PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower our neighbors to make our City a better place to live. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Join the Justice Picket; Help Build Air Filters for a School
Educate: Housing Voucher Program Reopens Next Week
Empower: Sign Up for Annual "All Hands" Meeting (Virtual); Vote for Endorsements
Annual "All-Hands" Membership Meeting
Saturday, January 28th, 3PM-4:30PM, Virtual
Our most important meeting of the year will take place on Saturday, January 28th starting at 4PM. It's our annual All-Hands Meeting that will take place virtually (via Zoom).
There is a lot of press around who will be our next mayor, so our meeting will be a great time to hear from one of the top contenders. PNN-endorsed candidate for Mayor Helen Gym will kick off our meeting as she shares her vision for the city and her priorities should she get elected. You'll have an opportunity to ask her questions.
Later in the program, Rep Chris Rabb will talk about what’s on the horizon in Harrisburg with the new state house (almost) in place, and how it could affect Philly. We'll highlight our accomplishments, and provide opportunities to engage on important issues that will help move us forward in 2023.
Our action-packed agenda will include:
Highlights of the Year. We've had a busy year. Get a review of all the actions, rallies, issue and electoral campaigns in which PNN participated.
Issue Work. Criminal justice & prison reform, the environment, economic justice & public banking, housing, and education. Learn how you can plug into this work.
Election Plan. We will roll out PNN’s plan to Get Out the Vote. This local election will shape the direction of Philly for the next four years and longer.
Now is the time to sign up for our Annual All Hands Meeting to learn how you can make a difference. Once you sign up, the zoom information will be sent to you.
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It's PNN Endorsement Season
Here's How You Can Vote on Endorsements
The 2023 Primary is coming up on May 16 and it’s time for all of us to get involved at PNN to endorse the best candidates possible. Right now, we are in the process of endorsing city council candidates which includes a Questionnaire, Interview,
Recommendation by the Steering Committee, and a Vote by PNN dues paying members.
The vote for city council candidates will be in early February and open to all dues-paying members. There are some very exciting candidates for city council. So make sure you are a dues-paying member if you want to vote on the endorsements.
It's easy to become a member of PNN and here’s how:
Who is a Dues Paying PNN Member: Anyone who made a financial contribution of any amount to PNN during the period starting Nov 1, 2021 up to the date of the election is a dues paying member and can vote on the endorsements.
How to Become a Dues Paying Member: If you are not already a dues paying PNN member, just go to our donation link and make a donation.
Dues Paying PNN Members will be notified of the endorsement vote and given the opportunity to vote. The year of 2023 will certainly be a year of challenges and opportunities and we look forward to your participation.
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Picket for Justice, Part III
Wednesday, January 25th, 11AM-1PM, CJC, 1301 Filbert Street
Join us at the Criminal Justice Center on January 25th as we continue to picket for justice and call on Judge Genece Brinkley to resign. This work is a visibility event designed to raise awareness about an elected official whose behavior from the bench has betrayed the trust of the people who elected her.
Many people of color have experienced abuse of power– families broken, jobs lost, houses foreclosed – at the hands of troubled judges like Genece Brinkley, whose behavior on the bench has been so egregious that she was transferred from criminal to civil court and is facing legal battles for her misconduct.
That’s why we are reaching out for a response of solidarity to call upon Genece Brinkley to resign from her position as judge in Philadelphia.
She will be up for retention in the fall and we are laying the groundwork for what has until now been an improbable task - getting the voters to vote AGAINST RETENTION of a sitting judge. It is time for Genece Brinkley to go. No need to sign up, just show up.
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ALERT: Housing Voucher Program Reopens Jan 23rd!
The City has decided to reopen the Housing Choice Voucher Waitlist, for the first time in a decade! That's great news for folks who need assistance with housing. The twist is that this time it will take place as a lottery, with drawings taking place as homes become available.
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Want to Help Corsi-Rosenthal Build Boxes?
Wednesday, February 8th, 3PM-4:30PM, Lingelbach Elementary,6340 Wayne Ave
If you want to help the Lingelbach Elementary school build 25 inexpensive air filters for the students, then we're looking for you! The Corsi-Rosenthal Box fan air filter is a DIY air filter made from a box fan and air conditioner filters. Here is some data from air tests at Lingelbach that highlight the need for these filters.
Ideally, we would have 2 adults and one student to build each filter. This will also be an opportunity for folks to get plugged into the larger building conditions fight, because we know these filters are not a permanent solution.
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This Week in History
Jan 20, 2009 – Obama Becomes President. On this day in 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the first black President of the United States.
Jan 21, 1946 – Steel Workers Strike. Facing economic hardships after returning from the war, 750,000 steel workers went on strike for better pay and working hours and to protest mass firings by steel mill owners.
Jan 22, 1973 – Roe v. Wade. On this day, the Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision, that a woman’s right to choose an abortion was protected by the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. On June 24th, 2022 a reactionary Supreme Court overturned it in 6-3 decision.
Jan 26, 1907 – Tillman Act. In an attempt to curtail what they viewed as political campaign funding abuses, Congress passed the Tillman Act, banning corporations from expending money from their treasuries to influence a federal election. Campaign contributions are now recognized as a form of speech partly protected by the First Amendment.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director