Our Big NY22 Candidate Forum is on Sunday
Join IMV for our NY22 Candidate Forum Sunday
But first...here's a report on Brandon Williams' Sham Town Hall...
Thank you to everyone who showed up last night at Brandon Williams' Sham Town Hall in Verona. There was a huge three panel billboard truck from Empire State Voices in the parking lot that focused on how Brandon Williams is not helping people in NY22 with affordability and telling him to support Pres. Biden's budget, Of the 60 or so people in attendance at the town hall, about half were IMV members. That was a great showing, and a sea of red cards whenever he launched into his MAGA talking points.
Our peaceful demonstration outside and our red cards inside showed that voters are not happy with Rep. Williams. His refusal to hear constituents ask questions in their own words and voices says everything we need to know about him. He doesn't listen to constituents and he doesn't care about NY22 cities, towns, or communities. He talks and talks and talks (and evades, evades, evades) and doesn't ask us about our lives , families, or what matters to us. As usual, he left as soon as he finished his monologue, and did not shake a single constituent's hand. That's why we need to elect a better Member of Congress for NY22.
Join IMV and our co-sponsor, the Oneida County Democratic Women's Club, for a Democratic candidate forum this Sunday
What: We're going to defeat Brandon Williams starting this month with Our NY 22 Candidate Forum. We will hear from each of the remaining candidates in separate 25-minute interviews. Senator John Mannion and Councilor Sarah Klee Hood have confirmed their attendance. (Dr. Clemmie Harris dropped out of the race yesterday as he did not have enough petition signatures),
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 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.
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!
The Fight for Reproductive Freedom is ON
(Update from Indivisible co-founder and Chief Campaigns Officer, Sarah Dohl #ICYMI)
The Idaho case in front of SCOTUS this week reminded us all of what we've lost when Donald Trump and his Republican accomplices in Congress killed Roe v Wade. You're angry? We're angry too. But what we need to do is talk to voters who don't understand just how much is at stake and how Trump and Republicans in Congress will stop at nothing to take away emergency abortion care, reproductive freedom, and the ability of women to control their own bodies and medical decisions. Here's how we can help people connect the dots:
Clarify Trump’s stance: Proactively communicate Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn Roe and how those efforts are directly responsible for state-level attacks on our reproductive freedoms today. Remind voters what he has done, and what he would do if given the chance, without getting into the weeds.
Connect Trump to Republican extremism: Consistently link Donald Trump and allies to their extreme, unpopular positions on abortion that alienate mainstream voters. Call attention to Project 2025, the 1000+ page MAGA blueprint for how a second Trump administration will pack the federal government with extremists eager to implement those positions.
Remind voters Trump can’t be trusted on abortion because he will do anything to get elected. Unlike the rest of the GOP, Double-Hater voters do not perceive that Trump has any strong religious or moral convictions against abortion -- but voters are willing to believe that he will do whatever is politically convenient for him, including signing a national abortion ban if it comes to his desk as president, if the argument is made.
Provide contrast: Offer a forward-looking message with a sharp contrast of a world under Republican control and a world under Democratic control -- e.g., Donald Trump and Republicans will ban abortion nationwide if given the chance; President Biden and Democrats will codify abortion rights with a Democratic trifecta in 2025.
Here’s what you can do right now:
Join Indivisible's national phonebank. Show up on May 2 to talk to voters about what’s at stake and what a future under Donald Trump and Republicans would really look like -- you’ll get a chance to put some of these message frameworks to good use.
Help spread the word with voters about what’s happening at the Supreme Court today. Use this digital toolkit to talk to people about the fact that anti-MAGA extremists, emboldened by Donald Trump and his enablers, are currently making a case for criminalizing doctors and preventing pregnant women from getting emergency abortion care. Remind folks that Donald Trump did this.
If you haven't already done so, watch and then share with friends by email, text, and social media, President Biden's powerful "Donald Trump Did This" ad.
The good news is that the majority of voters are with us. Many just don't understand how extreme Trump, Republican members of Congress, and SCOTUS are. We can make them aware!
Petitioning Volunteers Needed For a Second Ballot Line
Jon Lipe is looking for volunteers to gather signatures for Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon to help her secure a second ballot line in November. Her opponent already has two ballot lines, and we need to match that.
Marianne is the ONLY Democrat representing Oneida County in Albany, and it’s essential that she win re-election so our county can have a voice in the majority. If she were to be replaced by a Republican, our area would be completely shut out of budget negotiations and other important decisions made by the Democratic majority.
