Friday, December 27, 2013

Pamela Karlan, the New Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Voting-Rights Section


Pamela Karlan, a noted voting-rights expert and professor at Stanford Law School, will join the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Voting-Rights Section.  Karlan will join the department as it begins a strong counter-offensive on voting rights following the Supreme Court’s limiting of the Voting Rights Act in a decision earlier this year.

Karlan’s post, which does not require Senate confirmation, will likely be at the center of a major legal controversy, the attempt to salvage federal oversight of voting rights following the Supreme Court’s decision, last term, in Shelby County v. Holder.  Karlan will be responsible for the Justice Department’s high-profile legal challenges to voting restrictions, including photo-I.D. requirements, in North Carolina and Texas.

In the immediate aftermath of Obama’s election, Karlan was a favorite for a judicial nomination, including to the Supreme Court.  Before the Senate imposed the nuclear option, those hopes were largely abandoned; it was widely believed that Karlan could never muster enough votes to overcome a sure Republican filibuster.  But since the Senate effectively returned the threshold for confirmation to fifty votes, Karlan may resurface as a judicial nominee once again.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Friday, December 20, 2013

NYC Mayor Regrets His Failure to Bring Non-Partisan Municipal Elections


New York City's outgoing Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, said Friday that his biggest regret after 12 years in office was his inability to bring non-partisan municipal elections to the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

His admission came while he was waxing nostalgic on his final appearance on WOR Radio’s John Gambling Show.

“That’s maybe my biggest regret as mayor because most people don’t have a vote in this city,” said Bloomberg, who has been a registered as a Democrat, then Republican and finally independent.

“It’s only the primary that matters and only the most committed, the left wing of the Democratic party, the right wing of the Republican party, they’re the ones that vote,” he added.

“And the average person that’s not registered in a party just doesn’t get a real practical chance to vote.”

In his first term, he spent 7 million to get non-partisan municipal elections referendum on the ballot and lost 2 to 1.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Montana 2014 Top-Two Primary Referendum on the Ballot


State Senate Bill 408, a top legislative priority for Republicans, passed on a party-line vote during the final week of the 2013 session.  The bill placed Legislative Referendum 127 on the 2014 ballot.  The referendum asks voters to replace Montana's open primary election with a top-two primary.

The current open primary requires citizens to vote on a single-party ballot of their choosing and allows the top vote-getter from each political party, including third parties, to advance to the general election.

A top-two primary lumps all candidates into a single primary regardless of party affiliation and allows only the top-two vote-getters to advance to the general election.

Republicans have defended the measure as an effort to ensure that candidates who win the general election receive a majority of the vote instead of a plurality of the vote, which is sometimes the case in a three-way race between candidates from three different parties.  However some feel, if LR 127 were approved, it would likely prevent third party candidates and independents from reaching a general election.

But Mike Fellows, Chairman of Montana's Libertarian Party, stated "The independent view is going to be wiped out because they'll never make it out of the primary".

Richard Winger of Ballot Access News says:

There are three states that have used a top-two primary, California (starting in 2011), Washington (starting in 2008), and Louisiana (starting in 1975 for state office and 1978 for congress, although it wasn't used in 2008 and 2010 for congress). There have been 85 instances in which a minor party member ran for federal or state office in a top-two election, and in which there were at least two major party candidates running. In all 85 cases, the minor party candidate did not place first or second and could not run in the general election. Mike Fellows is right; top-two is a method to smother minor parties.

But I think the large number of voters changing their registration to independent are looking for something else.  They want the opportunity to vote for candidates not parties.

Under many open primary system, voters can only vote on a single-party ballot.  Have you seen any open primary system that will allow me to vote on different party primary ballots so I can support my selected candidates?  In many states and cities, winning the primary is the election.

But I think a Top-Two Primary is too restrictive, only allowing two candidates moving on to the General Election.

I would like to see a Blanket Primary where the winner from each major and minor party, independents, and write-ins, are on the General Election ballot.

I also think that all registered voters, who paid state taxes should be able to vote in the Primary.  So no state should have closed primaries.

To resolve the party issue of Freedom of Association, the right to join or leave groups of a person's own choosing and for the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of members, parties should hold their own candidate selection process.  Then on the Primary ballot, their preferred candidate can be indicated.

