Register Voters Next Weekend!

January 28, 2022 Alan Cole

You Can Help Register Voters

Do you believe that everyone should be able to vote? Then the very first thing we need to is...register more voters! Dylan Black, our NY22/24 Build the House Organizer has offered an awesome opportunity for us to Register Voters next weekend in Utica!

Please check your calendars, and then sign up for either Friday, Feb. 4 or Saturday, Feb. 5 to register voters at the Utica Comets game. Here is the sign up form. Please volunteer! And feel free to share the sign up link with your friends: https://bit.ly/3qKH9fP

Climate Calls & News

It's been a busy week for climate crisis activism! NY Renews Coalition held a full day of climate action with calls to the Governor and the leaders of the state legislature. IMV joined other NYS Indivisibles in pressing Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on how he can positively impact the climate crisis through his state-wide authority and power.

Please join us for our first Climate Crisis Working Group Meeting of 2022: The Year of Climate!! This Monday, January 31st @ 6:30pm hear about the status of the CLCPA and the legislation that supports it such as the CCIA. Listen to Kristin Williams from Senator May’s office update us on NY Climate legislation. We will also update you on the Draft Scoping Plan and how you can get involved and make a positive impact!! We need your voice!! Welcome All!!

Climate Crisis Working Group meeting
Monday, January 31st, 6:30pm
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88689782268

Climate Calls Matter

This week we are asking that you call New York State leadership to tell them that CLIMATE CAN'T WAIT! (Climate Can’t Wait is the name for 12 climate bills that NYS should pass this year to help ensure a healthy future for all.) If you made these calls on 1/25 for the day of action, please make them again. The more people calling, the harder it is for our state leaders to ignore the urgency and pressure of the climate crisis.

Governor Kathy Hochul at 518-474-8390
Senate Majority Stewart-Cousins at 518-455-258
Assembly Speaker Heastie at 518-455-3791

Sample script:

“Hi My name is ____ and I live in ____, zip code ____. I’m calling to urge you to pass all 12 bills in the Climate Can’t Wait policy package. We are in the throes of a climate emergency and New York State must take sweeping, meaningful climate action NOW. Pass this package to invest in a livable future, with a renewable, green jobs economy that works for all. Please, be the climate champion that history needs."

Keeping Warm with Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pumps (Virtual Tour)

Join Maggie & John Reilly of New York Mills as they give a virtual tour of their whole house heat pump system and solar PV array! Listen first hand to their path to not only clean heating and cooling but also how they transitioned off fossil fuels to clean energy/renewables. They have made a concerted effort to move away from fossil fuels by also using an air source heat pump hot water heater, charging their electric vehicle, and using battery powered landscape equipment, including a lawn mower, chainsaw, and hedge trimmer.

The virtual tour will start with a brief introduction about the campaign and available rebates and grants, and feature an overview of the locally-installed heat pump system, with the owners discussing the system, their motivations, and results. The installers will be present to discuss technical aspects of the system. This is an interactive event, please ask questions! Co-sponsored by HeatSmart CNY and HeatSmart Mohawk Valley.

Sunday, February 27th at 2PM: RSVP | Facebook

Indivisible 2022 Rural Summit

Do you live in a rural part of the Mohawk Valley? On Saturday, February 26, Rural Indivisibles and organizers all over the country join together to hear the best practices on messaging, fighting disinformation and how to effectively reach out to our rural friends and neighbors. Join us for a day of community and training. The first 250 to register for the Summit will be mailed a sweet surprise -- so please provide your snail mail address when you RSVP! Register here.

Mark Your Calendar Now for IMV Meetings

We had an energetic and energizing January IMV Meeting; thanks to all who attended. If you missed it, please know that we missed you! Diane Hawkins of the New Jersey NAACP, a longtime democracy activist, inspired us and even carried us through a zoom bomber attack without missing a beat. We heard updates from the three community social justice efforts we supported last year-Rebuilding the Village/Cornhill; MVLA's La Abundancia, and the Proctor Peace Garden.

We also shared our own reasons for staying in the fight together for five years, in spite of setbacks, and celebrated our many successes--from defeating the IDC and Tenney in 2018 to turning out 2000 people to protest Trump and building skills for canvassing, phone banking, and coalition building.

IMV has been a critical part of the emergence of a powerful Indivisible NYS coalition in particular; there were 115 Indivisibles from around the state on a call with Tom DiNapoli just this week raising the issues that matter to us: democracy, accountability, health care, and addressing the climate crisis. In short, it was clear that we are not giving up on building our progressive strength in the Mohawk Valley; we're still recruiting and engaging new activists, still focused on winning elections, and still mobilizing around values and issues that impact lives.

Be sure to mark your calendars now for our upcoming monthly meetings:

Sunday, February 20, 3-5 pm
Sunday, March 20, 2022 3-5 pm
Sunday, April 24, 2022 3-5 pm

And keep reading this newsletter. We are expecting news in the coming weeks about legislative districts and what that will mean for candidate petitioning. We'll have actions coming up in response to next steps for the President's Build Back Better plan as it morphs to get through the Senate, and we will mobilize to push Biden and the Senate to accomplish the SCOTUS nomination in short order--no dithering. If you are ready to take the first action now, you should make a call to Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand using this script, and tell them to push the President to nominate quickly.

We'll see you soon: at the Climate Crisis group meeting Monday, the Healthcare group meeting on Wednesday, for voter registration Feb 4th or 5th, or as always, on Friday mornings for CAFE Fridays. In solidarity!