Last year at Harvest on the Hill in Utica, IMV's "kids vote" table was a huge success! We saw hundreds of children in costumes, showed them how to vote for their favorite candy by secret ballot, talked to their adults about registering to vote and/or voting in the upcoming election, and provided apples, candy, and water to families as they headed down James Street. We even had hundreds of kids take photos with our big blow up dinosaur with a "Dinos for Democracy" sign. So fun!

We need your help for the event again this year.

You are invited to join our celebration of diversity and inclusion on the village green in Clinton tomorrow, on the last day of Banned Book Week 2023, Freedom to Learn and Love is a counter demonstration to the Moms for Liberty event at the Alexander Hamilton Institute. They want to ban books in libraries and schools, and make schools less welcoming and inclusive. Yuk.

IMV Freedom to Learn and Love Rally
Saturday, Oct. 7
12:30-2:00 pm
Clinton Village Green

Weather: The forecast is iffy. With a little rain, we're all about umbrellas. If the rain is very heavy, there may be a change in plan so please check the Facebook event at noon.

As you know, our country is facing a MAGA Republican government shutdown because of reckless Republican extremists. It's not just the fault of "arsonists" like Matt Gaetz. The entire shutdown could be avoided if Brandon Williams and five of the other 17 "Unrepresentatives" (Republican reps in districts Biden won in 2020) would simply sign a a discharge petition to allow Democrats to bring a bipartisan bill to the floor.

But...instead of signing the petition so that the government can function and pay its workers, Williams is doing nothing to help federal employees who do the work of the people every day and need to pay their bills just like anyone else. Instead, Brandon Williams told a reporter on national TV that he will accept his pay, even while lower paid workers who are furloughed or have to show up for work are NOT paid, adding that government workers shouldn't expect "a huge amount of sympathy." He wears his cruelty and disregard for the lives of the people in NY22 on his sleeve.

To make a long story short, MAGAs are driving us off a cliff and Brandon Williams is at the wheel. That's why, if the government shuts down Sept. 30, we will stand in solidarity of our neighbors who are federal workers going without the pay need for rent, mortgage, food, and utilities, and make sure the public knows who is to blame. Please join us for these important rallies.

Brandon Williams is just making up problems--like who is using which bathroom, and who is reading what library book --these are phony issues designed to gaslight and distract from the Republican failure to get things done that benefit Americans. He's not focused on helping constituents and his district; he's trying to get people believe that the services, investments, and institutions that serve them every day are somehow failed or corrupt. UGH!

What can you do? Read on for suggestions…

We’re meeting with Senator Gillibrand on Zoom

Join IMV and rural friends from across New York for a Rural Discussion with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Zoom starting at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, September 19th. She’s answering questions about the Rebuilding Rural America Act and Farm Bill. We’ll get time with her staff as well to dive deeper into how we can make a difference in our own communities when it comes to making sure we get available funding that can make a difference. Let’s all show up together!

George Santos (NY-3) is a liar and fraud, and Republicans in Congress like Brandon Williams called for him to resign when the headlines were about his disgraceful fraud and lies to voters. But instead they voted to keep Santos in office and launched an investigation that did nothing but delay his expulsion and keep a confessed thief in Congress. We know the truth: Santos is still in office because Republicans want him there. They don’t care about his lies or about his constituents, they just want him to vote for their priorities and help them protect their majority.

What can we do? Read on…

You may have seen Citizen Action’s More Williams Wednesday event coverage on local tv news and in print media. Of course, it was especially fun for the media because the planned Citizen Action protest was counterprotested by MAGAs. Yes, it was a throwback to the old #OneTermTenney days where we stood outside the district office of our member of Congress, and the Trumpy MAGAs showed up once in a blue moon.

Through monthly protests, Citizen Action plans to keep calling attention to Brandon Williams' failure to represent all the people in the district and his prioritization of the MAGA agenda.

We ordered thousands of postcards to get Democratic and unaffiliated women to the polls to vote for women candidates in targeted election districts in the Mohawk Valley. Now it's time to handwrite messages on those cards and get them labeled and stamped. We'll be having a series of postcard parties in the coming weeks.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event last night! You showed up and proved that democracy is not a spectator sport!

If you've been relaxing at camp, traveling, or working in the garden all summer and just realized that you haven't registered for the NY22 Congressional forum--it's not too late!

Aug. 17th NY22 Congressional Forum: Register NOW

All three Democratic candidates for NY22 have confirmed they will participate in the forum. Hear all of them together on why we need to beat Brandon Williams at the ballot box in 2024 and how they plan to be the candidate to help us flip NY22 and take back the House.