This would require a separate ballot whenever a party was holding party elections.

Let me know how you feel about changing our primary system.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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The Promises and Perils of Internet Voting


On 12/18/2013, the New York City Council's Committee on Governmental Operations chaired by Gale A. Brewer, the next Manhattan Borough President, and the Committee on Technology chaired by Fernando Cabrera held an Oversight Hearing on "The Promises and Perils of Internet Voting".  It lasted 2 1/2 hours.

They heard from:

Michael J. Ryan, Executive Director of New York City Board of Elections
Brian Kavanagh, Rep. 74th Assembly District
Eric Fredman, New York City Campaign Finance Board
Douglas A. Kellner, Co-Chair and Commissioner, New York State Board of Elections
Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY
Kate Duran, Board Member of League of Woman Voters
Susan Greenhall, Verified Voting Foundation

All the witnesses agreed that internet voting was not ready for prime time for the following reasons:

1. Security of electronic transmissions and the opportunity to corrupt the website software were not ready for this type of transactions.

2. The inability to keep the privacy of the vote.

3. The inability to provide campaigns' monitoring of the vote.

4. Current cultural rituals and the possible disenfranchisement of certain voters.

5. The failure of the D.C.'s internet voting for military and overseas voters pilot. It was hacked in 36 hours.

6. The HAVA requirement of a paper trail.  The voter would not be able to see the marked paper ballot before it disappeared into the cloud.

The discussion then moved to the main reason for this type of voting, reducing the lines at the voting poll site.  These were some of the suggestions:

1. No Excuse Absentee Ballots.

2. Early Voting

3. Electronic Poll Books (laptop, tablets).  This would reduce the time it takes before you actually get to vote.  Some of the benefits and problems with this system:

A. WiFi Accessibility at current polling sites, the cost to upgrade the sites.

B. Allow the poll worker to determine you are in the right poll site.

C. Direct you to the correct poll site.

D. Record you voted, not manually entered later.  This would prevent someone voting more then once.

E. Allow the poll worker to compare your stored signature and in the future compare your stored photo.

F. On-Demand Ballot Printing - Using your stored information, a blank ballot could be printed for you Election District, in your preferred language.

This was discussion on the new Online Voter Registration and Update system now being used through the Department of Motor Vehicle.  Everyone liked the concept of the new system and asked when it could be used by all the government agencies.  The one negative is it currently only allows voters who are drivers to use it.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

U.S. House Passes Bill Eliminating Public Financing for Presidential Campaigns and Political Conventions


On December 11, 2013, the U.S. House passed HR 2019, which repeals public funding for presidential conventions. The vote was 295-103. The bill is now in the Senate.

On January 26th, 2011, the House of Representatives voted to eliminate the federal public financing system that helps pay for presidential campaigns and political conventions.  The vote was 239-160.

This House bill, sponsored by Oklahoma Republican Rep Tom Cole, would have eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.  This voluntary public financing system was created in 1976, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, to lessen the influence of corporate money on campaigns. Taxpayers can check off a box on their tax returns directing $3 in federal money to the program.  The funding is limited to parties that polled at least 5% of the vote in the previous presidential election.

According to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, ending the program would save $617 million over the next ten years.  Money currently in the fund, $195 million, cannot be used for other purposes, so zeroing out the program would transfer those dollars to the Treasury.

During the House debate, California Democrat Lynn Woolsey said, "Special interest money is having a corrosive effect on our Democracy, eating away at the people's confidence in their government and their elected representatives.  The one beacon of light in this system is the public financing of presidential campaigns.  It is, I would remind everyone, a voluntary system."  Cole told CNN the public financing system was created before campaigns starting raising contributions on the internet, and it's not needed anymore.

Public Finance Action Fund, a non partisan group pushing for public financing at the state and federal levels, released a statement opposing GOP efforts to dismantle the system.  "These efforts are not about saving taxpayer money, they are about giving corporate donors even more access than they enjoy today.  We hope these measures don't advance any further."

According to the Federal Election Commission, which administers the program, participation among taxpayers has dropped significantly since it started, with nearly 29 percent of taxpayers checking off money for the fund in 1980 to about 8 percent in 2007.

