Two things:
- Donating for Democracy
- Your Homework Before My Next Newsletter
FIRST – DONATING FOR DEMOCRACY,
Today is Hudson Gives which is a 24-hour, virtual fundraising campaign and competition that unites our community in support of local causes. I would like to ask you to consider donating to a cause that is close to my heart – Democracy via a DONATION to NJ Appleseed Public Interest Law Center which I am a proud board member of. If everyone who reads my newsletters donated just $10 – a true pro-democracy, grass roots effort - NJA would be funded for two years (but feel free to donate even more!).
In Hudson County, NJA is , protecting democratic rights, championing ranked choice voting, advocating for affordable healthcare, fighting against unconscionable rent increases and displacement, resolving disputes over open space (UDD & Monarch), and ensuring government transparency (OPRA). On this vein, Monday I joined Renee Steinhagen, Executive Director of NJA and Voter Choice NJ, in Trenton to lobby legislators to support legislation to allow Ranked Choice Voting. And today I went to Trenton to once again speak at a senate hearing against a proposed bill that will gut our Open Public Records Act.
Unfortunately, the senate committee advanced the anti-democratic bill to the floor for a vote next week in the face of tremendous opposition. The two specific provisions I spoke to included:
- elimination of OPRA requestors to recover their legal fees if they win a lawsuit against a government agency for public records – this will make it impossible for anyone without means to fight for public records.
- new provision that weaponizes government agencies and allow them to sue residents if they feel OPRA requests are harassing (undefined).
The first discriminates against low income, minorities in particular. The second is a page out of an autocratic government. What the F is happening with our state representatives??? So, if you have a few dollars and support democracy and the people who fight for it, I would greatly appreciate you donating to NJ Appleseed to help us meet our goal tonight! DONATE
SECOND – YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE MY NEXT NEWSLETTER
To read the following three articles, in order.
Why in order? Because the story progresses with each article.
Tomorrow / Friday, there will be another legislative hearing - this time one in the Assembly for the parallel gutting OPRA bill. Ironically, AsM John Allen has said he will oppose the bill because he "believes in transparency and good government". No, it is not April Fools. At the same time this is happening, a Hudson County judge will determine how much the City of Hoboken has to pay to reimburse an OPRA requestor for reasonable legal fees, who was denied access to a 15 page document by the Bhalla administration when John Allen was Asst. Corporation Counsel in Hoboken. The denial was already deemed illegal by a judge last October. The award is expected to be in the thousands.
As always, please share this with everyone you know who may be interested and reach out any time on any issue important to you: 201-208-1764 or [email protected]. Click to subscribe to my newsletter.
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
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