Dear Indivisible Nashoba,

We are excited to present two candidates at our meeting this Saturday, March 10, from 10:15 a.m. – 12 noon. Alexandra Chandler will start promptly at 10:15 a.m. She is running for U.S. Congress to replace Niki Tsongas, who is retiring.

At 11:00 a.m. we have invited Cindy King from Townsend. She is running for the First Middlesex State Representative seat currently held by Sheila Harrington. After Cindy, we can discuss future candidates and directions for our group.

MA3 Grassroots

Brenton Stottart will present the website MA3 Grassroots, a website that tracks candidates positions on issues within the MA3 district election.

Survey

Steering committee has designed a survey to help us better anticipate areas of focus for the upcoming year. We have extended the deadline to March 15 to give more of you a chance to participate. Your answers will help us analyze the needs of IN so please respond: Take The Indivisible Nashoba Survey

March 24: March For Our Lives

On March 24 there is a March for Our Lives event being planned in Chelmsford. If you would like to be involved in planning this event there are two planning meetings coming up on Monday March 12 and Monday March 19.

• Monday, March 12, planning March for our Lives, 7:00 pm. (contact Deborah for location)
• Monday, March 19, planning March for our Lives, 7:00 pm (contact Deborah for location)
• Saturday, March 24, March for Our Lives, 2:00-5:00 pm, 4 North Rd., Chelmsford
  https://www.facebook.com/events/172568543525779/

Mark your calendars- our next three IN General Meetings will be on Saturdays at the GPL from 10:15 a.m. to 12 noon:

• Saturday, April 7, Owen Smith Shuman Gallery, Groton Public Library
• Saturday, May 5, Owen Smith Shuman Gallery, Groton Public Library
• Saturday, June 2, Owen Smith Shuman Gallery, Groton Public Library

Deborah Santoro & Margaret Scarsdale
Co-chairs of Indivisible Nashoba

Cheers to Indivisible Nashoba and its phenomenal members!

How do we keep hope alive in the dystopian version of America that we find ourselves living in?

By taking action.

This week we are asking all of you to call your state representatives and ask them to move forward on 5 environmental bills that a consortium of Indivisible groups and Mass Power Forward have identified as legislative priorities this session.  More information and a calling script here.

The Massachusetts legislature works in a 2-year cycle that we are now halfway through. All bills not voted out of committee by February 7th will die in committee. We have identified Rep. Sheila Harrington and Sen. Eileen Donoghue in particular who need to hear from constituents about these bills.

This Saturday January 27th we will meet at the Groton Public Library from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. The first half of our meeting will be an update of what we’re doing and where we’re headed.

At 10:30, we’re welcoming Steve Kerrigan, who is a candidate for the seat that Niki Tsongas is leaving.

The second half will be devoted to texting training. Texting can be a remarkably powerful tool — texting with MoveOn.org has allowed us to text progressive voters in key states to generate constituent phone calls on important issues, such as calling senators to support legislation in the Senate to retain Net Neutrality. It would be helpful if you would read the document and join the MoveOn Slack team before Saturday, but this is not required.

Does the idea of learning a new piece of software make you want to cringe? Several of our members have felt the same way, until they tried it. MoveOn texting is incredibly easy and incredibly effective at making change — try it, we think you’ll agree!

Forrest Gump once recounted that, “Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get.” We have found that to be true for every aspect of life, until we joined the ranks of other activists after the November 2016 election. Since then, every meeting, every march, every phone call, every action has led us to the same result again and again: feeling powerful, feeling energized, and feeling whole.
It was like that last Saturday when Margaret, Dina, Sarah, Carolyn McCreary (who spoke!) and about 400 others showed up for the Women’s anniversary march in Ayer, MA.

Margaret writes:

“There was the same lovely anticipation as my family and I approached the venue: without knowing who would be there, I was excited simply that activists would be there, men and women and children who see a different direction for our country, men and women and children who believe in inclusivity and curiosity and kindness. I knew whoever I was there, I was in good company, and just like every other time I’ve gotten together with these men and women and children who are on their feet and speaking out, it was a phenomenal day.”

We can say, without reservation, that nothing gives you courage like seeing hundreds of your family and friends and neighbors making a public statement with their very bodies about what is — and is not — to be tolerated, hundreds of people standing strong in Ayer’s town center. Here’s to the continuing change being brought about by our collective voices!

Thank you for all that you do!

Deborah Santoro & Margaret Scarsdale
Co-chairs of Indivisible Nashoba

This just in!

Steve Kerrigan, MA candidate for Niki Tsongas’s CD-3 seat will join us at our General Meeting at the Groton Public Library this Saturday, January 27. We expect him to speak briefly at 10:30 am. (The meeting runs from 10:00 to 12:00.)

Events and Calls to Action

• Sunday, February 25, 3 p.m: Groton Democratic Caucus at Town Hall (have to register as a Democrat to participate)
• Saturday, January 27, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm: Indivisible Nashoba General Meeting and Texting Training, Groton Public Library
• Sunday, January 28, 4:00 pm: Groton Democratic Town Committee hosting two Congressional candidates: Beej Das and Barbara L’Italien. Between 4:00 and 5:00, Beej Das, will speak and take questions. From 5:00 to 6:00, State Senator Barbara L’Italien will speak and take questions.
• Wednesday, January 31st, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm: Lobby Day for Automatic Voting Registration, Massachusetts State House. Follow this link to register and attend (training provided).
• Saturday, February 3, 9:00 am – 11:00 am: Postcard party at Sarah Miller’s.
• Sunday, February 25, 3:00 pm: Groton Democratic Caucus at Town Hall (have to register as a Democrat to participate).

We are imagining the sighs of relief that were exhaled when you learned of the news of the Alabama victory for Senator Doug Jones. Make no mistake: this is a victory shared by many people (including some in our own state) who rolled up their sleeves and/or opened their wallets and made the “impossible” happen. And it is by no means the end of our Indivisible journey, as you probably know when you think about the current “tax reform” bill that appears to be close to passing, despite its overt and absolutely unapologetic crippling of the poor and those who struggle day to day. Continue reading “Newsletter: December 13, 2017”

In November, eleven of us went to the Indivisible Massachusetts Conference in Worcester where we learned strategies to Connect * Affect * Elect in 2018 and beyond. Of the many valuable lessons learned, some of the most valuable are those of hope and connection. In an invigorating speech, Elizabeth Warren reminded us that the actions of Indivisible groups like ours are working; that when people rise up and take a stand, the world changes.

Continue reading “Newsletter: December 3, 2017”

As an Indivisible group, we have called Congress and done the hard work of staying awake and paying attention to the runaway train that comprises our current presidential administration.

This fall it is critical that we coordinate our efforts to flip the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections. Continue reading “Newsletter: October 15, 2017”