By Jennifer Voss
Chair, Precinct 339
I​ met Phyllis Fitzgerald-Morris nine years ago at her home while attending my first neighborhood association meeting she hosted with her husband, Chris, who was on the board. Phyllis was the type of woman who makes an immediate impression on you. She was friendly, gracious, kind, full of energy, witty, happy, and engaged. Over the years, she and I became closer friends who could always share a laugh and like-minded thoughts. 

In 2017, when the 2018 mid-terms were upon us and Blue Action Dems were starting up, Phyllis was ready and rearing to go, attending meetings and hosting block walking parties as early as the primaries. We were in frequent communication about our drive to make a change in SW Austin and Texas.
 
In March of 2018, I learned that Phyllis had been diagnosed with late stage cancer and I was devastated. She obviously had to pull back from her volunteering to pursue treatment. But…get this…Phyllis re-emerged several months later and was dropping lit on doors and filling out postcards. She did this even while getting chemotherapy treatments and battling cancer. She kept her spunk and passion for seeing a blue wave take hold in November 2018. I was amazed by Phyllis’ tenacity and strength; she kept a positive outlook every time we communicated. As time passed, she became quite ill but she stayed tough and even lamented that she didn’t have the energy to do more volunteering. I thought to myself that if we had more people in this world like Phyllis, what a world it would be. Here she was fighting for her life, but she didn’t give up fighting for what was right. I will always be in awe of Phyllis.
 
Phyllis passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2019. I haven’t cried that hard in a long time. A friend shared a sentiment with me when I told her about Phyllis’ passing. She said, “Hopefully the changes we make outlive us all, but it is devastating to lose someone along the way.”  

​Let’s honor Phyllis’ legacy and keep pushing to make a difference even when challenged. Let’s encourage our friends and family to find time to volunteer despite obstacles. Phyllis would be so proud.

​During the morning hours of Saturday, June 1, Blue Action Democrats teamed up with Texas Conservation Corps and City of Austin Park Rangers to assist with a National Trails Day volunteer event at nearby Stephenson Nature Preserve. The 17-strong GSD! crew was by far the largest group of volunteers.

Six of our kids pitched in, the youngest being only five years old! ​

Covered in bug spray and sunscreen, all endured the heat, humidity, and chiggers to improve the Stephenson Preserve Loop Trail. ​

​The rock squad, led by Kennon Wooten, collected and hauled ten tons of stone to fill a washed out ravine. The closers, led by 14-year-olds Ally Frisch and Kate Bryant, closed off an old trail by filling in washout ruts with branches and rock and planting the improved surfaces with native seed. Finally, the drainage team, led by Mingfei Yi and CJ Zhao, created four rolling grade dips to create erosion free drainage on the main loop trail. 

Precinct Number: 351 

When did you join Blue Action?
Joe (Gilliland) and I came to the first meeting, mainly interested in the VDR training. We attended many fun events as VDR's, like Beers for Beto, sitting outside Homeslice Pizza, that kind of thing.

What's your favorite volunteer activity?
It's definitely registering voters. I think getting people aware of the issues and registered to vote empowers them to make an impact and then they will vote. Nothing will change without that. 

I approached the Sunset Valley Farmers Market and we started registering voters there. It was pretty slow until the last few weekends before the election. Then it was crazy busy.  So I think that's been my favorite activity, Voter Registration. Joe likes to do it with me. (Side note: Katy and Joe totally spearheaded the registration efforts at Sunset Valley Farmer's Market and registered dozens of voters before the election. They're back at it this year.) 

We also block walked a lot. Some of that is enjoyable, but it's a bit exhausting sometimes. Also uncomfortable facing strangers at the door. 

The weirdest feeling in block walking was feeling like we "outed" some kids as progressives living in conservative households.  When we knocked on doors and asked to speak to specific democrats to GOTV, a couple of times a parent answered and assured us that no Dems lived in THAT household. (oops!) 

