UPDATE! RootsCamp will include a jobs fair! For more info, click here

 

RootsCamp 2008 Session Topics

 

Click here to submit an idea for a session topic or commentary on existing proposals. It will be posted on this page. You will be given the option of having your topic posted anonymously.

 

Sessions will happen organically the day of the event - be sure to come early to reserve a session time & space! At right, the sessions board for the RootsCamp that recently took place in Denver, CO. We will have a similar chart at our RootsCamp.

 

 

  • '08 Ballot initiatives overview (suggested by Lorraine Bieber of ProgressOhio.org) Email me if you can lead this session: lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg

 

  • What the Ohio Democratic Party is doing to win in 2008 and build lasting Democratic and Progressive strength at the county and local level (Doug Kelly of the Ohio Democratic Party)  

 

  • 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, and PACs...what they can and can't do, and how they can and can't work together (suggested by Lorraine Bieber of ProgressOhio.org) Email me if you can lead this session: lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg

 

  • Neighborhood based canvassing - a model I developed for Equality Cincinnati in their effort to stop the repeal of a law protecting GLBT folks from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. It was designed to do outreach in communities of color, who were not with us in our 03-04 campaign to put the law in place. (Jill Benavides of Equality Cincinnati) 

 

  • Motivating volunteers and voters in local races. We will discuss some of the obstacles that down ballot races face, as well as brainstorm ideas for getting issues and/or candidates the attention we need to win. (Kelli Hykes, formerly of Planned Parenthood) 

 

  • Ohio Health Care Reform: building grassroots support for affordable health care for all Ohioans, during the 2008 elections and beyond.Health care reform will happen in Ohio: will it be what consumers want? (Cathy Levine of UHCAN uhcanohio.org

 

  • Reproductive Rights organizing in Ohio (Jaime Miracle of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio (naralohio.org)

 

 

  • WWKBD? (What Would Ken Blackwell Do?) What on-the-ground voter suppression tactics are we likely to see in '08? Get up to speed on Ohio's current voter registration laws, voter identification laws, deceptive practices, and voter intimidation.  This is a huge topic, could be divided into multiple sessions as participant interest & session leader availability dictates, for instance policy versus field. Perhaps groups that are already working on getting systems in place could give us a 101 then help individual campaigns & organizations plug in to those efforts effectively.  Email me if you can lead this session: lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg

     

  • Know the Law: Voter ID Intensive  (Suggested by Lorraine Bieber of ProgressOhio.org)     Email me if you can lead this session: lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg. 

     

  • Know the Law: Voter Registration Intensive  (Suggested by Lorraine Bieber of ProgressOhio.org)     Email me if you can lead this session: lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg

 

  • Sustainable Leadership for Grassroots Organizations - What kind of leaders and political leadership skills are needed to sustain long-term progressive change in Ohio? Explore leadership gaps in your grassroots activity and organizations. Learn some key skills for recruiting and maintaining new leadership in your organization. Led by Center for Progressive Leadership staff. If you have questions or ideas about this session, email Joan Javier, jjavier@progressiveleaders.org

 

  • Fund raising through organized Labor for rural Ohio - Michael Van Wagner

 

  • Women in politics in Ohio - Women bloggers, women running for office, women working on campaigns and for nonprofits, etc.... topic focus evolving.  Suggested by Jill Miller Zimon of writeslikeshetalks.com; if you would like to co-lead or if you have additional ideas for this session, email lorraineATprogressohioDOTorg.

 

  • Sustainable Leadership for Grassroots Organizations - What kind of leaders and political leadership skills are needed to sustain long-term progressive change in Ohio? Explore leadership gaps in your grassroots activity and organizations. Learn some key skills for recruiting and maintaining new leadership in your organization. Led by Center for Progressive Leadership staff. If you have questions or ideas about this session, email Joan Javier, jjavierATprogressiveleadersDOTorg

 

  • How to pass an initiative in Ohio: The Ohio Healthy Families Act as a case study. Led by Brian Dunn of the Ohioans for Healthy Families campaign.

 

  • Slactivism: Activism without leaving your living room. For those of us who prefer to "bowl alone," this session could be about writing effective emails (and to whom) and staging solo protests...

    Also, a session about environmental activism efforts in Ohio.  (submitted anonymously by a true slactivist)

     

  •  How to organize a RootsCamp. Are you interested in organizing a RootsCamp in your city or region? We'll discuss what kind of planning went into 2007 & 2008 RootsCamps. Led by Lorraine Bieber of Progress Ohio and Abby Levine.

 

  • The "Store Front Office" as a point of contact for candidates and local party activists. How to find a short term lease for an office that doesn't neccesitate dealing with utilities, having phone and internet access, adequate parking, accesibilty, and visiblity in the community, hours of operation, and manning.  Led by Dave Richards of The Huber Heights democratic Club.
     
  • 9/11: What really happened on September 11, that changed so our national policies, led us into war and surrender our civil liberties? Hans Kohles
  •  
  • Statehouse Press Corps Credentialing: A Pioneering Case Study by ePluribus Media and the OhioNews Bureau. John Spinelli, ONB chief, will review and discuss the four-month effort by ePluribus Media to become an active member of the Ohio Statehouse press corps.   Mr. Spinelli, a former member of the Ohio Statehouse press corps, will lead a discussion on why new-media news and information groups, along with the rise of political bloggers, are gaining ground on Ohio's staid, established mainstream media. Limited numbers of Ohio Statehouse press credential applications will be available. http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/node/453

 

  • Citizens over corporations: Can we have democracy when corporations wield so much power and wealth under law? Strategies to challenge corporate rule. Greg Coleridge, NE Ohio American Friends Service Committee/Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy. Led by Greg Coleridge of NE Ohio American Friends Service Committee

 

  •  

 

Need additional ideas? Last year's ideas here:

From RootsCamp January 2007 . . .

