Join IMV for our NY22 Candidate Forum Sunday

But first...see our report on Brandon Williams' Sham Town Hall...

Please join us for a peaceful, quiet demonstration outside his town hall. We will demonstrate for about 45 minutes then enter the town hall.  

Rep Williams' Town Hall at VVS Thursday, April 25th VVS High School ( 5275 State Route 31, Verona)

Take Action, Show Up

In 2024, we face our biggest challenge yet.  We must convince voters that their votes matter, and that voting for Democrats is necessary in 2024-- to save democracy and protect our freedoms-- as well to continue the Biden administration's tentative but important steps toward building a more equitable and green economy. 

That's why we each one of us needs to work on two fronts: Weakening Brandon Williams (and Elise Stefanik!) in the eyes of voters. And, supporting our local Democratic candidates for Congress in NY22 (the three contenders shown in the photo) and NY21. 

Are You Registered For Our NY22 Candidate Forum?

Why:

• Because the NY22 election is among the two or three the most contested congressional races in the country, and we must have the best possible Democratic candidate to face Brandon Williams on the ballot.

• We want to generate enthusiasm for volunteering and for voting in the primary election in June.

• Your credibility when talking to voters will be higher when you can say you personally met the candidate and have heard them talk about the things that matter to that voter.

Pre-registration required.

Register now for the NY22 candidate event.

What: Interviews plus meet & greet with NY22 Candidates. We will hear from each of the three candidates in separate 25 minute interviews. Senator John Mannion, Councilwoman Sarah Klee Hood, and Professor Clemmie Harris have all confirmed their attendance.

When: Sunday, April 28th, 3-5 pm
Where: Jewish Community Center, 2310 Oneida Street, Utica
Pre-registration is required.

There are still two days of early voting--today and tomorrow. (No voting on Sunday because of the Easter holiday). Voting is available at local polling places on Tuesday, April 2 from 6am-9pm. You can see Oneida County early voting locations and hours as well as look up your poll location for Election Day HERE. For other counties, check your county Board of Election website. Be a voter-every single time! #VoteEarly #BeAVoter #Voting.

Also read a summary of what we covered in this past Wednesday’s Zoom meeting.

We're headed into the final weekend of petitioning--Yay! Then on Wednesday, you're invited to join IMV for our March 2024 meeting on Zoom.

And don’t forget the Presidential Primary on April 2, with early voting March 23-30.

As you wrap up a busy month of petitioning, take a seat and rest your feet while you join IMV for our March 2024 meeting --Wednesday, March 27th, 7-8 pm--on Zoom this time. We will meet Adrienne Martini, currently on the Otsego County Board of Representatives, who is running against Brian Miller for the 122nd State Assembly and also Jenna Azeez, the new DCCC organizing director for NY22. We'll learn more about the NY Equal Rights Amendment, which will be on the back of our ballots in November, and the huge coalition working to get it passed.

Kudos to the Syracuse Post/Syracuse.com for their lengthy and detailed reporting this week in a piece headlined "Rep. Brandon Williams is absent on Central NY issues while fighting ‘progressive fantasies’"

Very little of what is reported will come as a surprise to those of us who've carefully observed William's first 14 months in office. He and his staff are mostly AWOL. He shows little interest in advocating on behalf of the district and almost no care and concern for the needs of constituents.

IMV had a big win last Friday when The Daily Sentinel published a front page article about Brandon Williams hosting Mike Johnson in New Hartford for a $1000 per person breakfast--and used our press release quotes from IMV and Citizen Action in full. If you haven't seen it, you can read the article here.

And read on for details of our new Congressional district lines in NY-22 and NY-21.

New Hartford, NY - Congressman Brandon Williams is hosting a fundraiser with Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday, February 22nd early in the morning at the Yahnundasis Golf Club. The lowest ticket price is $1,000 per person and a photo with Speaker Johnson will cost more than $13,000 each.