What issue spurred your involvement? 
As far as what got me involved is probably the assault on women's rights and the election of someone who seems incapable of kindness or truth. So many other issues have reared their ugly heads as this administration has continued.  

I marched against the war in VietNam. If I'd been a man, my birthday was the first picked in the draft lottery. We didn't have the vote, but could be sent to die. But then I thought everything was solved and raised my children, had a career.  It took Donald Trump to really get active again. 

Where would you like to see the club in five years?
I'd like to see people involved in the group actually running for office. Maybe getting more involved with promoting specific issues, like the environment, women's rights, etc.  I'd like to see more direct assistance to immigrants somehow. I like the volunteerism programs.  The food bank night was great!

Join Blue Action Dems today to help volunteers like Katy and Joe register voters!

Precinct Number: 339

When did you join Blue Action?
I was at the inaugural meeting but didn't join until the meeting at the new TCDP SW office. Not sure what took me so long!

What's your favorite volunteer activity?
I love hosting gatherings — postcard-writing parties or phone bank/canvassing events — whatever brings people together working for the cause. When the SW office was open, I enjoyed working shifts there, meeting people and encouraging their participation. 

What's the issue that got you involved?
Which time? Once I ended my journalism career, I was free to let my political freak flag fly. I've always been involved in education issues, sitting on a number of AISD committees over the years.

In 2007, I was so inspired by Obama that I canvassed for him for a week in New Mexico. In 2013, a friend asked me to go to a Saturday hearing about reproductive rights at the Legislature, and that snowballed into being there almost every day leading up to the Wendy Davis filibuster and cemented my desire to advocate for things important to me.

On October 1, 2017, my younger son survived the Route 91 massacre in Las Vegas, and that month I joined Moms Demand Action. Nothing like getting a phone call from your child in the midst of a mass shooting to spur you to action. Blue Action Democrats was a natural extension of the work I already was doing.

Where would you like to see the club in 5 years?
I'm a little selfish; I don't want the club to grow too much. I've seen that be the downfall of other efforts. However, I would like us to expand our reach by teaching others how to fish ... Show groups throughout the state and/or nationally how to replicate our success in their areas.
​

Join Blue Action Dems today to support the work we do, from postcard parties to funding a Democratic office in Southwest Austin. 

On February 25, twenty of our fellow Blue Action Dems met at the Central Texas Food Bank to volunteer to help feed hungry Texans. With no training and minimal instruction, our team assembled 115 healthy Power Pack boxes in 20 minutes flat!

And that just whet our appetites. Next came the true test of endurance. We took our positions on both sides of a conveyor belt, and during the next 100 minutes, assembled hundreds of emergency food boxes. When needed, these boxes will be promptly shipped to communities who have experienced an emergency and are in desperate need of relief.

There's no doubt we all worked really hard this year to get more voters to the polls in the 14 precincts that made up the Blue Action Dems Super Precinct. (Precincts 301, 302, 303, 339, 344, 350, 351, 352, 354, 356, 357, 362, 363, 366) The precincts were assigned to our group by the Travis County Coordinated Campaign. Even though we assisted with turfs in other precincts, the results that follow are based on these 14 Southwest Austin precincts.

Our goal for these 14 precincts was to capture 80% of the votes Hillary Clinton earned in 2016. (That's represented in the green bar in the chart below). Blue Action Dem precincts actually exceeded Clinton's vote total by about 2,400 votes. Not only did we meet our goal, we were 28% beyond it!

The other goal we had was to increase turnout in a mid-term election. We wanted to increase voter participation, especially among the "sometimes" Democratic voter. Blue Action precincts averaged about a 20% increase in voter turnout this year, compared to the last midterm in 2014. Overall our turnout was stronger than Travis County as a whole. 

There were seven Blue Action precincts in Congressional District 21, where Democrat Joseph Kopser came within 9,000 votes of defeating Republican Chip Roy. 

