September 1: Indivisible Santa Fe Newsletter

National purpose with local action

Next meeting: September 14, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Christ Lutheran Church
1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road, Santa Fe

Note: in celebration of the Labor Day holiday, there will be no meeting on Monday, September 7.

Drinking Liberally 🍷

Today, September 1, 5:00-7:00 PM, at Boxcar SF, 133 W. Water Street, Drinking Liberally kicks off the midterm election season with discussion and action around voting.

The Democratic Party of Santa Fe County will lead voter phone banking in the Boxcar Cafe 4:00-7:00 PM.  Sign up here in advance if possible. Bring a laptop or your phone.

Common Cause New Mexico’s Executive Director, Molly Swank and Senior Organizer, Cesar Marquez will lead a conversation on their Election Protection program and how you can help! Along with Santa Fe County Clerk Katharine Clark, they'll discuss the state of play for this election and legislation being proposed during the 2027 session to further strengthen our elections.

SFHA Community Meeting 🏘️

The next SFHA Collaborative community meeting is today, September 1, 5:15 PM, at Christ Lutheran Church, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road.

Featured speakers will be Ericka Kidd, executive director, and Phyllis Johnson, founder, of the nonprofit Rise Up Santa Fe. Rise Up Santa Fe accepts furniture donations and furnishes households for those exiting homelessness, recovery programs, fleeing domestic violence or experiencing a crisis.

Protect Roadless Forests 🌲

September 8, 6:00-7:30 PM, at Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, NM Wild and Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter will host a People's Public Hearing to Protect Roadless Forests.

The U.S. Forest Service is looking to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule without holding a single public meeting. NM Wild and Sierra Club are hosting their own public meetings to help make sure your voice is heard.

The public comment period on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule ends on September 21. Please submit your comment!

Fundraiser to Support Santa Fe Immigrants

September 11, 6:00-9:30 PM, at Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, Santa Fe Faith Coalition and Indivisible Santa Fe present an evening of Latin rock music by Nosotros. The proceeds provide emergency support for immigrant families served by Santa Fe's non-profit community.

Even if you can't attend, donations are still welcome! To make a donation, visit the Santa Fe Faith Coalition website.

ISF Book Group 📖

September 16, 10:00-11:00 AM, join the ISF book group to discuss The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee. The book is highly recommended by Indivisible National for its analysis of how racism and economic inequality intersect and reinforce each other.

The meeting place is to be announced. Everyone is welcome. Please contact Gary K for more details.

Share the Plan 🗣️

ISF is looking for volunteers to speak at each ISF weekly meeting, to summarize that week's Indivisible National What's the Plan podcast. If you can help, please contact David L.

Regular protests & events

• Speakers' Corner - September 5, 10:00-11:00 AM, on the sidewalk between Sky Coffee and Nuckolls Brewing Company, in the Railyard. Look for people wearing signs that say Speakers' Corner and shirts bearing the ISF logo.
• Signs of Strength - September 5, 10:30-11:30 AM at Zorro Ranch. For details on carpooling, and to RSVP, please contact Melinda H.

Fridays: Southside HONK and WAVE Protest

Fridays 8:00-9:00 AM on the corner of Zafarano Dr and Cerrillos Rd, on the sidewalk in front of the Target. Bring your signs! Support your neighbors! A Tale of February 6 We were protesting on February 6th, with a small group on the corner of Zafarano and

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

Walk the Talk Wednesdays

Come wave signs, Wednesdays 11 AM to noon at St. Francis & Cerrillos

Indivisible Santa FeDonovan Kolbly

Thursdays: Whole Foods Leafletting

Join SFBT each Thursday, 5:30-6:30 PM, to distribute leaflets at Whole Foods, Cerrillos Rd.

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

Update: Money Out of Politics NM 🚫 💵

At the weekly ISF meeting on August 31, Natalie provided an update on the Money Out of Politics NM (MOPNM) working group.

