IMV members knocked doors and wrote postcards in recent weeks to turn out voters for Matt Castelli in NY21 and Sarah Klee Hood in NY22. Matt won, and will now challenge Elise Stefanik. Sarah Klee Hood, with grassroots support in Oneida and Madison County, came very close but was about 900 votes (a few percentage points) shy of the frontrunner, Fran Conole.

Now what? There's a lot of work to do. More to come!

You're invited to IMV's summer potluck picnic at the Birch Pavilion by the playground at Sherrill Brook, New Hartford's Town Park on Wednesday, August 24th, 5:30-8:00 pm. We'll welcome our 2022 candidates for many of the general election races, thank our primary candidates for running, talk about what's ahead, and enjoy food and fresh air with activist friends.

Thanks to the persistence of Sen. Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, and the NYS Indivisibles who kept the pressure on him, we have an historic bill that addresses climate, jobs, health care and the economy. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is expected to pass the House today and be signed into law by President Biden. The Democrats hung together --in the Senate, in the House, and in the White House--to get it done.

Surprising almost every pollster and political pundit across the country, Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated Kansans showed up at the polls on Tuesday to defeat an amendment to the state constitution designed to ban abortion in the conservative red state.

What happened??? And how can we build on this success for the midterms and in our own local political organizing in our purple and reddish communities?

Matt Castelli is the #NY21 Dem candidate ready to defeat #ExtremistElise Stefanik this fall. As part of Indivisible's 100 Days to Defeat MAGA Mayhem Weekend of Action, IMV is gathering in Frankfort, just over the Oneida County border, to knock doors for Matt. The meet up includes a meet & greet & brief training with Matt at 2 pm, and knocking from 2:30-5:00. then, everyone is welcome to head to the Heelpath Brewery Beer for burgers and brews.

Please join IMV on Saturday, July 23rd from 10-11 am at a counter-protest in Utica against Lee Zeldin's extremist voting record, which is bad for New York, bad for women, bad for the environment, and bad for business. Our goal with this demonstration is to get a local headline that mentions Zeldin's extremism or notes that his tour of upstate NY was met with protests. Our Indivisible friends in Syracuse are part of the same effort, as they hold a rally today when Zeldin does a pitstop in Syracuse.

At North Utica Shopping Center, 50 Auert Ave. Utica.

IMV has joined with many of our political partners in NY22 to sponsor a NY22 Democratic candidate forum on Wednesday, July 27th, 6-8 pm at Mohawk Valley Community College (Utica campus). You must pre-register for this event. After you do so, please invite all your registered Democratic party voter friends and family to pre-register as well.

We have a fabulous evening planned so that you can meet the four Democratic candidates for the NY 22 congressional election, hear their positions on the issues and their plans to win, and get excited and prepared not just for the primary, but also for the general election. We must and we will flip NY22 blue once again.

IMV is organizing a huge NY22 Democratic Candidate Forum in advance of the August primary. The event will be held Wednesday, July 27th, 6-8 pm at Mohawk Valley Community College (Utica campus). You must pre-register for this event. After you do so, please invite all your registered Democratic party voter friends and family to pre-register as well.

We must and we will flip NY22 blue once again.

In politics, as in sports, we don't agree with each other on every strategy or tactic. We are sometimes disappointed that our teammates are not as hard working, skilled, or high performing as we wish they were, especially when they hold a high office, but we only sabotage ourselves when we spread blame, hopelessness, and negativity. And the stakes here are not just youth sports--they are life and death, the future of our democracy. The stakes are high.

SCOTUS Just Overturned Roe v Wade.

We Rally Today @ 5 pm in Utica

When? Today, Friday, June 24, 5:00 pm

Where? In front of Rep.Claudia Tenney's office @ 430 Court Street, Utica That's the new AAA building.

Goal: We will protest this demand that Congress pass new legislation immediately to protect reproductive rights.

"Legal scholars said the decision to overrule Roe marked one of the few times the Supreme Court has ever invalidated an earlier decision that declared a constitutional right — and was the only time it took away a right that had considerable public support."

Bring your signs and your voices. When the Supreme Court will not protect the bodily autonomy of Americans and the rights of women in this country to make their own decisions about their bodies, their lives, their families, their health care, and their futures, we must demand that Congress Act to safeguard those freedoms.

