Is Rep. Stefanik for Us or Musk? Town Hall
Will it Be Musk or Us, Elise?
Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome
NY21 Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome:
Elise Stefanik is Voting Against Her Constituents AGAIN
Wednesday, March 19th
6:00-7:30 pm
Copper City Community Collection
305 E. Locust Street
Speaker Mike Johnson has instructed his Republican caucus members--including Rep. Stefanik-- NOT to hold or attend town halls during the March recess; he does not want them to face their angry voters. Meanwhile, Elise voted for a budget that will slash Medicaid, SNAP, and children's health insurance (CHIP), and she has been complicit in the mass layoffs at the VA, and the firing of thousands of veterans at federal agencies across the government without cause. Billions of dollars will be sucked out of our local Mohawk Valley economy over the coming years because of these Republican cuts, and put directly into the pockets of Billionaires like Elon Musk. And Stefanik is cheering it all the way.
Show up and speak out about how you and your community are being affected already or will be impacted by what's going on in Washington. Share your stories. Ask the questions to the empty chair that you would ask of her if she had the courage to face her constituents.
We hope for media coverage and NY21 constituents (Rome and surrounding communities) who express their disgust at the failure of Republicans in Congress to do their jobs as an independent branch of government and represent their districts and constituents. Please join us even if you live in NY22 or another congressional district--we need a good size crowd at the town hall--and that means we need everyone to show up. We need you there so we have a full venue for media purposes. Please register for the event HERE and let us know you're coming. Bring a friend!
Rally for Ukraine in Clinton Today
Please join the Kirkland Town Democrats and Indivisible Mohawk Valley for a rally in support of Ukraine on Friday, March 14, 4-5pm. There are public parking lots surrounding the Village Green. We encourage no more than 25 people to stand along the Village Green, and others to line up on the sidewalk across from the Green on East Park Row. If we have enough people we can spread out further. Parking: There are public parking lots at both ends of the Village Green. Bring signs or flags in support of Ukraine! Ukrainians are our allies. Like us, they are on the front lines against anti-democracy authoritarianism, but for them it is life or death after three years of invasion and war. Let's be visible in our support of Ukraine on March 14.
OneNYS Indivisible Call with Lt. Governor Delgado!
We have a date for the Indivisible OneNYS call with Lietentant Governor Antonio Delgado for Monday, March 24th from 6:30-7:30pm on Zoom. This call is a result of our statewide letter to Gov Hochul in February, but she didn't respond to accept our invitation. Here's the registration link. Sarah Reeske will manually approve people who list the name of their Indivisible group, so be sure to list your group as Indivisible Mohawk Valley. This meeting is not open to the public; the audience is Indivisibles in NY. It will NOT be on Mobilize. Register for the call now HERE.
Climate Crisis Actions
The next lobby day in Albany planned by Renewable Heat Now is March 19th. First time lobbyists especially welcome! If you are interested in joining other IMV Climate Crisis Working Group members there, please email Maggie Reillymargaret_reilly@mac.comor Jennifer Geigerjgeiger777@gmail.comThere will be a bus and/or car pooling available.
One call to support plastic packaging reduction bill:
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act is working its way through NYS Assembly committees on its way to be voted on by the full Assembly. The Senate passed it in 2024. It was stalled in the Assembly. IF Assemblymember Buttenschon is your representative, please call her and ask her to support the bill as currently written.
Here is a phone number and script. Dial the Assembly Switchboard at 518-455-4100 and ask to be connected to your Assemblymember’s office. When someone picks up, you can use this short script:
“Hi, my name is NAME and I’m calling from YOUR TOWN/CITY. I’m calling to urge the Assemblymember to please support and co-sponsor The Packaging Reduction & Recycling Act (Assembly bill 1749/Senate Bill 1464) to reduce plastic packaging, climate change emissions, and toxic chemicals. I am opposed to the weak alternative EPR bill, Assembly bill 6191/Senate bill 5062. I urge the Assemblymember to support A1749.”
Thank the person for taking your call. They may ask you to share your address to verify you are a constituent.
IMV Meeting March 23rd: Bring a Friend!
IMV's March 2025 Meeting
Sunday, March 23, 1:30-3:30 pm
Mohawk Valley Community College Utica Campus
1101 Sherman Drive, Utica
Alumni College Center Commons
Parking behind the Academic Building (A1), or in the Jorgenson/ Payne Hall lot on Sherman Drive
Please register HERE to let us know you're coming
We will cover entirely new strategies and topics, but continue giving everyone the tools you need to take effective action as individuals and collectively. One of our newest members has been inviting friends to come to the next meeting. She suggested that we encoruage everyone to bring a friend or family member to the meeting, and continue to grow this movement and the energy that is fueling it. Lots of people are worried or angry. The key to turning fear, worry, stress, and anger at Trump, Musk and the complict Congress into political change is effective political action. If we do that in the Mohawk Valley and Indivisibles across the country do it in their communities, then we can slow or stop the worst moves of the current administration, and start to turn this ship around. Throughout history people have fought against tyranny and won. They have fought against exclusion, autocracy, oligarchs, and unfair economic systems. And they've won. So can we. Yes.We.Can.
