Attend Brandon Williams' Sham Town Hall
What You Can Do to Defeat Rep. Williams on Two Fronts
Front #1: Weaken Him in the Eyes of the Voters
Brandon Williams doesn't care about our communities in NY22 and doesn't show up for us. He doesn't listen. He has his MAGA talking points and his personal agenda to privatize nuclear power and enrich himself and his company. While he's doing that, he joins with MAGA Mike Johnson in the Christian Nationalist campaign to take away our freedoms and embolden the insurrectionists. Yuck.
This week you can take three actions on this front:
1) Attend Rep. Williams' Sham Town Hall
Rep Williams' Town Hall at VVS
Thursday, April 25th, 6:30 pm
VVS High School ( 5275 State Route 31, Verona)
Note: We've been to this rodeo. He screens the questions, doesn't ever listen to the voice of a single one of his constituents, leaves without shaking a single hand. We have "won" the media at his previous town halls by showing up in good numbers with our red cards. We have to keep this pressure on.
Then:
2) Talk to your friends and neighbors about Williams. Make sure they know how you feel and why.
3) Write a Letter to the Editor. If you need help, join one of the LTE workshops below, or contact our LTE work group (email: IndivisibleMV@gmail.com)
Front #2 Support Our Excellent NY22 Democratic Candidates
The most important thing you can do next is to attend:
IMV's NY22 Congressional Candidate Primary Forum
Sunday, April 28th, 3-5 pm
Jewish Community Center (2310 Oneida Street, Utica)
Co-Sponsored by the Oneida County Democratic Women's Club
Registration required. Register HERE
Each candidate will be interviewed for 25 minutes. There will be time for meet and greet and for signing up to help your preferred candidate win the Democratic primary on June 25th. No matter who wins, we will get behind the Democratic candidate challenging Brandon Williams in the general election in November. That is an election that we must win in a blue wave in order to flip the House as well as hold the White House and Senate. Our freedoms and our futures depend on it.
Update on the NY State Budget and A Call to Action
In response to Governor Kathy Hochul’s announced “parameters of a conceptual framework,” the loud voices of Invest in Our New York Campaign, of which IMV has been part for many years, released the following statement:
“The Governor’s commitment to protecting the pockets of the ultra-rich over those of working-class New Yorkers will further entrench the income inequality gap in our state. The Governor’s claim that ‘tough decisions must be made’ is cruel political posturing to disguise a budget that is balanced on the backs of working-class people. These claims are especially egregious when we are leaving billions of dollars on the negotiating table.
There was an opportunity this year to raise taxes on multimillionaires, billionaires, and highly profitable corporations, which would have resulted in billions of new, recurring public dollars. Governor Hochul had an opportunity to demonstrate real leadership but instead governed at the whims of her rich billionaire donors. Again.”
As the budget nears a deal, Citizen Action and other groups across the state have appealed for all of us to respond to the call out by Housing Justice for All to get our state reps to refuse to go along with Gov. Hochul's plan to sell out renters to corporate developers and landlords. PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW:
Housing Justice for All Calls - Call your representatives and tell them this housing deal is a slap in the face for tenants. Calls will only take 2 minutes! Click to act: https://housingjusticeforall.org/our-platform/take-action-call-your-representative/
More Letter to the Editor Workshops on Zoom!
Kudos to the LTE writers who filled the pages of the Syracuse Post on Sunday with their Anti-Brandon Williams letters. We're going to need to keep those letters going--and address the issues directly that matter to voters--and provide some voter education for issues that need more attention before November.
Indivisible OneNYS's regular Letter to the Editor workshop series will feature an expert guest speaker on a topic that is relevant in this year's election cycle in New York. Come learn more about the topic including what language to use and avoid. Then we'll learn about best practices for writing an effective LTE before giving people time to get started. Several IMV members attended the LTE workshop about Reproductive Freedom this past week. Let's keep it up!
Tuesday, April 30th at 7-8pm. Register here. Come learn how to write a letter-to-the-editor about immigration. Guest speaker is Asher Ross from the New York Immigration Coalition.
Wednesday, May 8th, 12-pm. New York LTE Workshop on the NY ERA, Come learn how to write a letter-to-the-editor about the NY Equal Rights ballot measure. Guest speaker is Nia Alvarez-Mapp, Organizing Director from the NYers for Equal Rights coalition. Register here.
Tuesday, May 21st, 12-1 pm, New York LTE Workshop on the IRA, On May 21st, we're learning about the Inflation Reduction Act from Trisha Maharaj from Indivisible's Policy Team. More people need to learn about this tremendous, historic piece of legislation. Register HERE.
Climate Crisis Working Group Action
For Earth Day: Call Comptroller DiNapoli, Monday, April 22nd
Call NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli at 866-961-4293 (or 518 474-4044) and tell him it is time to divest from Exxon, Shell, Chevron and the rest of the oil and gas companies.
Message: “Please fully divest the state pension from oil and gas companies, especially Exxon. You need to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and stop investing in companies that knowingly created the climate crisis, which threatens the future of humanity.”
If you’d like more background you can read it here.
To Sum Up: Take Action, Show Up
Our IMV super power is YOU! Seven years ago we were holding climate marches in Utica and Rome. We were picketing Rep. Tenney's office weekly and were just about to hold our first large scale anti-Tenney #CareForAll protest outside Cavallo's. We defeated her at the polls in 2018! Along with Indivisibles across the country we rallied support to save the ACA so most Americans could access health care. We have mobilized on the climate crisis and reproductive freedom again and again. We have had electoral success for our candidates, and some defeats. We. Never. Gave. 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 and NY21.
This week:
1) Attend the Brandon Williams Town Hall at VVS on Thursday, April 25th
2) Attend an LTE Workshop and/or write an LTE
3) Make calls about housing justice in the NYS budget and divesting NYS from fossil fuels
4) Sign up for IMV's NY22 Candidate Forum HERE
5) If you have not yet signed up for Indivisible's Neighbor2Neighbor, do it now HERE.
Thanks for taking action and showing up this week. Democracy is not a spectator sport.
Breathe Deeply Through Your Activism...Happy Earth Day!
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