Pictures of a campaign season: TEP hard at work for you

You may have noticed that the Tennessee Equality Project through TEP PAC, our state political action committee, has been working hard for you this fall. We're doing all we can to make sure that we're involved strategically in races that will put us in a better position when the 107th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee convenes in January. Our work is almost done.

But let's rewind and take a look back at the campaign season that was. The endorsements we made are important, but there is so much more to providing the kind of help candidates need than just announcing your support and hoping voters take heed. Here's what we've been doing for the last several weeks.

The Fundraisers: Did you know that since November 2009, TEP PAC has bundled over $12,000 for candidates in state and local races? Money is still part of the game, but we had a lot of fun along the way helping Rep. Jeanne Richardson, Metro Councilman Sam Coleman, and Rep. Sherry Jones and others.



The Yard Signs: It's true that "yard signs don't vote." But in a day when our media don't adequately cover legislative races, they do help remind neighbors of the names when they go into the voting booth. We canvassed our members for "real estate" for candidate yard signs and even helped put them out in yards.



Door Knocking: You really get an education in Tennessee politics when you get in your car and knock on doors in a district for a candidate. The weather was perfect this election season and we had a good time on these road trips. Candidates value the volunteer work and most voters don't seem to mind the momentary interruption.


Dialing for Votes: We did 7 phone banking sessions this season with one more to go on Monday, mostly with the Davidson County Young Democrats, who are great partners. We called hundreds of voters. While not as personal as a door knock, you learn where unions make a difference, who cares about guns, who votes based on political party, and who keeps the yard sign in the garage so it can be put back out every two years.


The end is in sight: We don't know whether we'll be celebrating or commiserating on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, but I can honestly say that we did our part this year and actively worked to elect a better Legislature. We are grateful to all the volunteers who gave their time to support good candidates. It's now up to you get out and VOTE EQUALITY!



-Chris Sanders

The Last Week before We Know: Final Runup to State Legislative Races

This is it. This is the last week we have before we know what the 107th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee will look like. We won't get another to make a difference.

It's almost too corny to say we stand at a precipice, but I don't really care about how trite the phrase rings right now.

We stand at a precipice.

The 107th General Assembly is being voted in at this moment, with our voices in the process silenced ominously at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on November 2 (unless you happen to be in the voting line right before 7:00, in which case you can stay until you vote, but you know what I mean).

Why does it matter? Everyone in Tennessee ought to know, but not everyone does. To repeat what we've said many times, the 107th General Assembly of the State of Tennessee will redistrict our congressional and legislative districts for the next 10 years!

TEP has been trying to inform our community of this fact for months. Other organizations have been doing the same for their members. The state's two major political parties are certainly aware of the fact. But most of the citizens have no idea that we're locking some things in with this coming election.

Our PAC has been more active in this election than in any other since we were founded. And this week through the last hour on November 2 we will be engaged in a marathon of activities to support our favorite candidates. Whether 2 people show up for any particular event or 50, we're going to fight like never before to play a role in the outcome.

If you're just realizing how important this year's legislative races are or if you've just decided you're going to use this week for all its worth to elect the best Legislature under the circumstances, you're not too late to make a difference.

*Vote if you haven't done so and bring friends to the polls.
*Join us for phonebanking this week and next in Nashville for some great candidates around the State. We'll be making calls into West TN, Knoxville, and Nashville, too. And we could use more voices because some of us are getting hoarse.
*Hold signs at the polls for good candidates to increase visibility.
*Contribute to good campaigns while it will still help them.

If you need help or more information with any of those steps, let us know at chris@tnequalityproject.com .

Do what you can now so that we have no regrets when we wake up on November 3. After that, it's Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and then the new Legislature convenes in Nashville.

There's still time. It's a scary thing not to know what next week holds, but we can still shape the outcome. Let's do it!

-Chris Sanders

Saturday Brunch on the Go: Probable Hate Crime in Vonore and more

Brunch came from Hardee's today. Cancel that. It was breakfast. It's too early for brunch and the ballcapped customers would have looked at me like I was crazy if I had asked them, "How's your brunch this morning?" Our president, H.G. Stovall, is on the road today and he and I always make a stop at Hardee's when we travel for TEP. So I raise my cup of Diet Coke to you, H.G., and wish you safe travels.

Hate crime in Vonore, TN: A fire that destroyed the home of a lesbian couple in Vonore about a week ago is finally getting some media attention. Here's WATE's coverage complete with a photo of "Queers" spraypainted on the house. More coverage is available from The Daily Times (Blount County). The couple had been harassed by a neighbor in the weeks leading up to the incident. The only fortunate, though ironic, aspect of the story is that the couple and their daughter were in Nashville celebrating their 5th anniversary of moving into the house while it burned to the ground.

PFLAG Maryville, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, and the East TN Equality Council have offered support to the family. If you would like to help, Knoxville Pridefest's blog offers specific ways to do that.

We are all hopeful that the family remain safe and that they get justice under the Tennessee hate crimes statute and the new federal hate crimes law. The matter is in the hands of law enforcement and we will all be watching how they handle the matter.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: As many of you heard, a federal judge has declared the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy unconstitutional. It's good news, but it's not stopping advocacy groups around the country from pressing the Senate for a legislative repeal. Tomorrow the TEP Nashville Committee is holding a Don't Ask, Don't Tell Barbecue at Stirrup to get our members to contact Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker to support repeal. That will be an uphill climb, but we believe they still need to hear from us so that they know people in Tennessee want to see this outdated, harmful, discriminatory policy changed.

Volunteers are signing up: This week TEP PAC started recruiting volunteers for pro-equality candidates for the General Assembly. We're getting a great response. What I'm noticing is that candidates are having a tough time getting all the help they need. We believe that they will be a valuable resource to candidates who deserve the help. If you would like to volunteer 2 hours between September 20 and November 2 to help a good candidate, contact us at chris@tnequalityproject.com and we'll try to find a match for you.

Have a great weekend!
-Chris Sanders

Tennessee (non) Volunteers

Citing a Corporation for National and Community Service survey, the Knoxville News Sentinel is reporting that Tennessee ranks 39th among the states in volunteering. Nashville did a little better, coming in at position number 22 among 50 large cities in volunteer rate and 30 out of 50 in volunteer hours.

The largest category of volunteering in Nashville was understandably religious. 44.1% of those who volunteer do so through their faith communities. One of the lowest categories was civic, coming in at 4.2%. But compared with other Southern cities, that rate is slightly higher than most, although Atlanta came in at 4.6% and Orlando came in at a whopping 9.3%.

Charlotte-4%
Memphis-3.5%
Louisville-4.2%
Birmingham-3.6%
Jacksonville-3.3%
Raleigh-2.6%

Even given Nashville's comparatively high rating for civic volunteering, I'm surprised it's not higher. Not only have we seen an explosion of neighborhood associations that engage Metro government, but most of the statewide advocacy groups on several issues as well as the state political parties are based here.