 

This is not a schedule! There are sessions that will happen that are not here and there are sessions here that won't happen. You have to show up to find out! If you have an idea, please email Eric. I'll add your ideas here. We had to close open wiki editing due to some abuse.

Notes for session leaders: Sessions are designed to be primarily interactive, so structure your content with that in mind. We suggest anything that is being presented be limited to 15 minutes so there is 45 minutes for the group to discuss and interact. Make sure you clearly state what your session is about and include your name and email address on the session cards when you post it on the board - we'll explain the day of the event!  If you have material for people in electronic format we suggest you email those requesting it in your session. You may also bring printed copies for session attendees. We won't have handy access to a copier.

 

  • "Effect of Blogs on 2006 Cycle in Ohio" (Eric Vessels ProgressOhio.org )

 

 

  • "The use of multi-media/youtube for election protection: VideoTheVote.org "(Melissa Giraud, League of Young Voters columbus.indyvoter.org )

 

  • "Youth (18-35) organizing in 2006" (Lorraine Bieber, League of Young Voters columbus.indyvoter.org ).

 

  • Building experimental measures into a field plan, how this approach impacted our work (pos/neg) in 05 & 06, etc. (Lorraine Bieber/League of Young Voters can lead)

 

  • The role of neighborhood-based organizing (I (Lorraine Bieber/LYV) can facilitate if needed but I encourage Fighting 21st and/or UAPA to take the lead on this)

 

  • Election Protection (Shaun Tucker of PFAW - People For the American Way)

 

  • How to Strengthen the Ohio Democratic Party at ALL levels Brainstorming Session (cindy at urbancode.com)

 

  • Cultivating the Ohio blogosphere. How do we recruit new talent and avoid attrition? How do we maintain an indy 'sphere without losing bloggers? (Eric Vessels/ProgressOhio)

 

  • A session to work with these "professional campaign managers" who don't seem to know how to work with progressive organizations. I'm sure any number of folks from the Central Ohio coalition plus myself would be willing to be part of a panel discussion as we were very frustrated in the lack of coordinated message and under use of the volunteers, blogs, websites and email lists. (Grace Cherrington/Licking County Pro-Active Citizens)

 

  • The Dos and Dont's of campaign online communication: lessons learned from the '06 cycle - (Russell Hughlock/BuckeyeStateBlog)

 

  • Where do we go from here: building sustainability in Worthington (Lucie Pollard/Worthington Area Democratic Club)

 

  • How to write so people will read (and be influenced): tell your tales of titles, content, sourcing, links, and comments that attracted, or repelled, readers (Jill Miller Zimon/Writes Like She Talks)

 

  • Is there someone who can lead a session on fundraising? (posted by Lorraine Bieber, League of Young Voters)

 

  • Can someone lead a session on something related to the '06 ballot issues, particularly minimum wage? There's a lot to discuss here... for instance, did issue 2 directly or indirectly help get out the vote? How did having issue 2 on the ballot affect the candidate campaigns, both in terms of its impact on GOTV and on the candidates' messaging/platforms? Did the issue 2 campaign help subvert the idea that conservatives & republicans have a monopoly on faith? Now that the campaign for issue 2 is over (well, aside from HB 690), what will happen to all of that? (posted by Lorraine...)

 

  • "DFL Links - Evolution of Online (meetup style) groups, the bridge between Grassroots to the Netroots" (Jason Barnett - DFL Links )

 

  • Session on education funding in Ohio (Scott Piepho)

 

  • Testosterone-neutral Blogging. The focus will be on 1) the unique challenges and rewards of being a woman who participates in and writes a political blog, 2) the need to have both genders participate in political blogging and 3) what to do and not do if you want a good mix of the genders represented at your blog. (Jill from Writes Like She Talks and Lisa Renee from Glass City Jungle)

 

  • Communications strategies - what worked and what didn't? This will be more geared to offline comms and will complement Russell's above. Also will be an am session. (Jennifer Farmer/SEIU and Linda FreemanWalker/America Votes)

 

  • "Absentee Ballot Tracking and Verification": A look at America Votes' 2006 ballot tracking program and how Ohio's current absentee ballot practices can be improved. (Shawn Brown, America Votes)

 

  • Peace Army for Mental Health (Bruce Duncanson)

 

  • Field work in Appachian/Trans-Appalachian Ohio: experiences and lessons learned and ideas for the future. (Allison Petonic - ADA and Lauren Groh-Wargo - SEIU)

 

  • Running a coordinated GOTV program in Ohio in 2006. What worked, what didn't and where can we go from here? (Karen Gasper - America Votes)

 

  • The creation, implementation and evaluation of a coordinated campaign plan that reflects a 20 + group coalition, which includes planning, shared research, coordinated voter contact and assessment. (Scott Nunnery - America Votes)

 

  • Building Long-Term Volunteer Strength: How Organizations Can Integrate Their Political and Non-Political Agendas. (Jed Thorpe and Teresa McHugh - Sierra Club)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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