Michigan is a big state, the second largest east of the Mississippi. How would you divide it regionally? In particular, where should the boundaries be for the Western and Northwestern Michigan Kossack groups?
As arbitrary as those boundaries will be, I'm thinking that following county lines makes the most sense. At least there's that level of cohesion and coordination to promote. So, here's my take on what should be where.
WESTERN MICHIGAN: (roughly, from west to east and from south to north)
Berrien
Cass
St. Joseph
Van Buren
Kalamazoo
Allegan
Barry
Ottawa
Kent
Ionia
Muskegon
Oceana
Newaygo
NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN: (from west to east and south to north)
Mason
Lake
Osceola
Manistee
Wexford
Benzie
Grand Traverse
Kalkaska
Leelanau
Antrim
Charlevoix
Emmet
Please keep in mind that I am hoping to generate interest in an Eastern Michigan Kossacks group, and a Central Michigan Kossacks group--although only the second will have the state university whose name it bears within its jurisdiction. I'm not sure yet where the Thumb will go; maybe its own separate group? And, of course, the UP is its own territory altogether. ;) For that matter, perhaps it'll make more sense in the long run to have a Northern MI group that is mapped onto MI-1 instead. We can certainly tweak and adjust as we grow.
Also: everyone is welcome to attend any meetup, no matter where you live and where the meetup is! I've been to several great meetups out-of-state, and I'm looking forward to meeting many other Kossacks at our first out-state meetups, in Northwestern and Western MI, next month.
Here's our meetup schedule again FYI:
Friday, August 14th, at 4:00 PM, at the Democratic Party HQ for Benzie County, 9930 Honor Highway, Honor, MI. It's between Indian Hill Road and the Cherry Bowl Drive-In on the North side of the road. Afterwards, anyone who’s able to stick around can regroup nearby at Papa J’s [no relation to Papa John's!] for a great meal and more stimulating conversation.
Saturday, August 15th, 2:00 PM, at a private residence in Holland, MI. (RSVP for the address & to let the host know how many to expect for lunch :)
Please join after the orange handclasp for more news about Michigan.
Last week, I asked for information about prospective ballot proposals.
Here's what I have heard of so far:
* Legalized marijuana
* Citizen-run, non-partisan congressional district redistricting commission
* Graduated state income tax
* Vote-by-mail
* Statewide ban on fracking
PLUS:
* Tax hike for major corporations to help pay for MI road repair (h/t Eclectablog, via judyms9 in a comment below)
Are there others that I have missed? Please do weigh in. I would welcome any and all offers to write about these issues for the State Open Thread, so please let me know if you're interested.
Lastly, I have a thought, inspired in large part by Chris Reeves, state organizer extraordinaire: Can we convene a delegation of Kossacks to visit our legislators when they're back in session? Either during their various "lobbyists days," or just because? Similarly, how about the possibility of having Kossacks present to cover legislative sessions, especially on hot-button topics and bills? Seems like a good way to educate ourselves, as long as we then turn our observations into public reports, namely Daily Kos diaries. Think about it, and let me know. I'll continue to ask.
Shamelessly borrowing from another State Coordinator, randallt:
Please help us build this weekly Michigan thread so that it includes relevant to turning MI Blue again that you would like me to highlight. MI contributors always welcome!
You can reach me through kosmail at peregrine kate.
Or say hi through email here: peregrinekate@gmail.com
And please follow me on Twitter @peregrinekate
(though I do confess I have a looong way to go before I use Twitter effectively.)
Glad you're here! The floor is yours.