Civic Engagement and Democracy

"We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be a country that is bruised, but whole, benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation."  -- Amanda Gorman, Youth Poet Laureate, January 20, 2021

I was angry.

Normally my Thanksgiving message is pretty easy -- I talk about the things that Clean Water has to be thankful for and then profusely thank our members for the support throughout the year. And we do have plenty to be thankful for and I will thank you, but I also want to acknowledge that 2020 has been a long, tough year.

In the weeks and months leading up to Election Day, Clean Water Action didn’t just work to turn out as many votes as possible for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, along with other clean water leaders from mayors’ offices to state houses to Congress. We were also planning for what would happen on Election Day and once the polls closed. There was a genuine concern that we might face a constitutional crisis, that millions of voters would be wrongly disenfranchised, that our elections systems could have broken down.