But it died in the Senate.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Thursday, December 12, 2013

NY Assembly Subcommittee on Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement


The public meeting took place in New York City on December 9, 2013 in the Assembly Hearing Room 1923, 19th floor, 250 Broadway, New York.

In preparing for the meeting, I collected Election Laws that were passed in 2013 by the State Assembly but most died in the Senate.

Greater Voter Participation institutes early voting by establishing a 15-day period for general elections and eight days for primaries and specials.  Under the bill, each local Board of Elections (BOE) must designate at least four polling places for voters to cast an early ballot, in addition to a site at the local BOE, for a total of at least five polling places.  During the early voting time frame, polls would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each week day and at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.  Ballots cast during the early voting period will be counted at the close of the polls on Election Day and included in the election night tally.  (A.689-A; Passed Assembly)

2013 Fair Elections Act establishes an optional public financing system for election campaigns for statewide offices, state legislative offices, and constitutional convention delegates.  The legislation would create the position of an independent enforcement counsel, appointed by a five-member Fair Elections Board, who would be charged with enforcing all campaign finance laws, rules and regulations.  The bill also would require expanded disclosure of political campaign expenditures and communications.  (A.4980-C; Passed Assembly / S.4705; Elections)

Absentee Ballot Deadlines requires the Board of Elections to accept applications for absentee ballots up to the day before an election.  (A.1880; Passed Assembly)

Pre-registration allows 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote and allows 17-year olds to vote in a primary election if they will be 18 years of age on the day of the general election.  (A.2042-A; Passed Assembly / S.1992-A; Elections)

National Popular Vote enacts the agreement among the states to elect the president of the United States by national popular vote.  (A.4422; Passed Assembly / S.3149; Passed June 7, 2013)

Candidates as Poll Watchers prohibits a candidate from serving as a poll watcher in an election district in which they appear on the ballot.  (A.5075; Passed Assembly)

Absentee Ballots for Blind or Visually Impaired requires absentee ballots be printed in Braille and large-print.  (A.6195-A; Passed Assembly / S.4135-A; Elections)

Notice Requirement for Village Elections simplifies the notice requirements for party nominating caucuses in village elections while ensuring sufficient notice to village residents.  (A.412; Passed Assembly / S.4671; Elections)

Absentee Ballots in Village Elections requires absentee ballot applications for village elections to conform to the absentee ballot requirements of the state Board of Elections.  (A.5065; Passed Assembly / S.3553; Elections)

------------------------------------------------

The public meeting official notice:

SUBJECT:
To examine solutions to make voting, in person and absentee, more accessible for all voters, and examine moving the state primary to June, beginning in 2014.

PURPOSE:
To examine ways to improve elections in New York State that will enhance accessibility (physical and logistical) to the polls.  The committee will also hear testimony on moving the state primary to June, beginning in 2014.

The Committee took testimony relating to the range of issues associated with enhancing accessibility to the polls as well as increasing fairness to voters and the effects of such proposals on the state budget.  The hearing also looked for ways to ensure that New York State's election law is consistent with the Federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) act.

The meeting was chaired by:

Michael J. Cusick
Member of Assembly
Chairman, Committee on Election Law

Thomas Abinanti
Member of Assembly
Chairman, Subcommittee on Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement

Witness List

1. Robert Brehm, Co-Executive Director, NYS Board of Elections

2. Michael Ryan, Executive Director, NYC Board of Elections and Dawn Sandow, Deputy Executive Director, NYC Board of Elections

3. Joseph Welch, Chairman, NYS Election Commissioners Association

4. Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Common Cause and Sally Robinson, State President, League of Women Voters and B. Kate Doran, Election Specialist, League of Women Voters and Ken Cohen, Regional Director, NYS-NAACP and Alex Camarda, Director of Public
Policy and Advocacy, Citizens Union and Rachel Fauss, Citizens Union

5. Lorraine Deller, Executive Director, Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association and Robert Lincoln, Jr., Commissioner, Great Neck Park District and Ralph Kreitzman, Mayor
Village of Great Neck and Mike Blau, Village Administrator, Westchester Municipal Officials Association

6. Monica Bartley, Voting Rights Coordinator, Center for Independence of the Disabled and Susan Cohen, Director, Voting Access Solutions and Larry Greenstein, Disability Advocate, Port Washington School Board and Kevin Greenstein, Disability Advocate, Port Washington School Board

7. Jarret Berg, NY Democratic Lawyers Council

The meeting lasted 6 hrs.

