Triumph of the Letter to the Editor Group

Heading into the 2021 election season last spring, IMV members led by Dick Meili began to get together over Zoom to talk about writing more letters to the editor in local papers, an effort encouraged by Indivisible and many grassroots political groups as a way to influence elected officials, public opinion, and voters, on a variety of issues and elected offices.

The group, with more than 20 active members, tracked their letters and publication dates in a table week after week, and encouraged each other to write letters on specific timely topics and for IMV candidates and send them to even the smallest local papers to reach new audiences.

Bill Thickstun, Chair of Towns for the Oneida County Democratic Committee says, "I want to offer my thanks to all of you who wrote letters and especially to Dick for coordinating this effort. As he noted below, I'm confident that this project has helped, and certainly can't have hurt, our candidates." Indeed without our IMV letter writers, most papers would have seen few letters that voiced support for progressive values, Democratic bills, or especially, Democratic and WFP endorsed candidates.

Even with the election in the rear view mirror, not all letter writers have stopped their efforts (although the group meetings are on a hiatus over the holidays). Judy Jerome recently wrote an outstanding letter about how Pres. Biden's infrastructure bill will save lives, and prevent the loss of life that the Mohawk Valley witnessed in 1987 when the Schoharie Creek Bridge collapsed. The letter does not spare Rep. Tenney, calling out her callous disregard for the lives of Mohawk Valley residents in voting against the bill. The letter was published Wednesday in the Rome Sentinel. Keep your eye out for it in other local papers.

What do you think Democrats are doing right that your neighbors are not hearing about? Why do you support the Voting Rights bill in Congress? What are you expecting from the state legislature and Gov. Hochul in the coming months? What if our local papers were flooded by letters in the coming Thanksgiving holiday week about the reasons we are thankful for the Democratic effort to protect voting rights, help families pay for childcare, and invest in clean energy? Do your neighbors know what you are thankful for? Write a letter to the editor. Need help? Just email IndivisibleMV@gmail.com.

Climate Crisis: We stop calling when the climate crisis is solved!

Until then, we continue our focus this week on Gov. Hochul.  Over 1000 people rallied across NY state last Saturday, including four of our IMV climate activists, to show support for the passage of the CCIA (Climate and Community Investment Act). 

To strengthen that message, please call Governor Hochul now:  518-474-8390

Ask her to commit to spending at least $10 billion per year to combat climate change, invest in frontline communities and create good, green jobs.  It is also important that the CLCPA commitments are not replaced with false solutions like waste-to-energy, biofuels, biomass, or so-called “renewable natural gas” and “green hydrogen.”  

Then, make sure you are signed up and show up for our first Indivisible statewide meeting with Gov. Hochul, rescheduled for Monday, November 29th at 8pm. Let's work together to make this a rewarding experience for everyone! This will be a popular event, so be sure to register now!   Please use this Zoom registration link to RSVP.

You can also contribute to this e-card for Gov. Hochul to let her know what you are excited to work with her on. Gov. Cuomo would never have met with NYS Indivisibles, so this is a big opportunity for us.  Let's show her our progressive people power on Monday.  So far, Sarah Reeske, Indivisible NYS organizer, reports that more than 600 Indivisibles have signed up for the call!

If you have five more minutes, please click on this link to make more calls to the President, Senator Schumer and others to press for passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the Build Back Better Bill.  
 

IMV Book Discussion Group Planned

The Sum of Us : What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together  by Heather McGhee, former head of Demos (and a founding member of Indivisible’s board!) Heather spent years analyzing how racism has been used to strategically divide Americans, what racism has cost us all, and what’s possible when we refuse to be divided. Her book opens with a simple, haunting question: “Why can’t we have nice things?” If you'd like to read the book and discuss it with fellow IMV members, email indivisiblemv@gmail.com  (Date and discussion time TBD.)
 

Great News About Caroline for County!

By now you may have heard the wonderful news that IMV supported candidate for Oneida County Board of Legislators (15th District, New Hartford) Caroline Reale won her election by 28 votes after absentee ballots were counted on Tuesday, flipping a long-held Republican seat.  IMV was proud to support her campaign by knocking doors, and we know she'll do an excellent job as legislator. The lesson learned from this and several other local 2021 nail-biters is that every vote matters, every knock or call matters, and every absentee ballot matters.  

We appreciate everyone who steps forward to run for office because "Democracy is not a spectator sport."  Some races are almost impossible to win because of the imbalance in party registrations.  But even running an unsuccessful race can energize volunteers, engage voters, draw people to the polls, and put pressure on opponents to work harder, spend more money, and listen more to constituents.
 

IMV Steering Committee News

IMV Steering Committee recently welcomed a new exploratory member, longtime IMV activist Kathy Wojociechowski (aka Kathy Wojo)!  Kathy is a great addition to the Committee, which also incudes Jen DeWeerth, Jill Farnham-Us, Jennifer Geiger, Dawn Leguerre, Sarah Reeske, and Deborah Wilson-Allam.  

The Steering Committee also signed on to a letter this week on behalf of IMV to Gov. Hochul regarding the shocking failure of propositions 1, 3, and 4 (voting reforms). The letter urges her, "as New York's highest elected Democrat, to conduct an immediate review of this disastrous breakdown in NYS Democratic Party leadership, especially of State Committee Chair Jay Jacobs."

Finally, the Steering Committee is hosting a conversation with local candidates to debrief the 2021 elections, hear about what worked and didn't work, and determine what we can do differently next election cycle. Everyone who supported a candidate or campaign in any way, however, small, is invited to join in the zoom call this Sunday, Nov 21, 3-4 pm. Join here.
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is no email scheduled for next Friday, but the Friday CAFE is a go, so please join the call using the link in the calendar below. This is an excellent way to connect with fellow activists, and it is more climate friendly than Black Friday shopping!

• Sign up for the rescheduled Nov 29th Indivisible Call with Gov. Hochul.

• Join our IMV Election debrief this Sunday 3-4 pm, and mark your calendar for our next IMV meeting, over zoom on Dec. 12th, 3-4:30 pm.

• Make your climate calls and Freedom to Vote calls (info above).

There are many things that we are thankful for, from vaccines and the past year of normal political Presidential leadership, to the love and support of family and friends. One thing we can definitely add to that list is the camaraderie and friendship we have experienced within Indivisible Mohawk Valley. Over the past five years we've organized around shared values and a commitment to democracy and built a community of progressive political activism. If you haven't seen the Time to Act on Voting Rights video that Sarah made after the Fall Fiesta (All Hands On Deck!), please take a look.

And have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Follow us on Twitter using @indivisiblemv and of course our Facebook page and IMV Activism Group.