The chart below shows how we grew the vote in those precincts over the Democratic candidate in 2016, which was a presidential year. 

In Congressional District 25, we're also comparing data from 2016. Look at how the number of votes in Blue Action precincts grew -- even when compared with a presidential year election! Williams vote total went down, which tells you our area is growing bluer.

Even though our turnout numbers in Travis were amazing, Republican turnout state-wide was also very strong in the rural areas, putting victory just out of reach in this seat.

There were just two Blue Action precincts in HD-47, which makes the gains here even more remarkable. Again, comparing 2016 (a presidential election year)to this year's results, not only did Vikki Goodwin ​grow the vote total for Democrats, she earned 900 votes more than Paul Workman in these two precincts. She won the seat by 4900 votes, so these two precincts definitely contributed to the winning margin!

We knew it was important for Steve Kling to get as many votes in Travis County as possible to be competitive in SD-25 due to gerrymandering. Blue Action had seven precincts in SD-25 and grew the vote total by more than 1,000 votes. Note that we're comparing the last midterm election in 2014 to this year's election. Senate seats are up for re-election every 4 years.

There's no sugar coating the fact that we only flipped one of the four seats we were targeting. Gerrymandering proved to be a serious head wind and with Republican turnout was also stronger than the previous midterm, we came up short.

However, in both TX-21 and TX-25, the margin was much, much closer. For example, Joseph Kopser cut his opponent's margin of victory to just 9,893 votes from Lamar Smith's margin of 73,202 in 2016. That's an astounding improvement. In TX-25, Julie Oliver cut the margin from 63,915 in 2016 to 27,000 votes in 2018. Williams got 18,000 fewer votes this year compared 2016. 

​When you compare our precinct results to our goal of increasing voter turnout among Democrats, we hit it out of the park - even when compared the last presidential election. 

What we thought was a lofty goal of getting 80% of the Clinton vote in a midterm election was quickly achieved (we very close to it in just the early vote numbers in our precincts). Election Day produced another surge, which overwhelmed polling locations and pushed our numbers even higher.

What we've built - what we've achieved with our collective efforts - is a turnout machine for 2020. We know how to do this. We're trained and ready to share our knowledge with others. We can share our lessons with other communities, while continuing to keep our neighbors and friends engaged.

Tell us what you think about your experience in our post-election survey. Then, make sure you become a member of Blue Action Dems to help us continue our work. 

Thanks!
Blue Action Dems Board

​I want to share with you how energizing my Saturday morning was.

Blue Action Democrats President, Carrie Collier-Brown and I joined about 25 other people block walking for Joseph Kopser, who's running for Congress in TX-21 and Steve Kling, who's running for Texas State Senate. 

​Carrie and I completed a list of about 50 houses south of William Cannon near Escarpment, working together at first and then splitting up for a few blocks. You might have seen our Facebook live. 

​One of our first houses was a woman who didn't realize how many Democrats were active in her neighborhood and is planning on attending one of our meetings. We met folks who were excited to vote and others who didn't know there was an election coming up! And even one member of Blue Action! #GSD

​But the most amazing moments were the doors we knocked where lifelong Republicans told us they were voting Democrat for the first time in their lives. We heard others say that our visit convinced them to vote for Kopser and Kling.

We were able to talk about important issues like rising property taxes, education funding, and reducing the chaos in Washington.  

​There are signs that the blue wave is building. But we need your help to make it happen. Each person we reach could cast a decisive vote in November.

Will you join me for a block walk in Southwest Austin? 

If you're not ready to step out on your own, you can opt to be a block walk assistant, where you'll be paired with someone experienced. 

If you can't walk at all, consider a donation or become a member. All the money we raise goes to get stuff done before November!

Thank you! See you soon,

Michelle Reinhardt
Communications Chair, Blue Action Democrats

Do you have a child or neighbor who is attending college but wants to vote in Travis County this fall?
 
