Founded immediately after the Women’s March in January 2017, Indivisible Healdsburg is celebrating a year of political activism and accomplishment. And, starting with its Jan. 17 general meeting, the group plans to kick off its second year with a range of actions to support progressive candidates in the upcoming mid-term elections.
Gloria Hersch, a member of its leadership committee, states that “Indivisible Healdsburg is a grassroots, nonpartisan and collaborative movement that promotes a progressive agenda. We share a common belief that we all prosper when we practice acceptance, inclusivity, equality and compassion.”
She adds, “We engage with our local, state and federal politicians to voice our agreement or disagreement with policies that either promote these values or run counter to them. We also remind our politicians that they are our representatives.”
“It’s a great feeling to be a first-time political activist,” said Ashley Rabun, another member of Indivisible Healdsburg’s leadership team. “I was complacent about politics before, which made me complicit in some of the mess we’re currently in. But I’m not complacent or complicit anymore. It has been so empowering to realize that our positive actions can have positive consequences — especially when we team up with others.
“I’d encourage everybody who’s alarmed by the news to get involved in Indivisible Healdsburg, especially now,” Rabun adds. “We were fired up last year, but 2018 is even more pivotal, since the upcoming elections give us the opportunity to support progressive candidates who’ll fight to protect both their constituents and our democracy.”
Indivisible Healdsburg’s pivot to an increased focus on the 2018 elections will begin at its next general meeting, which takes place at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 in the multi-purpose room at Healdsburg Junior High (315 Grant Street). Karen D’or, a founder of Sonoma County Indivisible (one of the roughly 6,000 Indivisible chapters across the nation), will highlight actions people can take to impact the upcoming elections. Those include voter registration, canvassing, and phone- and text-banking. For people new to the process, D’or will also discuss the training and other resources available from Indivisible’s local and national chapters.
In addition, Indivisible Healdsburg’s Election 2018 committee will present its work in various California districts to elect progressive candidates and flip congressional seats from red to blue. Meeting attendees will have an opportunity to sign up for that type of out-of-area election work. They’re also encouraged to bring their laptops and other devices to log into TurboVote to work on voter registration and help get out the vote in specific districts.
These upcoming actions are the latest in a long list of political activism and achievements in Indivisible Healdsburg’s first year of existence, which includes:
Organizing a rapid-response network of people who will protest in the Healdsburg Plaza if the Trump administration fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller;
Sending out weekly newsletters with actions that individuals can take — including calls to members of Congress, state representatives, and federal agencies — to advocate for the causes they care about most;
Building relationships with elected representatives and their staffs;
Supporting Doug Jones’ successful Senate campaign by joining forces with an Alabama Indivisible group and sending get-out-the-vote postcards and texts;
Joining other Sonoma County organizations in a number of marches and rallies, including ones focused on peace, immigration, jobs, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, science and the Affordable Care Act;
Helping to keep our community’s immigrants safe by partaking in the Rapid Response Network in which trained legal observers record ICE actions to keep agents accountable and potentially aid immigrants’ legal defense;
Supporting families that have lost family members to detention centers or deportation;
Co-sponsoring a daylong conference on “Talking Across the Political Divide,” featuring author Sharon Ellison;
Sponsoring a North Bay Indivisible Leaders’ Summit, attended by 80-plus leaders from San Francisco, the East Bay and surrounding areas;
Hosting a lecture on “Understanding Evangelical Support for Trump” by author and physician Jonathan Dudley;
Sending a delegation to North Bay Rock the Congress, which brought together 15-plus progressive groups focused on flipping red congressional seats in 2018;
Raising funds, donating clothes and spurring members to volunteer at the Healdsburg Free Store for victims of October’s wildfires;
Spreading the word about the Healthy California Act (SB 562), which would establish an enhanced Medicare-for-all system in our state;
Winning an award from the Sonoma County Peace and Justice Center;
Launching weekly Mingle to Make a Difference gatherings, informal meetings that kick off at 5:30 every Thursday evening at Sonoma Cider.
Anyone interested in getting more information on Indivisible Healdsburg can email [email protected].
Maria Behan is a member of Indivisible Healdsburg.