End Dark Money in New Mexico | Money Out of Politics NM

Money Out of Politics New Mexico is a non-partisan coalition working to pass the Corporate Money Out of New Mexico Politics Act and end dark money.

Money Out of Politics New MexicoMoney Out of Politics New Mexico

With the help of Transparent Election Initiative, MOPNM is developing proposed legislation based on the Montana Plan, which uses a state's authority to define what powers corporations have in that state. The group is currently seeking sponsors in the New Mexico legislature to help draft and promote the proposed laws.

MOPNM is also working to build coalitions with more than 70 other groups. You can help! MOPNM needs volunteers to act as points of contact with potential coalition partners. The group can provide training and materials to help you get started.

MOPNM meets via Zoom every Tuesday at 2:00 PM. If you'd like to attend meetings, or if you'd like to serve as a point of contact with one or more coalition partners, get in touch with Natalie at the next ISF meeting. You can also sign up for updates and ways to take action at https://mopnm.org/.

🎤 Indivisible Santa Fe Radio

On this week's podcast, Donovan and Gary speak with Charlotte Graveline. Charlotte is a historian at the National Park Service’s Intermountain Regional Office in Santa Fe. She is also interim Vice President of National Employees Treasury Union 347, the labor organization now representing hundreds of park rangers and other personnel like scientists and archaeologists across the Western states. The discussion centers on how we can keep our parks open and accessible for ourselves and coming generations.

From the Desk of Indivisible Santa Fe

Review of Fight Oligarchy by Bernie Sanders

Raise your hand if you’re tired. Yep, just as I thought. As an English major and avid Shakespeare fan, I generally prefer to read books that require some concentration and delight me in the beauty and elegance of their language. Sometimes, however, it is a relief to read a

Indivisible Santa FeDebra Efroymson

BlueCD2 Postcard Parties ✍️

The next BlueCD2NM postcard writing party is September 6, from 2:00-4:00 PM. Help write 1,000 postcards to get out the vote for Gabe Vasquez of Congressional District 2!

For more information and to RSVP, contact Georgia S or Tina M.

There will be another postcard writing party on September 26. Details to follow soon! Contact David H with any questions.

Fundraiser for Bill Peifer

September 12 at 2:00 PM, Frank B is hosting a fundraiser for Bill Peifer, who is running for County Commissioner in Torrance County District 2. A small donation can have a big effect!

For more details, see the link below. Please RSVP to Frank by September 5.

Fundraiser: Torrance Co. Commissioner

By Frank Blechman Concerned about the large ICE detention center in our neighboring Torrance County? Want to improve Democratic performance in rural areas of New Mexico? YOU can make a big difference. Torrance County is at the geographic center of New Mexico, immediately south of Santa Fe, and east of

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

Empowering the Youth Vote 🗳️

Are you a voter registrar? Can you be at Santa Fe Community College on Mondays, from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM? If so, here is a great opportunity to engage with potential voters of all ages.

Empowering the Youth Vote Project

The first ever Empower the Youth Vote Project is underway at SFCC. If you’re a voter registrar, your help is welcome!

Indivisible Santa FeGuest post

Check out our resources page with lots of links to useful information, constantly being updated as we find new web resources to help fight for democracy and the rule of law.

You can help our effort to expand our digital presence, including social media on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram by following us and liking and re-posting our messages, or sharing our website with people who might be interested – they, too, can sign up and get this newsletter! 🎉 Help us get the word out!

This is the first week we’ve had to live without Dolly Parton’s generosity, grace, and humor, so as Rebecca Solnit wrote in her tribute, “it's up to us to be what she was to the best of our ability.”

Let’s try that this week, because it’s going to be a big week. This week Indivisible ends our primary season and kicks off our general election campaign to crush this regime electorally, protect the results from Trump’s sabotage, and usher in a period of accountability and reform. I can’t freaking wait.