To receive a mail-in ballot, they must be registered to vote in Travis County.

1. Download the form

2. Fill out the form.
Under Section 5, select "absence from the county" during election, be sure you complete section 6B, 7, and 8.
Pro Tip: Section 2 is your registered address in Travis County (your home address), Section 3 is your college mailing address.

3. Be sure to sign the form in Section 10. Make sure it's legible.

4. You must mail the form to: Early Voting Clerk, DANA DEBEAUVOIR PO BOX 149325 AUSTIN, TX 78714-9325. The form must be received by October 26. Don't wait!

5. You will be mailed an absentee ballot in October. You must complete and SIGN the ballot. It should be mailed back to the Travis County Clerk and received by November 7.
Pro Tip: The ballot must be signed and received by 11/7 in order to count! Mail it by Halloween!

​6. Remind your student that all these hoops are in place to make sure they DON'T vote, maybe that will make them mad enough to mail the form.

Important Links:
- Register2vote.org -- If you want to vote in person at college, you must register at your college address. This site helps you complete the registration form, but you must sign it and mail it back in order to be registered. Deadline is October 9. Don't delay!

-- Not sure you're registered? Click here to verify your voter registration.

-- Instructions on voting in Texas for college students. Step-by-step guide to vote, including dates and deadlines.

You’ve heard “Texas isn’t a red state it’s a nonvoting state." 

This means a lot of Democrats aren’t bothering to vote even though many of them are actually already registered!
​
Our Blue Action Democrats GOTV (get out the vote) strategy for November is to turn Democrats out at a higher rate than Republicans.

We have a chance to do that because typically, turnout in non-presidential elections are lower overall. However, if Democrats in Texas can turn out in the levels we saw for Hillary Clinton, then we can flip several districts in Southwest Travis County.

This will help us build that blue wave. To get our blue wave to crest, we need to root out more Dems and get them to VOTE.

These Dems are out there and some are folks we know – let’s find them and make them promise to vote.

Work Your Circles is a simple 3-step concept we all can do to ensure Dems we already know will vote. Take some time to think through all the circles of folks you know – your family, neighbors, co-workers, yoga class, church, book club, etc.

Now, who are the Dems? Write them down in the Work Your Circles Worksheet. Make a point to ask them 3 questions:

• Are you registered to vote at your current address?
• If not, can we do that?
• Do you promise me you’ll vote?

Be persistent about the promise to vote. Ask them if they have any questions about voting and help them come up with a Plan to Vote <see video>. Get their email and cell phone number and send them a reminder to vote. See it through. Tell your friends to work their circles. If each of us get 10 new voters and each of them inspire ten new voters, etc., we can swell our army. Any conversation you have that leads you to suspect someone leans our way, pounce, and Work Your Circle. This is how we make up the gap.
​
Rise Up Texas! Work Your Circles. Get everyone you know to PROMISE to VOTE! 

​Let’s talk about how important it is that we Dems stick together to achieve our long-term goal of big wins in November. We are blessed with so many great Democratic candidates for the March Primary.

Some will win and some of us will experience the loss of a favored candidate. That happens, and it stings, but we all need to remember that this is how the process works. Then, we unite and work together like hell to turn Texas blue.
 
Remember, we Dems share the same goals – not the least of which is saving our country.

We all believe in fairness and justice for all, opportunities for all, good health for all, a clean and sustainable environment for all, education for all, and sensible gun control.
 
Also, HUGE props to all of our candidates who are working so tirelessly on our behalf. We look forward to supporting them in future races - they are now experienced and beloved!

Senator Kirk Watson will be talking about the importance of a united party at our next meeting, this Sunday, March 4 at 2pm at Mandola's (near Costco). And don't forget your phone or your bling! We're glamming it up just in time for Election Day!
 
Peace,
Lynn Kurth
Blue Action Democrats
Precinct Chair, 354