Wow! Can you believe they are going into ANOTHER special session? I’ll talk more about why later in this email. It’s been a long year for all of us advocates in Oklahoma, but we still need to make our voices heard in this special session. The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to […]
Author Archives: Kara Joy McKee
Video from Nov 30th, Senate District Meetings, and Save The Date!
Thanks again to everyone who joined us on November 30th! In addition to our group discussion, we were able to schedule some small group meetings with state senators for next week. We also set the date for our next statewide meeting! I hope those of you who weren’t there get some good information and connection […]
Our statewide meeting is only 2 days away and you can join from anywhere!
Together Oklahoma members all over the state will gather in person and via video conference on Thursday, November 30th from 5:30-7:30 PM. If you can’t make it to the events in Norman, Tulsa, Stillwater, or OKC to join us in person, you can still join us using our favorite new tool, called Zoom. Zoom lets […]
In special session two, the pressure is on!
We don’t yet know when lawmakers will be back for the second special session, but the advocacy strategy is much the same. You need to know who is on your team and how you can best influence Oklahoma Legislators. On Nov 30th we will be hosting the Statewide Together Oklahoma Meeting: intensify the pressure Typically […]
Go vote and then get ready!
(Many of you have items on your ballot today so don’t forget to check! Go to the election board website to look up your ballot or check out the resources on badvoter.org) We have seen the chaos of special session devolve into a slash and dash band-aid on the gushing wound that is our state budget. […]
Are we going to let them forget us?
Sometimes it seems like many state legislators are in a bubble that the realities of life in Oklahoma cannot penetrate. This has been a hard year, but one positive takeaway is that I am seeing more of those bubbles burst. Thanks to your advocacy efforts, more legislators are hearing your stories. BUT so far that […]
WHAT is going on at the Oklahoma State Capitol?
The Oklahoma mental health community delivered a press conference on Wednesday, October 18th that shook the state. If our legislators don’t act soon, many clinics will close, people will lose access to treatment, and Oklahomans will get furloughed or lose their jobs. We knew this could be coming, but many of our friends and neighbors […]
Legislators are headed back to the Capitol next week, and so are we
We’re hearing that legislators are likely to return to special session next Monday, Oct 9th, and we will be there too. Sign up for your shift visiting the Capitol or making calls to TOK members here! We will continue calling Oklahomans all weekend and activating them to speak out, because legislators need to hear from […]
NO new cuts! Fix the shortfall! Teacher pay raise! sing it with me now
Do you know what a big deal it is that Republican Senators are coming up to me at the Capitol saying, “I don’t know what we are going to do, but I can tell you this, NO MORE CUTS!” They are finally starting to get it! Saying it out loud is the first step to […]
Exactly how many of us does it take to level the playing field?
There are more than 300 registered lobbyists in Oklahoma. Some of them do this work for the right reasons, but many others are working for well-funded special interests who absolutely DON’T want what you want. If we are going to counterbalance money power with people power, we need effective citizen advocates to vastly outnumber the […]