Resilient Activism: A Burnout Prevention Workshop
Calling all Indivisibles in New York who are stressed out! Over the past couple of months, have you had more trouble sleeping and/or are you feeling edgy? Or finding yourself more irritable and snapping at friends and family? Or you’re exhausted and feeling immobilized. With the help of professionals from Westchester Citizen Therapists Indivisible, come learn how to manage your mind, emotions, nervous system. We could all benefit from tips & tricks from our expert therapist facilitators on how to support ourselves for the long haul in this political climate.
Thursday, March 20th, 6:30-8:00 pm
Sign up HERE.
This is a hybrid meeting; IMVers can attend over Zoom.
April 5th Mass Mobilization: Save the Date
You knew in your gut that it was coming! Indivisible and coalition partners will be planning a big, mass mobilization on Saturday, April 5th. We're going all-in, and we want you to join in.
There are three primary points to why we’re mobilizing:
Trump and Musk’s illegal power grab is a crisis .
Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans are gutting services, raising prices, and racing towards slashing Medicaid Social Security, and more.
Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans are on this path of destruction for the benefit of their billionaire allies.
What are some of the goals of the April 5th mobilization?
Generate visible, popular rejection of the Trump-Musk coup
Scare the Republicans
Meet the movement's energy
Sarah Reeske will be orgnaizing a mass mobilization event training for everyone who wants to know what to expect and feel more prepared as we enter the phase of mass rallies to save democracy and our country from the co-presidents/tech billionare oligarchy takeover. Details to come!
Democratic Rural Conference: Indivisibles Welcome
The Democratic Rural Conference is an organization of Democrats from the 47 counties in New York with populations under 250,000. This year's DRC spring conference will be April 25 and 26 in Albany. It's a great opportunity to meet our statewide Democratic officials, attend workshops on election-winning strategies, and network with Democrats from across the upstate region. The Saturday lunch speaker will be Blake Gendebien, our Congressional candidate in NY-21, which includes Rome, northern Oneida County, and all of Herkimer county. You can find the agenda HERE and register for the conference HERE, and get a discounted room (through March 26 only) HERE. Any Democrat or member of an allied group is welcome to attend. Note: Oneida County Dem Chair of Towns and IMV member, Bill Thickstun, is running for state DRC chair on Saturday morning, and several IMV members are voting delegates!
Medicaid Monday Rally: 200 of You Showed Up!
In its Sunday edition, the Daily Sentinel ran our entire media advisory about our planned Medicaid Monday rally as an upcoming event, including data about the number of people on Medicaid in NY21 and NY22 and the huge cuts the Republicans voted for that would take billions of dollars out of our local economies over the course of the next nine years. By planning a rally, we were able to get in print the information we wanted the public to know about the devestating cuts that Elise Stefanik and the Republicans voted for.
Then, thanks to all of you and some sunshine, we had a great turnout--over 200 attendees from across the Mohawk Valley, Boonville and Newport, to Hamilton and Herkimer, and everywhere in between. WKTV Channel 2 reported at 6 pm amd 11 pm, "Hundreds Rally in New Hartford to Protests Medicad Cuts." The Daily Sentinel ran a similar headline. Thanks to all those involved in planning and pubicizing, and to labor union friends 1199SEIU for co-sponsoring.
Whether you could make it to the rally or not, here are the actions you can take today:
1) Call Congress. This is the call to action we asked everyone to do following the rally, and it's not too late to make your call. Keep the calls to Congress going. Connect to any Capitol Hill office using the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Make your voice heard!
2. Write a letter to the editor. Say why you attended the rally or just say why you believe that the cuts to Medicaid would hurt us all.
3. Talk to your friends and neighbors, and make sure they know the true facts about Medicaid. Trump lies. Republicans in Congress are lying. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office analysis says that there is no way that Republicans can hit their $880B target without cutting Medicaid.
What's Going on with the Continuing Resolution?
At the time of this writing, it is unknown what will happen with the Republican stopgap spending bill to keep federal funding past March 14. We do know that Democrats in Congress need to be pressured to stay together and stand strong against the worst that Republicans are doing in Congress and their complicity in the unconstitional activites of Mustk-Triump. (There was a little glimmer of good news when a federal judge on Thrusday reversed the mass firing of many probatonary federal employees. But we can't rely only on the courts. We need Dems in Congress to fight for us!. Keep calling Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand daily. Call your House Rep too. Use the 5Calls app if you're not sure who to call about what topic or what to say.
If the vote has not occurred in the Senate on the Continuing Resolution by the time you read this Friday morning or afternoon, be sure to call Sen. Schumer and Gillbrand and tell then "Vote NO on cloture for the Hosue-passed CR, and move to pass a clean CR instead."
Remember to Join Us at the Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome
We can't wait to see you at the Empty Chair Town Hall in Rome on Wednesday! Be sure to sign up HERE and then being a friend and show up to speak out!
See you this afternoon at the Rally to Support Ukraine in Clinton.
And check out our calendar below so you don't miss any upcoming events.
Democracy is not a spectator sport.
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel
"No one let go of anyone's hand" --slogan of Democracy activists in Brazil under Bolsonaro's rule.
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