Last week, Juan announced the Vote Local campaign. Recognizing that many members of Generation X, Generation Y, or the Millenials don’t always have time to attend four hour public meetings or lobby staff during the workday, our best chance of being heard is at the ballot box. The Vote Local campaign will help any voters, but especially younger renters, get registered in the city and vote on (or before by absentee ballot) on election day.
The announcement of this campaign created a lot of chatter, both from supporters and those worried that Next will upset the status quo. But with our campaign gearing up, we wanted to give everyone interested a chance to get involved.
Here are some ways to get involved:
1) The easiest way is to register to vote in Santa Monica if you live there. Next, make sure any friends or family follow suit. You can get all the information you need to vote at this website: http://registertovote.ca.gov/
2) To help spread the word download this flyer, print it, and post it at your favorite hangout, bulletin board, or wherever. If you know an organization that would be willing to distribute more of them, let us know and we can work with you to get them the appropriate number of copies. The QR code on the poster sends you directly to the Register to Vote website set up by the State of California.
3) We will be attending events encouraging people to register to vote, but we’ll need help to be as visible as possible. If you’re willing to help us plan an event or create visibility at any of the big events happening in Santa Monica this year, let us know: damien@santamonicanext.org or jason@santamonicanext.org
4) Help us connect with groups of people that you know. Be it something official, such as a neighborhood association or non-profit or just a popular happy hour, we may be able to come speak or at least help prepare you to speak to your friends about why it is important to Vote Local.
For example, tonight I’ll be meeting with the Board of Directors of Rail L.A. That is likely not the last Vote Local meeting I’ll be attending.
5) Last, but never least, you can always make a donation to Santa Monica Next by clicking here. Detractors like to say, without proof, that Santa Monica Next and the Vote Local campaign is just a “front for developers.” We know that’s not true, but to keep our website up and publishing and to keep the Vote Local campaign strong for the rest of 2014, we’ll need your help.