Some of the issues were:

1. The cost for early voting and what technology will be required to avoid multiple voting.

2. The cost for Instant Run-Off Voting for Primary Elections.  The current State Assembly and New York City Council approved a selection of up to three candidates.

3. The cost and logistics of having to use optical scanners in local nonpartisan elections like school boards when there will be over 1,000 voters.

4. Ballot standardization in the state.

5. Moving state primaries to June.

6. New technologies like electronic poll books and ballot printing on-demand.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

New York City Council Approves Campaign Donations Via Text Message


The New York City Council passed a bill (Intro 764-A) that would allow the campaigns of candidates running for local office to collect donations up to $99 via text messaging.  Using the 2012 presidential campaigns as models, both the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns accepted texted donations after the Federal Election Commission approved their use, the city is giving the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) the leeway to explore how the system would be implemented.  The board itself testified in support of the bill at an October hearing.

New York’s system will be the first in which texts donations are eligible for matching funds.

“The City’s landmark campaign finance program is designed to expand the role of small-dollar contributions, amplify the voice of average New Yorkers, and reduce the role of special interests in our elections,” said Matt Sollars, a spokesman for the CFB, adding that the bill would also help candidates and the program keep pace with current technology.

The bill’s co-sponsor, Councilwoman Gale Brewer, explained that the $99 maximum donation would require a minimum amount of paperwork from donors.

“The New York City campaign finance system is often lauded as one of the country’s best examples of how to encourage small donors to be involved in political campaigns, instead of relying on large contributions,” Brewer said. “With this legislation, we hope to make it easier for people who may not be otherwise connected to political fundraising to participate in the process, making elected officials accountable to a multitude of constituents, not just deep-pocketed special interests.”

Brewer went on to note that there are some obvious issues that still need to be sorted, most notably shared cell phone plans.  The bill leaves it to the CFB to address how to verify that the text’s sender, and not just the bill payer, actually donated to a campaign and provides the information required by campaign finance law.

“The CFB is aware of all these questions and they’re already thinking about them,” Brewer said on Tuesday.

ONLINE BALLOT ACCESS

The Council also passed a bill (Intro 488) to require the City Board of Elections to post sample ballots online, a practice that the board had already begun to do voluntarily in recent elections.  The sample ballots, which can be found on the board’s website by inputting a voter’s address, were often referred to during this year’s election as a way to reduce voter confusion with the 6-point font used on the two-page ballot.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Citizens Coalition for Open Presidential Debates in 2016



The Coalition for Open Debates in 2016 is a non-partisan coalition with the goal of uniting citizens from all walks of life and all points of view behind the need to have more open debates.

Their 4 Point Plan:

1 – More celebrity moderators.  Larry King and Thom Hartmann generated significant amounts of press for those debates, and they plan on bringing in more names the entire world knows and cameras can’t help but follow to moderate the debates in 2016.

2 – Build a massive coalition.  They intend to expand on the 57 media and organization sponsors F&E had for the 2012 debates, and they believe that America’s presidential debates should be run by a diverse coalition that well represents America rather than any single organization.  In addition, RT America, Al Jazeera, Free Speech TV, Ora.tv, Link TV and CSPAN all broadcast the 2012 debates, and they are going to work hard to get at least one of the major networks to join that list and more in 2016.

3 - In the summer of 2012 activists were able to get through to 2 companies and 1 organization (Phillips, BBH New York and the YWCA) that had been sponsors of the Commission on Presidential Debates and educate them about their debates being closed.  They were late on the ball in trying to bring them on as sponsors of the open debates in 2012, and they will really need your help letting the CPD’s sponsors know about our coalition and inviting them to join and call for open debates.  If they can get just one of them to join, it will create an opportunity for a national news story.”

