This election may be the most consequential of our lifetimes. We thought that was 2020, but it turns out that defeating Trump was not enough to save democracy. We must come together and do the work to defeat Trumpism. MAGA extremism can not have its way in our central NY communities.

Not sure where to start? Read on…

Earlier this week you may have seen the news about one of the first major polls for NY22. The poll found MAGA Republican extremist Brandon Williams ahead of Francis Conole by about 5 points. Here is what our IMV friend and one of our favorite political candidates, Sarah Klee Hood, said on Twitter in response:

"Polls don’t vote. Are you disheartened by what you saw yesterday? Good. Pretend the polls were even worse than that & put in the volunteer work to get it going in the right direction. The undecideds % was still in the teens. Are you going to knock on their door & talk to them?"

Question: What is October?

Now the real question: Are you committing to doing what it takes to get voters to the polls to elect candidates who will protect our freedoms to work, live, learn, vote, and love the way we want and protect the rule of law and norms of our representative democracy?

Today across the globe, young climate activists are striking and demonstrating to spur emergency action on the climate crisis; they are striking for their lives and futures. IMV's Climate Crisis Workgroup will hold a solidarity demonstration in front of Rep. Tenney's district office (430 Court Street in Utica) at 5pm - 6pm. Court Street is where we'll stand with signs, but our target audience is not Tenney. She doesn't care about anyone's future but her own. Our audience is the people driving by--heading to Varick street or home from work. We want them to be reminded that we CAN take action to address the climate crisis.

We had an excellent and efficient Zoom IMV meeting on Tuesday evening. It was great to hear from Fran Conole (NY22 Democratic candidate) and his Grassroots Director focused on Oneida and Madison county, Jon Lipe. With the critical midterm and local elections in just eight weeks, our focus is direct voter contact and campaign volunteering.

Please join IMV for our September Meeting (on Zoom!) Tuesday, Sept. 13th, 7:30-8:30 pm. We will hear from Francis Conole, and Jon Lipe, brand new Grassroots Director for his campaign. We'll also get an overview of our core Midterm messaging to help all of our Democratic candidates and a quick update on our overall electoral plan for the next nine weeks.

This weekend, rest from your labors. Seriously, enjoy the fresh air and have some fun this weekend in honor of your own labor and the labor of others.

Then, get ready to roll up your sleeves. It's clear that many more voters than expected are feeling more energized and motivated to go to the polls to vote for candidates who will protect their freedoms to live, vote, love, marry, and plan families as they wish. So just as we did in the 2018 midterms, we need to #KnockAllTheDoors and do all the other work to identify, mobilize, and turn out voters in November.

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.