The schedule is slightly bonkers:

September 1: Final Indivisible National endorsed primary. Patrick Roath takes on Stephen “I get to decide” Lynch. You can join our final phone bank for him tonight.

September 2: National launch of Indivisible’s general election campaign to win the House and Senate. RSVP here.

September 3: Deep dive with famed pollster Celinda Lake on Indivisible’s battleground state message testing accountability and affordability. RSVP here.

September 9-10: The Republican midterm convention in Texas, guaranteed to be a sad, weird shitshow.

Then we’re off to the races, with the first states starting early voting the following week(!).

Winning is on us. Last week I wrote about what we should expect from Democratic leadership during the election. Two simple things: 

1. Big tent unity (no inflaming intraparty tensions).
2. Clear opposition (focus on creating contrast between Democrats and this corrupt, malevolent regime).

I still want that from Democratic leadership, but setting the narrative, winning the election, and protecting the results isn’t just up to the elite Washington, DC crowd.

It’s up to us. Really it is.

We -- and by “we” I mean you too -- make choices about whether to focus our energies on defeating this rapacious regime or on inflaming internal Democratic Party fissures. We make choices about whether to give attention and oxygen to organizers and unifiers or to the baiting trolls and clout-chasing shock jocks. We make the decision about whether we volunteer, donate, and devote our energies to actual real-life work to win races in key states and districts that will determine who controls Congress, or doomscroll ourselves into anesthetizedoblivion.

The primary was a different job: transform the Democratic Party into a fighting force. Indivisible won most of the fights we picked; and we lost some. But the time for intraparty chest-thumping or recrimination is not now. Our job is not to triumph in online arguments. Our job now is to win.

We have to get establishment and lefty candidates across the finish line alike -- which means we all have a shared interest in not devolving into infighting. So before you invest your limited attentional energy in national politics this fall, I suggest you ask one question: does this help us win? And if you see compatriots straying, consider offering a friendly redirect.

This isn't forever, but it is for now. Detente ‘til December. Link arms with your primary opponents -- they are not your enemy. Your enemy is division, cynicism, and complacency. Work like we're down 10 points. And through it all, be what Dolly was: kind, generous, and bigger than the bastards who want to divide us. If you want to do your part, we've got a jam-packed week of organizing opportunities for you.

In solidarity,
Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. WEDNESDAY: Join Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin for our general election kickoff call to learn about our plans to elect Democratic majorities in Congress that will fight for us and hold Trump and his cronies accountable (8pm ET/5pm PT). Indivisible is launching our largest general election program ever to retake Congress and elect leaders who fight for working people, not corrupt corporate interests. We’re organizing across the country to return power to the people and oust Republican House and Senate majorities that have allowed fascism to flourish -- and you can help. More than 5,500 Indivisibles have already signed up for Wednesday’s call -- don’t miss out!
2. Next Thursday, September 10, join our No Kings: Vote Early Kickoff Call to learn more about the coalition’s upcoming early vote activation and how you can get your community involved(8pm ET/5pm PT). Voting early helps combat voter suppression, allows more flexibility for working families to get to the polls, and increases participation among all voters. On the call, we’ll hear more about why early voting matters and how the No Kings Coalition is mobilizing to protect the vote. Our democracy belongs to all of us -- not to kings -- so let’s fight for it together.
3. Winning the midterms is step one. Step two? Defending the results from the Trump regime’s interference and sabotage. Pledge to take action to protect the vote. Trump and his sycophants will stop at nothing to attempt to suppress the vote and undermine the outcome of the midterms. They sent Dept. of Justice observers to intimidate primary voters, threatened to deploy ICE to the polls, raided a voter registration nonprofit, and have relentlessly tried to end mail-in voting -- and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s up to every single one of us to reject their dirty tricks and learn how to respond to election subversion. Ready to jump in? Start by watching our Election Protection 101 and 201 trainings if you couldn’t join live, and sign up for Hands Off Our Vote here.
4. This Thursday, September 3, join Indivisible co-founders Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin for a special edition of What’s the Plan featuring expert pollster and political strategist Celinda Lake(3pm ET/12pm PT). Celinda will join Leah and Ezra to discuss message testing on accountability and affordability in the midterms and break down our strategy toward victory in battleground states and beyond. If you’re new to What’s the Plan, this is the perfect week to join and learn more about the tools (and narrative) we need to secure wins across the country this November.
5. TODAY: Join our final phone bank for Patrick Roath at 5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT to make calls to voters in MA-08 before they head to the polls tomorrow. Every single conversation counts in this fight between bold new leadership and the same old entrenched status quo. Roath is facing MAGA-friendly opponent Stephen Lynch, a thirteen-term incumbent who voted to thank ICE for its service and pass the Laken Riley Act, which supercharged Trump’s detention and deportation agenda. Let’s help Roath cross the finish line with one last surge of grassroots support. Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
6. Volunteer for the first phone bank of the general election next Wednesday, September 9 as we contact Michigan voters in support of Abdul El-Sayed for Senate (5:30pm ET/2:30pm PT). We’re thrilled to announce the very first opportunity to continue to support candidates Indivisible endorsed in this year’s Democratic primaries. El-Sayed is running an entirely grassroots operation in one of the most watched battleground states in the country. He needs a wave of people power to propel him to victory and defeat the mountain of cash piling in for his opponent, and you can help! Paid for by Indivisible Action. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