• Meet NY22 Candidates Sarah Klee Hood, Clemmie Harris, and John Mannion

• This event is for registered Democrats and WFP members only.

• Co-sponsored by Indivisible Mohawk Valley, Citizen Action CNY, NAACP Utica/Oneida County, Oneida County Democratic Committee, Working Families Party, and Oneida County Democratic Women's Club

Have You Registered for the NY22 Forum?

If you have, then your next step is to invite your NY22 (Dem & WFP) friends and colleagues. We're excited about the 85+ people who have registered in the past week, but we want to make sure that all registered Democratic and WFP voters in NY22 know about this event and have the opportunity to attend. Invite them!

Register for the NY22 Congressional Forum happening on Thursday, August 17th from 6-8pm at Mohawk Valley Community College at 1101 Sherman Ave, Utica. This event is for registered Democrats and WFP members only. It is co-sponsored by Indivisible Mohawk Valley, Citizen Action CNY, NAACP Utica & Oneida County, Oneida County Democratic Committee, Working Families Party, and Oneida County Democratic Women's Club.

All three Democratic candidates for NY22 have confirmed they will participate in the forum. Come hear all of them together on why we need to beat Brandon Williams at the ballot box in 2024 and how they plan to be the candidate to help us flip NY22 and take back the House.

(Photo from our recent picnic.)

We can't wait to see everyone at:
IMV’s Summer Potluck Picnic
Wednesday, July 19th, 5:30-7:00 pm
Sherrill Brook Park in New Hartford (Birch Pavilion–to the left, near the large playground).

This is our annual fun event with allies, families, and friends. In fact, bring a friend! We’ve also invited local candidates to join us. Being a dish to share. Please bring your own plates, utensils and beverage container if you can, but we'll have extra in case. We'll be there under the pavilion, rain or shine--see you there!

It was wonderful to see many of you at the Oneida County Democratic Committee fundraiser with keynote speaker NYS Attorney General Letitia James. She was outstanding! We look forward to seeing everyone at our annual:

IMV Summer Potluck Picnic
Wednesday, July 19th, 5:30-7:00 pm, IMV’s Summer Potluck Picnic, Sherrill Brook Park in New Hartford (Birch Pavilion–to the left, near the large playground). This is our annual fun event with candidates, allies, families, and friends invited and lots of social time. We’ve invited local candidates to join us. Being a dish to share. Please bring your own plates, utensils and beverage container if you can, but we'll have extra in case,

NY22 Congressional Candidate Forum
NOTE THIS IS A NEW DATE!
Thursday, August 17th, 6-8 pm, Mohawk Valley Community College, 1101 Sherman Drive, Utica Alumni College Center Snack Bar. Candidates have announced for the 2024 congressional campaign, and we want to start getting to know them. Registration coming soon!

Congratulations to Celeste Friend and her Purple Posse of campaign volunteers! Celeste's win was the result of her campaign's inclusive vision: Utica for All, and her commitment as an elected official and a candidate to transparency, sustainability, and livable neighborhoods. Celeste secured campaign contributions and endorsements from many progressive PACs, labor unions, Citizen Action, and the Working Families Party. Now she will be on the Democratic Party line and the WFP line for the November election.

This past Tuesday, June 20th, Indivisible Mohawk Valley celebrated our 6th birthday! In 2017, a bunch of engaged (and also enraged!) people had been organizing demonstrations against Donald Trump and Claudia Tenney (remember our Deplora-ball counter rally with over 125 people wearing black outside Cavallo's in April 2017?) and their onslaught of harmful and destructive legislative and executive actions following the 2016 election and the Women's March.

For ways to celebrate, read on…

Thank you to everyone who has contributed, volunteered with the "Purple Posse," carried petitions, knocked doors, and made calls. We are now in the final days of the campaign and it's time to Get Out the Vote!

Today we have one big ask for everyone who has a Republican Member of Congress--whether that's Brandon Williams or Elise Stefanik--following the arraignment of Trump in Miami. Please read on for details…

Friends, the Celeste Friend for Mayor campaign relies more than any other campaign that we can remember on getting voters who are not usually aware or included to know who she is and why they should go out in an off-election year to vote for her. The ground game of talking to voters at their doors is everything to Celeste's campaign in this challenging primary. And it has been going very well, thanks to her many volunteers.

Then the campaign had to suspend door knocking for several days this week because of the poor air quality. Now our planned canvass for her Sunday is all the more important. We need as many people as possible to show up and help make up the ground that was lost. Sunday is less than a week from the start of early voting on June 17th. Read on for the plan.