Thread by @BritneyDWhaley

It’s been a minute since I’ve tweeted but maybe I’m back? At least for now so I can say my piece…A thread about @WFPGeorgia, the amazing work of organizers and burnout #gapol #atlpol #thread 🧵

Shall we talk about elections in GA (& in general) and what we have accomplished at @WfpGeorgia #gapol #atlpol /1

.@WfpGeorgia started this cycle with State of the City events where we laid out our plan to run a progressive slate in ATL and gave voters an opportunity to inform which issues we included in our vetting/endorsement process #gapol #atlpol /2

Voters told us we should focus on 3 main issue areas: Public Safety, Health and Wellness and Housing Justice. We took that and ran with it 🏃🏾‍♀️#gapol #atlpol /3

In addition to having public & recorded interviews w/candidates, we asked them to go beyond the sound bite and tell us exactly where they were on key questions grouped under the three main issues #gapol #atlpol /4

We asked several questions
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Will you close down ACDC and repurpose it as a center for equity❓

Will you support moratorium on evictions❓

Will you relieve APD from quality of life policing❓

We wanna know! #gapol #atlpol /5

Georgia WFP then published score cards so voters knew EXACTLY what the candidates said they would / would not do should they be elected. Receipts: wfpus.org/atlscorecard21 #gapol #atlpol /6

We worked w/an endorsement cmte of community organizations, activists & progressive leaders to make tough decisions on where we would focus our resources. Made a decision to stay out of the ATL mayoral & double down on council races. bit.ly/3DmQSfm #gapol #atlpol /7

Once we endorsed, it was goooo time! @FallonMcClureGA, our Organizing Director said let’s go ham. We did everything from billboards to digital to on the ground engagement. We sent a message: nobody is safe! #gapol #atlpol /8

On the other side, we had a team of staff/vols work closely w/our candidates. Truly inspired 2 dig in & show up as a united force 4 @CallMeShivy, @DevinForAtlanta, @antoniolewisatl, @LilianaforATL, @ErikaForAtlanta, @CourtneyEnglish @JodiMerriday to name a few #gapol #atlpol /9

In total, our team sent north of 300k text msgs, 15,000 calls and knocked 7,500 doors. Putting in that work.#gapol #atlpol /10

We also worked closely with @atl_communities (heeeeeey fam! @AAAFund, @ngpaction, @GLAHR_ & others) to educate voters and send a clear message - some of yall gotta go…BYEEE 👋🏾👋🏾!

https://twitter.com/atl_communities/status/1461010725195993095?s=20

#gapol #atlpol /11

But here’s the thing: this work comes with sacrifice and is labor intensive. Our days were long and we had very few breaks since July of last year when we started to ramp up for 2020 General Elections! #gapol #atlpol /12

Here to shout out everyone who has been working GA elections for the past 18 or so months with no breaks. I see you! #gapol #atlpol /13

Election cycles aren’t supposed to be nonstop like this for. From campaigning for the Presidential (11/3/20) ➡️runoff (1/5/21) ➡️runoff (11/30/21), we have been in the trenches for too long without a break. Can we get a 6 mo moratorium on elections? Nah? #gapol #atlpol /14

So here’s the thing and there’s no way around it: Elections are a sprint. It’s by design. So having elections every few months (the case in GA given PE, GE, specials and runoffs) means campaign operatives/strategists don’t get to slow down. It creates burn out #gapol #atlpol /15

@sisterfire1 @FallonMcClureGA @shedefendsit @minaontheground @KimberlynCarter I hope you are taking a break now! Pacing yourself is not a thing once you’re in the thick of the cycle so let’s take the rest of 2021 to chill #gapol #atlpol /16

Unpopular opinion but we should just wait until 2022 to move the work of 2022. Ditch the desire to squeeze in the last minute eoy planning session. It’s stressful & with the holidays coming, take time to reflect, relax, bake, basket weave 🤷🏾‍♀️. Clear your mind. #gapol #atlpol /17

Lastly, lemme shout out my dope team at WFP. They’ve been deeeeeep in this work. We are all taking two weeks off (thx to WFP for one org-wide week off). Started this year w/ 250k knocks 4 @ReverendWarnock @ossoff @BlackmanDNA & ended w/solid wins. We did that! #gapol #atlpol /18

.@WorkingFamilies team ➡️ @FallonMcClureGA , @led_odraude, @aimeeorleans, Angela, Lizzy, Evan, Ericka, @AmandaElizJ, @JustAnt84, CJ, Gabri #gapol #atlpol /19

Democracy shouldn’t be this hard to uphold. I’m loving on ppl bc I know it’s hard and sometimes feels untenable. It’s unreal how people try to count us out. Our resolve and conviction is noble, and the power we build is in spite of all that’s thrown our way. #gapol #atlpol /20

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