“I have the right to fight for my rights and I won’t let anyone stop me.” ~Sondra Montez
While in New Mexico for The Project, Pushback Network’s week-long, two-state, multi-media electoral project, PBN Communications Coordinator Brigid Flaherty worked in the field helping SWOP Field Organizer Sondra Martinez get out the vote.
While together, Brigid had a chance to talk to Sondra about what prompted her to get involved with the election and her community. Sondra’s husband, Salvador, is a new citizen who was able to cast his first vote this year.
How did you become involved with SWOP?
I moved to this community in 1997. I started working with SWOP because there were no basic services: no hot water, no roads. I saw a meeting going on where SWOP was giving a presentation. I approached SWOP at the meeting and asked if they could help us get basic services. [Read more]
While in New Mexico for The Project, Pushback Network’s week-long, two-state, multi-media electoral project, PBN Communications Coordinator Brigid Flaherty interviewed SWOP Field Organizer Joaquin Lujan, on what prompted him to get involved with the election and community.
Why are you involved with the GOTV program at SWOP?
Being a community organizer for most of my life, I never thought we could get the intense feedback from the community like we are now. We’ve gotta push these elections in Albuquerque and around the state because we’re getting somewhere. When I was with the Chicano Movement in the late 60’s and 70’s the racism was really intense. We were dealing with issues where people of color were having nothing done for them. We had no programs set up for Chicanos, Native Americans, African Americans. A lot of the organizing we did was on the basic needs. Well here I am now at 56. And where does the energy of a person my age go? I have found that energy through the youth at SWOP. Because of them I said OK, let me try to be apart of these changes. [Read more]
“We really owned what happened on November 4th. It was all about us, the big us. This election wasn’t about Barack Obama or John McCain. It was the American people and their hunger for change.” ~Robby Rodriguez, Executive Director, South West Organizing Project.
It’s now Friday, November 7th. I returned from New Mexico two days ago and am still reflecting upon the implications of the historical election results. How do I summarize what I felt, tasted, and experienced during my stay in Albuquerque? What words can adequately capture the great Get Out the Vote work accomplished by the teams of SAGE Council and Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)? Perhaps the best way to begin is to let the results speak for themselves. [Read more]
DO: Approach key local and regional groups before the strategy is set. Tailor efforts to the culture and politics of individual communities. No state is one community. Incoming organizers should seek synergies with existing work.
DON’T: Bait and switch. Be clear and honest with grassroots organizers about intentions and objectives. [Read more]
“When it comes to electoral organizing, it’s not news that the surge isn’t working.”
To start off The Project, our 2008 multi-media civic engagement project, PBN is publishing a few critically important pieces that look at the importance of sound investment in effective civic organizing.
This article by PBN co-chair Robby Rodriguez is the first piece. Download the full article at the bottom, and check back every day for updates.
After the Surge: Investing in Civic Organizing Tactics that Work –By Robby Rodriguez
It’s the thick of the 2008 election cycle, and all around the country legions of “Paratroopers” – well-funded, well-trained young organizers from New York or DC-based national organizations – are dropping down in Louisville, Kansas City, Las Vegas and my own hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico to help get out the vote.
Sinking enormous resources into short-term electoral campaigns has been the accepted modus operandi for the past few election cycles. Trouble is, it overlooks the fact that Louisville, Las Vegas and the rest of us have already invested years of hard work in building organizing infrastructure that too often gets ignored and supplanted to the detriment of everyone involved.
When it comes to turning out voters and winning elections, it’s not news that the surge isn’t working. In state after state, grassroots groups are banding together to form local, regional and national partnerships, including the fast-growing Pushback Network, to focus on what works. [Read more]
“We are so pleased to announce the publication of a new book on Generational Change and Leadership, co-authored by SWOP Executive Director Robby Rodriguez in conjunction with colleagues in the Building Movement project.” Working Across Generations: Defining the Future of Nonprofit Leadership, written by Building Movement Project authors Frances Kunreuther, Helen Kim and Robby Rodriguez, offers a comprehensive approach to looking at leadership and generational shifts in the nonprofit sector. The book includes:
Fresh perspectives and practical advice on how to work across generational divides;
Research findings, real-life stories, useful charts and exercises;
Stories and case examples from across the country; and
Recommendations on how individuals, organizations and the nonprofit sector can all play an important part in paving the way for more vibrant and expansive leadership in the nonprofit sector
Right on @anotherpundit! The grassroots groups in New Mexico, Texas & Mississippi (incidentally, where Brigid, Samiya & Jason are now documenting civic engagement and voter mobilization all through election week) are great partners and friends. Follow us on Twitter, and check out info about more info on the South X Southwest Experiment!
While in New Mexico for 
