and it will be interesting to see who shows given that the Next Steps Summit has been viewed as vital yet possibly premature given that the community has not come to a consensus on timing.

Even Torie Osborne, who in May came out strong for 2010 at a Courage Campaign's Camp Courage, told reporter Karen Ocamb she's changed her mind.

“As time ticks by, it seems less likely that we will go to the ballot in 2010 and I'm fine with that,” Osborn wrote in an email to Karen Ocamb for a Frontiers in L.A. article. “The vision and movement that is built is as important as when we win, as the state's challenges require us to all step up in new and powerful ways. If ‘Spawn of Prop187’ [a previous anti-immigrant initiative] qualifies in 2010, that can become our unified battle, and we will all need to join together and lay in place the organizing networks that can lead us to victory in future years on marriage equality.”

However, Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs has reiterated his support for 2010. “Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win.”

Equality California's Geoff Korrs announced at the Equality Awards Dinner on Saturday night that the organization will come to a decision on next steps this week after its board meeting Sunday, a statement that Marc Solomon, EQCA's Marriage Director confirmed with Unite the Fight at the event. Many believe though the organization should listen to its members, who were polled with a majority supporting 2010. There's also been talk that EQCA's board is divided on the issue.

The Coalition for 2010 has shifted its tone since the day of the San Bernardino summit. They express a desire for all to be involved, even those who don't agree with them on timing. Their focus is to get the work started, and get it done as soon and as efficiently as possible.

In an email sent out to its members Sunday, Love Honor Cherish, the grassroots group who has strongly supported 2010 since Prop 8's passing, wrote, "Everyone dedicated to working for marriage equality is invited, particularly those who have expressed reservations about a 2010 campaign. These concerns are legitimate and important, and any planning for a future campaign must take them into account to ensure our chances of winning."

"We want people to be there to give input on benchmarks," Jordan told Unite the Fight, saying that those who support 2012 will bring vital input to the process. "This is not a sit and listen summit."

"There is an awareness," he added. "If 2010 turns out not to be possible, then based on benchmarks set on August 9th, we will consider how to proceed."

If those in support for 2012 want input on those benchmarks, then I highly recommend you attend.

Get information and tickets.

(Note: Unite the Fight, along with the organizers, is looking into streaming this event if possible based upon technical capabilities as well as sensitive information discussed at the summit.)

Image: By BlueCinema