How Will We Defeat Brandon Williams?
Are You Registered For Our NY22 Candidate Forum?
What: We're going to defeat Brandon Williams starting this month with Our NY 22 Candidate Forum. 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
Who: We are inviting all IMV activists and Democratic and WFP voters who are willing to volunteer for and/or support one of the three Democratic candidates. We hope every person who attends comes to hear the candidate for whom they are already volunteering or leaves knowing which candidate they plan to support (volunteering, donating, lawn signs, etc.) for the June 25th primary.
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.
Please register HERE. Pre-registration is required. Please join us for this important event and share the sign up link with friends who are willing to help flip NY22 in 2024!
Have you met the NY21 Candidate, Paula Collins?
Paula Collins is the Democratic candidate challenging Elise Stefanik in the NY21 congressional race. She appreciated the many people from Oneida and Herkimer County in the new district who carried petitions for her to get on the ballot. Do you want to meet her? She has offered to come to events in person, and we know there will be some of those in Oneida County soon. In the meantime, if you live in NY21 (Herkimer County, Rome, Whitestown, or other areas of Oneida County north of Utica, please consider attending one of these virtual meet and greets:
NY21 MEET THE CANDIDATE Virtual Meetups
Email paula@paulacollinsforcongress.com to get the link, or use the following information on Zoom:
Meeting ID 646 467 4646, Password NY212024
Saturday, April 13, 2024 -- 10am
Sunday, April 14, 2024 -- 3pm
Thursday, April 18, 2024 -- 10am
Monday, April 22, 2024 -- 6pm
Learn about the issues and concerns. Hear from others. Ask questions.
NYS LTE Workshops: Reproductive Freedom and Immigration
Wednesday, April 17th at 12-1pm on Zoom. Register here. Come learn how to write a LTE about reproductive freedom. Guest speaker is Hannah Wheelwright from Indivisible’s policy team with years of experience in the reproductive justice space.
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.
What is Neighbor2Neighbor?
At its simplest, Neighbor2Neighbor is a chance for you to connect with other pro-democracy members of your community and make sure they vote.
That means:
You sign up on our pre-registration page.
In early June, Indivisible will send you a list of 10 Democratic neighbors, a very simple script, and an optional printout to leave behind.
You knock on their doors and have a brief conversation about voting.
That probably doesn’t seem all that different from conversations you’re already having with people in your neighborhood, and that’s the beauty of the tool.
One of the best motivators to hesitant or inconsistent voters is the knowledge that like-minded members of their community are voting too. With Neighbor2Neighbor, you can have conversations with people you may have seen out on a walk, at the dog park, or at the grocery store who you’ll now know are already pro-democracy aligned.
The best part? There’s no app to download, no confusing screen to navigate, no set deadlines (well, besides the election). You talk to your neighbors on your timeline and have a pleasant conversation that also encourages them to vote.
We ask that everyone pre-register for N2N now. IMV members will use the tool for the first time approximately June 7 and then within a few days we will have a social get together (ice cream, anyone?) and share how it went for everybody talking to 10 of our neighbors.
Rural and Red Areas: Do You Feel Left Out?
Join Indivisible’s Rural Caucus for our annual Rural Summit, where "we will hone in on the importance of having hope in red districts and rural America despite the many challenges ahead of us. We will do a deep dive into state-level electoral work that often gets overlooked, focusing on gubernatorial elections, judicial elections, state legislative races, and ballot initiatives. Come and hear from experts in the field on how you can more effectively use Indivisible’s tools and resources to stand in the face of MAGA extremism and harness your own power not just this year but for years to come. Register here for Saturday, April 20th 1:00 - 5:00 PM ET"
Whether or not you can attend the afternoon workshop on Saturday, April 20th, please consider attending the Indivisible OneNYS Rural Call. Wednesday, April 17th, 7:00pm. Julian Sena from Indivisible's Political Team will be talking with us about Neighbor2Neighbor, Indivisible's relational organizing tool to help people talk to 10 friendly neighbors about voting. We will have N2N available statewide to talk to folks about the NY Equal Rights ballot measure! On this call we're going to brainstorm together about how to make this tool and door knocking experience fun for our rural friends. We'll also be talking about setting up a Rural Team for the NY Equal Rights coalition. Register here.
One More Action for Climate to Influence the Budget!
Wondering when we’ll get a final NYS budget? It seems likely that we won’t see a final budget until next week at earliest, which means that we can’t let up pressure for Climate, Jobs, and Justice yet.
Take action to sustain support for #NYHEAT & Climate Superfund today by:
1. Calling Governor Hochul and legislative leaders
2. Emailing Budget Director Blake Washington
Thank you for taking these important actions.