If you are willing and able to help, please join Jon this Sunday, April 28, at 10:00 am at 238 Genesee Street (our recently re-opened Democratic headquarters). He’ll be handing out walk lists and petitions to volunteers. Any voter registered in NYS is eligible to gather signatures for these petitions. We have three more weeks to gather enough signatures. If you’d like to help out another time or have any questions, please contact Jon at jon@nydems.org or (315) 795-1920.
Simon Rosenberg Zoom Talk to Inspire Us
Northwest Bronx Indivisible is excited to announce that we will be hosting a special event, “The Must Win Election: All Hands on Deck!”, featuring Simon Rosenberg, a highly regarded political strategist and commentator with more than 30 years of experience in national politics and television news. Rosenberg’s home for his political analysis, commentary, and live political discussions is at Hopium Chronicles (https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/), an engaging new project on the Substack media platform.
Many in the Democratic party are nervously wringing their hands over President Biden’s age and his weak poll numbers while wishing that we somehow could miraculously produce a more dynamic candidate. Rosenberg is confident that Democrats will prevail in November, and that we will have a chance to dominate the broken, MAGA-consumed GOP. Simon achieved national notice in 2022 as one of the few voices pushing back against the conventional wisdom that the midterm election was destined to be a “red wave.” Very early in that campaign, Simon correctly predicted that it was likely to be a close, competitive election. As we ramp up our grassroots efforts to re-elect Joe Biden, retake the House, and preserve our Senate majority, we all need to dig deep to find the energy, the passion, the determination, and the grit to do the work that needs to be done. Come and listen to Simon Rosenberg. He will convince you that we are indeed powerful and that in November we will, in fact, succeed.
Join this Zoom event for some data-based hope for the 2024 election on Thursday, May 23rd, 7:30 - 9:00 pm. Register HERE.
Give Now: Donations in April & May Will Be Matched!
Indivisible National is matching up to $500 in donations to local groups like ours between April 1 and May 31. As an all volunteer group, we don't ask for a lot of contributions, but we do use funds to help pay for rental of spaces for meetings and events, purchase of stamps and postcards when we are doing electoral voter contact, and other small incidental purchases such as flyers and buttons when we table at events or knock on doors. Please consider making a donation. Even $5 or $10 will make an impact when that amount is matched. 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.
One More Request...James Meyers for State Senate
We received word that James Meyers, the NY53rd state senate candidate who is the first Democratic challenger to Joe Griffo in 14 years, is just a few unique donors short of the qualifying threshold for the maximum state match. If you live in the 53rd (Joe Griffo is currently your state senator), and have not contributed already, please make a donation to his campaign. Need more info? This is from James:
The New York State Public Campaign Finance Program will match $5-$250 in district contributions up to 12x the original donation! That means if you live in District 53 in Oneida, Chenango, Madison, or Herkimer County, your donation of $250 becomes $2,550! Will you help bring the fight to the Republicans with a $250 matching contribution today? Click Here To Pitch In! Any donation over $5 will be matched by the state - see below how far a donation will go!
$25 = $325
$50 = $650
$100 = $1,150
$150 = $1,650
Help James hit his donor number and your money will multiply X12!
Today's Wrap Up
#ICAYMI (In case you missed it): President Biden spoke in Syracuse yesterday along with Gov. Hochul, Sen. Schumer, and the IBEW union member who introduced him, about the CHIPS and Science Act investment in the Micron chip fab. His speech was terrific. If you watch the last four minutes of the video, you'll see that he has some comments about Brandon Williams and Elise Stefanik that are spot-on and a little funny, too.
Here are your actions for the week, once again:
1) Join us at the NY22 Democratic Candidate Forum on Sunday!
2) Take an action on Abortion/Reproductive Freedom. Sometimes the best action is talking to people you know who may not realize what the risk is!
3) Write an LTE about Brandon Williams. He is condescending and doesn't listen. He fails to advocate for NY22. What makes you most mad that you can share with voters in an LTE?
4)Not sure about writing an LTE? Join one of the upcoming NYS Indivisible LTE workshops on Zoom (see calendar below).
5) Sign up to help a candidate--whether it's petitioning for Marianne Buttenschon, volunteering for one of the NY22 candidates in their primary race, or supporting a new candidate like James Meyers with a small dollar donation that leverages a X12 state match.
Once again, we thank everyone who showed up at the Brandon Williams town hall, or showed up at any town board or other legislative meetings in recent months, and those who wrote letters to the editor, those who petitioned to get candidates on the ballot. We will see you at the Candidate Forum on Sunday!
Your political activism is how we make change.
"No fundamental social change occurs merely because government acts. It's because civil society, the conscience of a country, begins to rise up and demand - demand - demand change." -Joe Biden
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