4 – At least 10 debates.  They will start the 2016 debates in the early summer, and space them out so that the last one takes place right before the CPD’s start.  The plan is to create demand for the candidates to be included in the CPD’s events.  If they don’t allow them to their debate, they hope the entire country will become very aware of the fraud, and they will publicly invite the democrat and republican candidates to their platform while they continue hosting debates with the remaining candidates on the same nights the CPD’s are held to include the VP’s.  They would ignore them just as they’ve ignored the disenfranchised party and independent candidates.

Their plan is to create debates where candidates are asked questions from real people that they may not have been ‘pre’ prepared for.  As well with more audience questions and follow-ups allowing for actual debates rather than the rehearsed sound bytes.  We’ve had decades of secret backroom deals scripting our presidential debates, and it’s way past time we make them transparent, open and honest.

CLICK HERE for more information and if interested, join the coalition.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Friday, December 6, 2013

The 14th ANNUAL NEW YORK CITY INDEPENDENCE PARTY ANTI-CORRUPTION AWARDS



The New York City Independence Party (NYCIP) set out 18 years ago with a single idea: to create a new and Independent reform movement of New Yorkers from all walks of life.

NYCIP has over 100,000 members in New York City, 3,200 joined local county committees in all five boroughs, and 82 members are on the Executive Committee.  I served 4 terms (eight years) on the State Committee and still serve on the Executive Committee representing the 73rd Assembly District, the middle and upper Eastside of Manhattan.

We support political reforms that bring the one million New York City independents into the heart of the political process, such as nonpartisan municipal elections, seating independents on the Board of Elections, and making sure that good policy rather than partisan politics guide the running of the city.

Our 14th Annual Anti-Corruption Awards will take place on Sunday December 8, 2013, from 2pm to 4pm, at the Tribeca Grill.

We are commemorating the 25th anniversary of Dr Lenora Fulani's historic run for president in 1988, and the theme of this years event is Independents Coming Together.  On behalf of the entire event committee, I hope you can join us this Sunday and show your support.

The Anti-Corruption Awards are our premier event of the year, as well as our largest fundraiser.  We are near our $75,000 goal and now is the time to go all in and break some records!  Even if you cannot to attend, Buy a ticket!  We can send someone in your place, a young person who would be inspired by the environment, or an activist of limited means who couldn't necessarily afford to be there on their own.

Every dollar we raise at this year's Anti-Corruption Awards goes into building our movement.  Particularly after the government shutdown, our message of structural reform has never been more relevant, and our national slate of honorees Steve Richardson, Catana Barnes and Rick Robol are playing important roles in building our movement across the country.  These are exciting times to be an independent, and I am excited to see where we all take this movement together.

I received my award in 2008.

CLICK HERE to purchase your ticket or make a donation.

It will make a difference!










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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Thursday, December 5, 2013

Grow Appalachia Community Gardens



In my ongoing quest for projects dealing with poverty and healthy food production, I found "Grow Appalachia Community Gardens".

Grow Appalachia was created in 2009 through funding from John Paul Dejoria, co-founder and owner of John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS) and Patron Tequila, to address the problem of food security in Appalachia.  Tommy Callahan, a friend of John Paul’s and Senior Vice President of Training and Development at JPMS, told John Paul about his experience growing up in Harlan County, Kentucky, where food insecurity is still pervasive and healthy food is frequently unavailable.  A natural entrepreneur and problem-solver, John Paul began cultivating a unique vision for tackling food insecurity.  He believes that the best way to help people is to empower them to help themselves—even when facing steep, structural challenges.

The food system in America has failed the poor. Food stamps create a culture of dependency.  Large factory farms, while capable of providing vast amounts of affordable priced food, have isolated families from their food sources.  Despite the rural environment of Appalachia, gardening and farming have become less popular and less profitable in the region.  There is a terrible irony in the lack of locally grown food in the midst of one of the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems.  The type of food available in grocery stores, particularly in “food deserts” common in rural Appalachia, is overwhelmingly high-calorie and low-nutrition.  In this environment, healthy eating simply isn’t an option, leading to obesity and nutrition-related diseases.

Gardening addresses such issues in several ways:

- It requires people to do the work for themselves.

- It produces both healthy food and outdoor exercise.

- It has long been a tradition of the people of rural Appalachia and the land is suited for producing.

- It becomes an entrepreneurial endeavor when gardens are expanded beyond the needs of the families.  Selling those extra tomatoes or melons can be the beginning of a business.