In honor of Pride Month and to support the LGBTQ+ community, a celebration is planned in the heart of Utica on Saturday, June 25th, 11 am-4 pm. There will be live music and dancing, activities, vendors, face painting and fun for all.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Yes, breathe, relax and look around. You are not alone we are Indivisible and we are together.

This weekend is Juneteenth and World Refugee Day.

It is also Father’s Day, and there are graduations and weddings, anniversaries and reunions.

It is already election season with early voting Primaries for Democratic and Republican Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Primary for Republican US Senator, and local mayors and some town council seats are being held this week. The first of our two primaries this summer is June 28.

Please bring friends and family and join IVM tomorrow, June 11 as we participate in the peaceful National day of action spearheaded by March for Our Lives, and co-sponsored by dozens of other activist groups including Moms Demand Action, Everytown, Indivisible, and many more. More than 300 events are being held across the country to demand that Congress pass meaningful common sense gun reforms NOW.

You're invited to our June 2022 Meeting at Sherrill Brook (New Hartford Town Park (4191 Route 12). We have a pavilion (and hopefully good weather!) for our 6:30 pm meeting. We'll clarify who is running for which office in each district and organize our timeline for electoral work and advocacy for the next few months. Plus, we have a lot to celebrate including our five year anniversary as Indivisible Mohawk Valley, school board election wins, and a successful #BansOffOurBody march last month! Bring a friend, and join us on Tuesday evening!

What a terrible few weeks. First it was the assault on reproductive freedom, then the white supremacist massacre at the Tops in Buffalo. Now we have the slaughter of 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas. If you are still reeling from the events of recent weeks, and also weary because we've been marching, holding vigils, and writing letters for so many years already, to try to convince our lawmakers to pass common sense gun safety reforms, take a deep breath.

Shortly after the end of our peaceful, nonviolent, and well-attended #BansOffOurBodies Utica March ended last Saturday, a white supremacist perpetrated a murderous terrorist attack with a semi-assault weapon in Buffalo, NY. You can read our local NAACP President's statement on the Buffalo murders here. You can read about the victims here. This heinous assault in a majority Black neighborhood reminds us of why we do the work we do, and how much more we need to do to dismantle our country's white supremacy system and the political power that nurtures and protects it.

No politicians, no bans, and no court ruling should interfere with any woman's ability to access abortion. Your body is your own. We have to fight back. Join us in Utica to take to the streets!

#BansOffOurBodies Utica March
Saturday, May 14th, 12-2 pm
YWCA Mohawk Valley (310 Rutger Street) marching to Nurses' Candlelight Park (1425 Genesee Street)

You're reeling. You're gutted. You're horrified. We know. Indivisible Mohawk Valley is rooted in the mass women's march movement as well as the fight for democracy and social justice, and we are all devastated by the news of the draft SCOTUS decision decimating Roe v Wade and taking us back 50 years in women's freedom and equality and basic human rights.

But we are the kind of people who don't just cry and post angry memes on social media. We show up to resist tyranny and injustice together, take effective action, and make change.

On Tuesday afternoon about 20 people gathered for an impromptu rally at the federal courthouse in Utica on Broad Street---some were at their very first political rally, so we know that there are more people who yearn to be part of our movement in the Mohawk Valley and just haven't connected yet.

Please save the date of May 14th for our next #BansOffOurBodies reproductive freedom march in Utica. IMV is working with our coalition partners to determine time and location. There will be hundreds of us on the streets of Utica. You'll hear details from us soon.

We will finally be coming together again IN PERSON! Jewish Community Center, Sunday, May 1st, 3-5 PM. Enjoy a huge cake to celebrate the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the SCOTUS, cover some ground on electoral work and bring everyone up to speed on the recent decision about NY's election maps and primary dates, and then spend some time volunteering with door knocking (or for those who prefer, postcard prep) for James Paul who is on the ballot for Utica School Board. Celebrate and take action, together!

Submit Comments on the Draft Scoping Plan

The Climate Crisis Working Group (CCWG) is making a plea to the entire IMV membership to comment on the CLCPA Draft Scoping Plan. Thousands of comments will be needed advocating for the CLCPA implementation and against false solutions. It really takes just one minute to fill in your name and email and submit a public comment on the Land Use and Local Government Sector of NY’s Draft Scoping Plan.