Vote in the Presidential Primary!
Here's What We Covered on Wednesday
Thanks to everyone who made time for the Wednesday evening Zoom IMV meeting! We ended with a thank you to everyone who spent the past month petitioning. It's a lot of work, especially when rain, snow, and temperatures can interfere unexpectedly. We've just completed the first round of voter contact for the 2024 election!
Good news: We have kept the pressure on Rep. Williams. His incompetence in running his office and serving constituents and region was highlighted in local media. When Oneida County Exec Anthony Picente was asked by The Daily Sentinel about his comments (published by Syracuse.com) criticizing Williams, he said he stood by his statement. Many Oneida County residents--Democrat, Republican, and unaffiliated--are starting to see that Williams does not care about the eastern portion of NY22. The more we can get the word out with facts and narratives, the better.
Kudos to our awesome LTE group! We have had members published on the following topics in recent weeks: Rep. Williams and the threat of Christian Nationalism; Rep. Williams failure to secure any funding for Oneida County; the 2024 ERA vote in NYS; Assemblywoman Buttenschon's success representing this community--here and in Albany; James Meyer's campaign for state senate. Keep up the good work! There is a new New York LTE Zoom workshop offered by Indivisible to help writers use the most effective language on the most critical 2024 election topics like reproductive freedom and immigration. See the calendar below and sign up for the first one April 17th!
We continue to plan for our IMV NY22 Candidate Meet and Greet on April 28th. We will hear from each of our three congressional candidates for about 25 minutes including Q&A. This will help our members decide who they will work for as we head into the intense phase of voter contact for the June primary. This event requires pre-registration. Please use this link to register now: https://forms.gle/fxDiBHCHNTnnEMvL7
We heard from Adrienne Martini, an Otsego County legislator from Oneonta who is challenging Brian Miller for the 122nd State Assembly seat. (Kirkland Town Dem Committee is hosting a discussion of her book about running for and winning local office in Clinton on April 17th--see the calendar).
Jon Lipe introduced Jenna Azeez, the new DCCC Organizing Director for NY-22. Until after the June 28 primary she is concentrating on outreach and voter registration on college campuses and getting to know local Dems and groups like ours
Remember to Vote in the Presidential Primary
There are still two days of early voting--today and tomorrow. (No voting on Sunday because of the Easter holiday). Voting is available at local polling places on Tuesday, April 2 from 6am-9pm. You can see Oneida County early voting locations and hours as well as look up your poll location for Election Day HERE. For other counties, check your county Board of Election website. Be a voter-every single time! #VoteEarly #BeAVoter #Voting.
Climate Crisis Working Group
One Action -Call to Governor Hochul for the NY HEAT ACT!
Three IMV Climate Crisis Working Group members were in Albany on Wednesday, March 20th lobbying the Assembly for the inclusion of the full NY Heat Act in the budget. (The Senate included the entire NY HEAT Act in their budget.) The Assembly included their own version of the utility bill relief portion of the bill, but punted on the provisions that subsidies for gas subsidies and allow utilities to begin to transition the gas system to heat pumps and thermal networks. As the 3-way negotiation between both chambers of the legislature and the Governor's office starts, we are in a strong position for all parts of the NY HEAT Act to be included in the NYS budget. But this won't happen without lots of calls! Remember, industry never stops lobbying, so neither do we!
Climate activists have set a goal of 1000 calls to Governor Hochul, encouraging her to fight for ALL the crucial pieces of the NY HEAT Act in the NY state budget negotiations. Click on this link to be part of the call relay or simply follow instructions below.
Call 1-518-474-8390 for Gov Hochul’s office-press 2 for agent, 1 to leave message (a message is as good as a live agent.)
Script:
"Hello! My name is _________ and I live in ____________ NY. I'm calling to urge Governor Hochul to be a climate leader and fight for the full NY HEAT Act in the budget. New Yorkers need cleaner heat and lower bills now!"
Thank you for calling!
NYS Budget Action Alert
Our friends at Citizen Action have issued a plea for us all to make calls to our state Assembly leaders to make sure improved hospital financial assistance is prioritized in the final State Budget. Although the Governor has made medical debt a priority for 2024, and the State Senate included hospital financial assistance in their One-House Budget, nothing about hospital financial assistance made it into the Assembly version. We need to make our voices heard this week to demand a budget that protects patients from medical debt.
New York hospitals get billions to provide financial assistance for patients who cannot afford their bills. But, instead of following the Hospital Financial Assistance Law, hospitals have sued over 80,000 patients in the last five years. Call your state Assembly Member TODAY to demand they speak up for patients and pass a budget that holds hospitals accountable.
It's a very easy tool to use. Just enter your name, address and phone number, and you'll be connected to your Assembly member. There's a simple script. Then touch the * button and you'll be redirected to the Speaker's office with another short script. #EndMedicalDebt. Thank you for taking action!
Register Now for the Indivisible OneNYS Zoom
All Indivisibles are welcome and encouraged to attend the Indivisible statewide call on Wednesday, April 10th at 7pm on Zoom. Together we’re going to learn about the NY action roadmap so we can make winning bite size, local, and fun. We have big goals as a state, such as flipping the House, passing the NYS Equal Rights ballot measure, using Neighbor2Neighbor to knock doors on your street, and having fun with our friends all year long. We’re also revealing the winning postcard design for our 50,000+ postcard campaign to flip our battleground districts! This call is full of information you are going to want to know, so register now and mark your calendar!
Now make these critical calls
NY state's budget won't be done on time. That means we have more time to try to reach out to legislators and the Governor to be heard on the items that matter most to us. If you did not make the climate call and the medical debt calls above yet, please do it now. If you make your calls today, we'd love to hear from you. Email us at IndivisibleMV@gmail.com and tell us you made the calls based on reading this newsletter.
If you are looking for some inspiration, here is an essay published in the New York Times about what we need right now if we want to defeat Donald Trump in November, fend off MAGA Republicans, and save democracy in the years to come, The authors argue that SOLIDARITY is "The One Idea That Could Save American Democracy." They write:
"Solidarity is simultaneously a bond that holds society together and a force that propels it forward. After all, when people feel connected, they are more willing to work together, to share resources and to have one another’s backs. Solidarity weaves us into a larger and more resilient “we” through the precious and powerful sense that even though we are different, our lives and our fates are connected.
Both means and end, solidarity can be a source of power, built through the day-to-day work of organizing, and our shared purpose. Solidarity is the essential and too often missing ingredient of today’s most important political project: not just saving democracy but creating an egalitarian, multiracial society that can guarantee each of us a dignified life"
Let's keep building the connection and keep doing the work of organizing around our shared purpose that we have been committed to for the past seven+ years. Check through the calendar and make sure you have registered for our April 28th NY Candidate forum and for the Indivisible OneNYS Zoom on April 10th--and any other events and calls that help you feel connected and supported to do the work of saving American democracy this year.
Together, if we stick together and stay active, we can build a fair, just, and equitable democracy that is INDIVISIBLE.
Website: indivisiblemv.org
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