Take Action on IVF and Medicare
Call Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand and demand they protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) access nationwide. The MAGA agenda did not just stop at repealing Roe. They intend to ban contraception, IVF, gender-affirming care, marriage equality, and more. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has introduced the Access to Family Building Act, a bill that would enshrine access to IVF and related services as a federal right, protecting both would-be families and their medical providers. If your senator is a Democrat, call and make sure they are a cosponsor.
When you’re finished calling, send them s an email urging them to protect IVF access.
Email your MoC about cosponsoring H.R. 732 -- the Save Medicare Act. We know the MAGA agenda includes ending Medicare as we know it -- and a big part of their scheme includes handing the reins to private insurers. But we’ve seen what happens when greedy insurance companies are put in charge: Medicare Advantage, the privatized option for Medicare, is rampant with fraud and overspending. If we allow insurance companies unchecked power to run the program, we risk sticking millions of Americans with coverage that promises quality healthcare only to deny coverage for essential care and services. Congress must hold these predatory Medicare Advantage plans accountable, and that starts with blocking the deceptive naming of these private plans.
Update on Gaza and Actions to Take
From Indivisible National: "56 Democratic representatives sent a letter to the White House last Friday strongly urging President Biden to reconsider sending new arms to Israel (notably, this list included Nancy Pelosi for the first time). More leaders are coming to the understanding that Netanyahu will not stop the atrocities without stronger intervention, and we have a duty to the innocent people of Gaza not to help provide their means to their destruction.
In updated six-month recommendations from international policy experts at the Center for International Policy (CIP), CIP recommends that the US use leverage to press for a full ceasefire, fully enforce US law and arms policy, focus diplomacy toward a just resolution, take meaningful anti-occupation, anti-annexation steps, and substantially expand support for the Palestinian people and Palestinian leaders who seek peace.
These are the actions we must take to end this conflict and create a lasting peace. The first step toward moving forward is charting the path to a ceasefire. Make sure your representatives are on board today!"
Your Donation to IMV Will Be Matched
Indivisible National is matching up to $500 in donations to local groups like ours between April 1 and May 31. Please consider making a donation. Even $5 or $10 will make an impact when that amount is matched. If we hit the max of $500 in the two months ahead, we will have $1000 that we can use to support community building among our members and community outreach. Please click here today to make your secure contribution to our ActBlue account between now and May 31 to have it matched. Thank you for supporting IMV!
Are You Concerned about the Crime/Law and Order Narrative Locally?
The Genesis Group, a regional association focused on business and economic growth, is hosting a free breakfast as part of a effort to launch a "Consortium for Safe Communities" in the Mohawk Valley. It is modeled under one created by Todd Baxter, Monroe County Sheriff. A wide range of businesses and organizations are invited. In Rochester, a broad coalition, including our political ally, Citizen Action, has organized to oppose the agenda of this consortium Overall the push from the consortium seems to be to amplify the fear that our communities are overrun with out of control crime and to push for more arrests and longer incarceration.
IMV has reserved a table at this breakfast; this is somewhat of a reconnaissance effort. If you can attend on Thursday, April 18th at 8 am (Hart's Hill Inn, 135 Clinton St., Whitesboro) please register here: https://thegenesisgroup.org/EVENTS/ or email Jill Farnham-Us at icgujill@gmail.com with questions.
Wrap Up Reminders
1. If you want to be part of an early DCCC Oneida County Strategy Session for NY22, please join us this evening--Friday, April 12th, 6:00 pm, Hosted by Caroline Reale and Jenna Azeez, 10 Pippin Woods Dr., New Hartford. Sign up HERE so we know how many people to expect.
2. Please sign up for IMV’s NY22 Candidate Forum on Sunday, April 28th, 3-5 pm, Invite your Dem friends!
3. Sign up for the Indivisible rural events, LTE workshops, and the NY21 Candidate zoom meetings that interest you most. See above for the details. Definitely make sure that you pre-register now to part of the Neighbor2Neighbor program!
4. Please take action on climate, on IVF and Medicare, and on the war in Gaza. Just scroll back up if you haven't made those critical calls or sent those emails yet.
Thank you for saving democracy this week. Remember how you felt on Nov. 9, 2016? Anything you wished you'd done differently in 2016? We are at a similar moment--a choice point, as Sarah Reeske said on her Indivisible OneNYS call earlier this week. As we look ahead at the next seven months of 2024, it's either:
thoughts and prayers
OR
work hard and leave it all on the field.
Let's work hard and leave it all on the field. No one else is coming to save us. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
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