Join IMV for our July Meeting Monday, July 15
Join Us for Canvass Training July 9th and Our July IMV Meeting July 15th
It's been a rough couple of weeks in the news Between local tragedy, the Presidential debate, and cascades of terrible SCOTUS rulings, you may be feeling worn out and even a bit hopeless. We recommend taking a break from the news if you can, for at least a couple days, this holiday weekend. Enjoy weather, connect with family and friends. get out in the garden, spend some time at the pool or lake, or attend a parade.
Then, show up to connect with your political activism community. We're gathering! Here are the key dates, followed by some more information:
Utica: Central NY Canvass Training
Tuesday, July 9th, 5:30-7:30 pm
238 Genesee Street, Utica (Democratic Campaign HQ)
Register: https://www.mobilize.us/nysdems/event/642456/
July 2024 IMV Meeting
Monday, July 15th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Schuyler Commons, 1776 Independence Square, Utica
Sign Up: https://mobilize.us/s/YjWkgt
Message from Jon Lipe
Please read this important message from Jon Lipe, and then sign up for training at the new Utica HQ.
"Hello friends,
I am sorry to share this news, however the NY-22 Rally planned for July 9 in Syracuse has been cancelled due to an unresolvable conflict with the event as planned.
However, even if we are not gathering in one place next Tuesday to celebrate our congressional nominee, the goal of party unity remains essential to victory in November. All of us who live in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley have certain shared values when it comes to caring for our communities and our families. We want a safe and healthy place for our kids and grandkids to grow up. We want quality public schools, good-paying jobs, and a clean environment. We value freedom and democracy. We care for our neighbors when they need a hand, and we are a community that looks out for everybody and leaves no one behind.
MAGA Extremist Brandon Williams does not seem to share those values. He is uninterested in learning about our communities and our families’ needs. He votes to take away our rights and has no vision for the future of the region. He is in Congress not to serve us, but to serve Donald Trump.
This is a monumentally important election. And while New York has a limited impact on the Presidential race, we have the loudest voice in the congressional election. We can provide the 218th vote — the majority — for a Democratic House of Representatives.
We cannot have Brandon Williams in office for another two years, adding his voice to an extreme MAGA majority in Washington. We need everyone to unite behind our Democratic nominee, State Senator John Mannion. For the future of our region — and the future of our country — we must elect John Mannion to Congress so he can fight for us, our families, and our communities.
To that end, please join us on July 9 at 5:30pm for campaign training sessions in our Syracuse, Utica, and Auburn offices. We will discuss the details of how we will be talking with voters from now until November, and how real conversations between neighbors will make the difference in electing John Mannion and other good Democrats to office this year.
You can RSVP for the Utica training session here:
Utica: https://www.mobilize.us/nysdems/event/642456/
If you would like to commit to knocking on doors, you can sign up to join fellow volunteers at our offices here:
Utica area: https://www.mobilize.us/nysdems/event/642762/
Thank you once again for your hard work and dedication. Because of volunteers like you, we will win in November and help ensure that our corner of the world is well-represented in Washington and Albany.
Best regards,
Jon Lipe, Regional Political Director, NYS Democratic Committee
What You Need to Know About Project 2025
“Project 2025” is a plan to execute what amounts to a comprehensive authoritarian takeover of American government. Broadly speaking, it envisions a vast expansion of presidential power over the executive branch. Moreover, “Project 2025” seeks to dismantle certain parts of government, the administrative state, and federal agencies – while simultaneously mobilizing and weaponizing others. And finally, “Project 2025” is a promise to purge from government anyone who is not all in on the Trumpist project and replace them with loyalists and ideological conformists.
We encourage everyone to take a few minutes to watch this explainer video about Project 2025: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYXZ6iJJSgM so that you can help other voters also understand the risks and dangers of the conservative/Republican plan for Trump's second term if he wins in November.
We Can't Stop the SOCTUS Six But We Can Talk to Our Neighbors
From Ezra at Indivisible:
"Here’s the hard truth: This Supreme Court’s authoritarian vision is incompatible with democracy. And for the next 125 days before the election, we need to treat this like the emergency it is.
The only way that we can stop SCOTUS before they act further to snuff out our rights, our bodily autonomy, and our freedom is to fight like hell to retake our Democratic trifecta and for Democrats to stiffen their spines, reform the filibuster, pass democracy reform, codify reproductive rights, and expand the Court to unrig the MAGA supermajority disguised in judicial robes. Period.
So today, we’re asking you to take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. Because no petition is going to save us -- but we can save us.
Talk to your neighbors. We need to wake up the electorate. Take this message to the streets. Illustrate the chilling reality -- that a rogue Supreme Court is working as an arm of Trump’s MAGA agenda. Talk to voters, explain the stakes, and mobilize them to get involved." Check to sign up for Indivisible's easy-to-use, more-impactful-than-any-other-voter-contact-method tool -- Neighbor2Neighbor.
You can sign up and start knocking on the doors of 10 of your own neighbors at any point. It's simple and easy. Or join IMV members at the Canvass Training in Utica on July 9th. After that, we will be coming together on a regular basis to knock doors together at regular canvasses organized out of the Democratic campaign HQ. And if door knocking is not possible for you for any reason, we will have other options, including postcard parties that help us reach women voters with targeted messages. There will be much to do, July to November, and we're going to need all hands on deck!
No one is coming to save us. We are the ones we've been waiting for.
James Meyers Meet & Greet July 30th
Please join Bill Thickstun, Caroline Reale, Kathy Collett, Jen DeWeerth, and Mona Perrotti for a Meet and Greet fundraiser for James Meyers in Clinton on Tuesday, July 30th, 6-8 pm. There will be drink and food, and a chance for you to meet James (running for the 53rd State Senate seat) --or bring your friends so they can meet him!
Register for the James Meyers Meet & Greet HERE.
The July 11th reporting deadline is fast approaching, and every dollar raised before then will be matched through the New York State Matching Funds Program. Your early ticket purchase will be matched by as much as 12x and will maximize your impact to help James build even more momentum to win this November.
So whether you can attend the event, or you just want to make a contribution that is matched by as much as 12X by the state campaign fund, please click this link and contribute by July 11. Thank you--and see you on July 30th!
Reminder: Sign up for July 9th and July 15th Events
We celebrate American freedom, independence, and democracy on July 4th, and we don't want to lose them. That means coming together to defeat the anti-democratic forces on the ballot this November. The work starts now. The courts will not save us. We have to win by talking to voters. So let's practice our messaging and connect with voters in the most effective ways we can.
Sign up for these important events to get started:
Utica: Central NY Canvass Training
Tuesday, July 9th, 5:30-7:30 pm
238 Genesee Street, Utica (Democratic Campaign HQ)
Register: https://www.mobilize.us/nysdems/event/642456/
July 2024 IMV Meeting
Monday, July 15th, 6:30-8:30 pm
Schuyler Commons, 1776 Independence Square, Utica
Sign Up: https://mobilize.us/s/YjWkgt
Until then, breathe and enjoy the sunshine!
You can follow us on Instagram's Threads.net/@indivisiblemohawkvalley, on X (Twitter) using @indivisiblemv, and, of course, on our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.