P.S. Indivisible is on the verge of launching a massive organizing push in these final nine weeks before November 3. This kind of nationwide effort takes a lot of people power -- but it also takes a lot of grassroots funding. We need your help to finish our August fundraising strong, continue to fight the regime’s authoritarian agenda, and prepare to retake Congress and protect the results of the midterms. If you can, chip in to help us close the books on August and hit the ground running in September with our biggest general election program ever.

All Eyes on the CLARITY Act

The House is back in session today after the August recess, and the Senate will follow after Labor Day. Don’t expect too much news from the House except for a stopgap to fund the government until the midterms -- but when the Senate returns, it’ll be all hands on deck to block the CLARITY Act, the toothless crypto “regulation” bill that would do nothing to rein in Trump’s crypto corruption.

Even though Trump made $1.4 billion from the crypto industry in 2025 alone, the CLARITY Act breezed through the House last year with support from 78 Dems. Public outcry and advocacy toxified the bill enough that the Senate couldn’t pass it before they left for the August recess -- but now a vote is expected as early as September 15.

So, what can we do? First, keep calling your US senators to demand they reject the CLARITY Act. Then, level up your crypto education with our friend Ben McKenzie’s documentary, “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” which you can watch at a discounted cost here with code IND50.

Good News for a Change

A new database to monitor backlash to Flock and other automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras shows that as of this week, more than 100 local governments across the US have canceled or declined to renew their city’s Flock or other ALPR contracts since 2025.

These victories belong to local activists -- including Indivisible groups! -- in every corner of the country. Anti-Flock actions have brought communities together across the aisle to form nonpartisan coalitions committed to rejecting the encroaching threat of mass surveillance and the desecration of our civil liberties.

As if tracking and logging our daily movements wasn’t horrifying enough, Flock cameras threaten more than our privacy: ICE has used local law enforcement to access Flock data to target immigrants, and police officers have used ALPRs to stalk and harass partners and ex-partners. These cameras do not belong on our streets -- the last year has proved that anti-Flock organizers are a force to be reckoned with.

Every Flock camera removed or contract canceled is a big win for transparency and civil liberties. Want to brush up on what ALPRs are and how to fight them? Learn more here.

 Upcoming events + Election shifts

These nationwide events, calls, training sessions, and electoral volunteer opportunities are coming up soon. For even more Indivisible happenings, check our national calendar and get in touch with Indivisible groups near you!

Follow Indivisible National on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to their text messaging program, where they send rapid response actions a few times a month.