“Why do constituents have to come to Rep. Williams with money equivalent to their rent payment in their hands in order to have a conversation with him? He didn’t want to have a dialogue with anyone at his free, public town halls last year,” says Indivisible Mohawk Valley, a local political activism group active in Oneida County.

IMV friends, you know already that 2024 is the election that will either end in the last gasp of a body politic weakened from the daily assaults of the disease of MAGA extremism or democracy will get the medicine it needs to recover and begin to heal. We will all need to focus our attention fully on making sure that this patient---our functional democracy--survives the year. You are a critical part of democracy's "medical team." Plan your goals now for carrying petitions (Feb 27-March 28), phone banking and texting voters, reaching out to friends and family to get them involved, writing letters to the editor, and much more. Elections aren't won by magic. Democracy is not a spectator sport!

According to a piece by the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), a first amendment protection organization, NY22's Representative, Brandon Williams, recently participated in a Christian nationalist event at The Bible Museum in DC FFRF reported on the event last week, calling it a "regressive circus."

Let's make sure NY22 knows that Brandon Williams decided to spend his time as our elected representative paid by tax dollars, attending a Christian Nationalist, anti-LGTB, Bible Museum regressive circus in DC. The religious values that Williams chooses to live by in his personal life are his business. But we should not have to live by Brandon Williams's religious rules.

Thanks to all those who came to our January meeting at Schuyler Commons on Sunday! If you were not able to attend, know that we missed you. We all got a chance to practice how to thread together our core values with the key 2024 election themes through storytelling about the people in our lives who matter to us.

It was a full agenda and a packed two hours, but we were especially glad to welcome some first timers including just-announced Democratic candidate for NY State Senate 53, James Meyers. The seat is currently held by Joe Griffo, who has been unchallenged on the ballot for 14 years! You can read more about his announcement--and his endorsement from County Legislator Caroline Reale-- in this Utica Phoenix article.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our January 2024 IMV meeting this Sunday (January 28th) at 2:00 pm. We are meeting at Schuyler Commons at 1776 Independence Square (North Utica). There is plenty of accessible parking.

We will be tracking weather, so if it looks like it's going to cause significant challenges for driving, we will send out an email Saturday and switch to Zoom.

We have a fun, engaging activity planned that will help us come up with great messaging to share with voters in 2024--and even practice it so we keep building our messaging skills. We can't wait to see you on Sunday!

You're invited to our first IMV meeting of 2024 on Sunday, Jan. 28th, 2-4 pm at Schuyler Commons at 1776 Independence Square (North Utica). There is plenty of accessible parking. We will be tracking weather, so if it looks like it's going to cause challenges for driving, we will send out an email in advance and switch to Zoom. But based on your feedback at our December meeting, in-person meetings were the preference.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event we held last Saturday, Jan. 6th in front of the Utica Police Department. We had about 40 people in attendance and good media coverage including an interview that our own Kathy Wojo did on camera with WKTV.

Most people don't pay attention to any aspect of politics or government, so our goal was to remind people in our own community how terrible it was to see our Capitol building violently attacked at the command of the previous guy.

Brandon Williams says he didn't pay any attention when our capitol was violently attacked even though he had taken an oath in the military to protect our country.

Our goal is to remind NY22 voters just how terrible MAGA Republicans are for our health, our community, for truth and for the survival of our stable form of government.

Please join IMV for a January 6th Remembrance Vigil in Utica:

We will gather on the third anniversary of the deadly attack on the US Capitol Building to honor the heroic law enforcement officers who stood their ground to protect American democracy. A moment of silence will be held at 12:49pm, marking the moment when rioters began to breach the Capitol Building.

Please join IMV for a January 6th Remembrance Vigil in Utica.

Thanks to all who attended our final IMV meeting of the year in Utica at the Energy Zone. If you couldn't make it, we missed you!

We made a big poster based on more than 100 of your post-it note suggestions for "2024 New Year's Resolutions for Brandon Williams" and it was delivered to his office yesterday by a small group of IMV volunteers. Click in to see our suggestions for him!