In order to start growing as quickly as possible, John Paul began collaborating with Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, to develop a program that would both meet needs and leverage existing community strengths.  Director David Cooke—a West Virginia native, a lifelong gardener, and formerly the program coordinator of the college’s Entrepreneurship for the Public Good Program answered the call and has been responsible for developing the Grow Appalachia program and its partnerships ever since.  In turn, Berea College has consistently served as generous host since the program’s founding.

In 2010, their first year, Grow Appalachia participants at four partner sites in Kentucky grew some 120,000 pounds of food for more than 2,800 people. In 2011, their program expanded to a total of seven sites across four states: Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Despite a difficult growing season, Grow Appalachia gardeners still managed to grow approximately 134,000 pounds of food for 3,694 people. This program also provided part-time employment for over 70 people as gardening coordinators, field workers and site supervisors.

In 2012 they partnered with 15 sites across the same states.  They created over 400 individual gardens and 41 community gardens in 30 counties.  These community gardens are plots provided by their respective communities.  This approach creates value from unused or underutilized land that’s available in abundance across the region.  And it highlights just how much communities believe in Grow Appalachia.  They’re willing to support the project without asking anything in return.

They also created 90 full and part-time jobs and continue working to create additional jobs through the Grow Appalachia model in the future.  These gardens produced over 320,000 pounds of high quality vegetables and fruits that were shared among over 9000 people.

Their goal in 2013 was to expand to new counties throughout Appalachia to provide even more people with the ability to garden and move the whole region toward self-sustaining food systems.  To this aim, they also began providing small livestock to the program participants.  Original efforts focused on laying hens and bees.  Fresh eggs from just a few hens can add a substantial amount of high quality protein to a family’s diet and excess eggs can always be sold or bartered.  The benefits of bees are numerous and locally produced honey always sells at a premium and at least one site is producing skin care products using their own beeswax and herbs from their garden.  Through providing the initial infrastructure investment, John Paul jump started food production in the region and made rural gardening both possible and profitable.

Rather than apply a cookie cutter approach to nutrition based wellness, Grow Appalachia meets families where they live and addresses their specific needs.  Some families need only help with tillage and fertilization.  Some families need to start from scratch.  Some elderly and disabled gardeners need help with the hard labor of preparing beds, planting and cultivation, and Grow Appalachia connects them with young people to enable them to keep food security at their own homes.

Appalachia emphasizes food production in order to introduce as much no-cost, fresh, healthy food as possible to the region.  The basic goal is to help as many families grow as much of their own food as possible. Here’s how:

- Gardening grants available to communities through partner nonprofits (called “partner sites”).  These partner sites have a high level of credibility and history of service in their communities, a demonstrated history of working in food security/food access issues and a reputation for rigid fiscal management standards.

- Each Grow Appalachia participant chooses from classes offered by their partner site throughout the year on topics such as garden planning, planting and maintenance, heart-healthy cooking and up to date food processing and preservation techniques.  Grow Appalachia practices what is called “science assisted craft agriculture” (a phrase borrowed from David Kennedy at Leaf for Life).  The use of open pollinated and heirloom varieties is required at every site as is the practice of seed saving to preserve and strengthen Appalachia’s horticultural heritage.  Classes are shaped by the unique needs of each community and then education is then shared between partner sites.

- Provide technical and physical assistance to every gardener throughout the growing season, ensuring that they have access to solutions and help getting started.  Provide plants, seeds, organic soil amendments and pesticides, and quality hand tools.

- Donate a portion of the harvest from each partner site to a local food bank or others who cannot garden for themselves.

- Encourage growers to move toward entrepreneurship by providing technical assistance, which improves garden yields, and access to efficient kitchens and markets.  This way, growers can save on grocery costs and begin to make extra money on surplus produce and develop value-added goods such as jellies and salsas.

- Leverage community assets in the form of universities, churches, volunteer workers, external grant sources, leveraged resources of all kinds, unused land and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers to ensure maximum participation.  Grow Appalachia has never paid for the use of land for community gardens — communities see the need for the program and lend land to support it.


As of April, 2013, Grow Appalachia is working with over 25 partner sites in 39 counties with the goal of working with 1000 families and supporting 50 community gardens.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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