 Dear Friend,
Sitting on a little island in the Salish Sea, it’s easy to wonder if our efforts to protect democracy are doing any good. We contact elected leaders, write letters, show up for protests, boycott enablers, and support fellow fighters? Does it matter? The answer is yes! Indivisible Whidbey is one of THOUSANDS of community-based groups, large and small, all over the country, standing up to the racist, fascist regime that is our current national leadership. Together, hundreds of thousands of small and large actions have an impact. Change is not happening as quickly as we would like, but it is happening. Together, we are creating a path to a better future. It’s hard work and discouraging at times. But collective action is what we can and must do now and in the years ahead. Elections The biggest potential for change in 2026 is through the mid-term elections. Significant wins will allow us to stop the free rein that right-wing nationalists currently enjoy. Indivisible Whidbey is committed to having an impact at the local, state, and national levels. What are you willing to do? 1. Canvass on Whidbey Island, talking with moderate neighbors about voting for change. Three upcoming canvass trainings are scheduled: Sign up for canvassing training on March 11 at Freeland Library, 6–7:30 pm. Sign up for canvassing training on March 14 in Oak Harbor, 10–11:30 am. Sign up for canvassing training on March 17 at Coupeville Library, 6–7:30 pm. 2. Canvass in-state but out of our district: Washington Congressional District 3 representative Marie Glusenkamp-Perez may be facing an opponent in the Primary. Stay tuned to learn how you can help ensure this district is represented by someone who supports democracy and civil rights. 3. Travel to another state to help flip a critical congressional seat. 4. Participate in a phonebank or textbank to contact voters in another state to flip a critical congressional seat Sign up here by email or on the website. Postcarding Write letters and postcards to voters in other states, persuading them to vote for change. Join us at the Freeland Library on February 25 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm. Everything you need to write and send the postcards will be available there. You can also pick some up to fill out at home. Sign up to write and send postcards by email or on our website. This is the time to think about 2026 and your role in shaping the future of our country! Town Halls Make your voice heard at an upcoming town hall with State Senator Ron Muzzal and State Representative Dave Paul: Saturday, February 21, at 11 am The Center, 51 SW Jerome Street, Oak Harbor Submit questions in advance here. If you’re not sure what to ask, take a look at this document that shows Sen. Ron Muzzal’s and Rep. Dave Paul’s positions on upcoming bills. State Representative Clyde Shavers has also announced a town hall on Whidbey next week: Thursday, February 26, 4–5 pm Whidbey Island Nordic Hall, 63 Jacobs Rd, Coupeville Zoom Training Opportunities WA Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) is offering two Zoom trainings: Rapid Response Network, March 6 from 6-8 pm. Training will cover how to monitor reported violations of immigrants' rights, support affected families, and build community leadership. Know Your Rights, March 11 from 6-7:30 pm. Training will cover how to support yourself and your community during encounters with immigration enforcement agents. Both sessions will be in English and Spanish. Register here on WAISN's website. Lobby Days Lobby days are opportunities for citizens to meet with legislators to persuade them to support bills that align with their values or to oppose ones that don't. Our legislative advocacy team met virtually with Representatives Paul and Shavers in early February to discuss bills on education, childcare, voting rights, and Flock cameras. Both representatives shared our views on these issues. Senator Muzzall has not responded to our calls or emails. Take Action Network (TAN) The 2026 Legislative Session ends on March 12. This final month is all about budget decisions. Take a look at TAN's list of suggested actions to see where you can influence funding (enroll in Take Action Network here on the Indivisible Whidbey homepage). The Senate passed the controversial Millionaires’ tax, SB 6346, and the House has yet to vote on it. HB 2724 will align with SB 6346 to establish a new 9.9% tax on annual income over $1,000,000 to fund education, healthcare, and small-business tax relief. Click here and sign in "pro" in support of the bill for the House Finance Committee's upcoming hearing. Sign in Pro to support HB 1710 (Concerning compliance with the Washington Voting Rights Act of 2018). This bill has passed the House and is now in the Senate. It introduces a pre-clearance requirement to help prevent vote dilution and the abridgment of voting rights. When covered jurisdictions with a history of discrimination wish to change their voting policies, the law will require them to obtain the Attorney General's pre-approval before implementing the new policies. Support SB 5906 (Prohibiting ICE from entering schools, daycares, and hospitals without a judicial warrant): Sign in "Pro" for the House Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee's Public Hearing. This bill has passed the Senate and is now in the House. It prohibits immigration authorities from entering nonpublic areas of facilities such as early learning, K-12, higher education, healthcare, adult family homes, and some election sites without a warrant or court order. It also prohibits employees of these facilities from collecting information on students' or their family members' immigration status. The SAVE Act is still a threat with its proposed documentation requirements that would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, including married individuals who have taken their spouse’s surname. Click the TAN link here to contact Senators Murray and Cantwell and express your concerns about the act. In Memoriam: Reverend Jesse Jackson Indivisible Whidbey joins the nation in mourning the Rev. Jesse Jackson. We stand on his courageous shoulders as we give our all to promote democracy and equity. His outspoken leadership continues to inspire us. He worked to ensure that the Bill of Rights applied to people of all races and economic statuses. We follow in his footsteps as we protect free and fair elections open to all citizens, freedom of speech, freedom to gather, and freedom from unlawful arrests and seizures. In Solidarity, Indivisible Whidbey Steering Committee
0 Comments
 Together, we are continuing to show up and make a difference. Last week, hundreds of us supported island nurses at a vigil for nurse Alex Pretti and many others killed by ICE. Hundreds more contacted our leaders to demand we rein in the unchecked power of ICE and stop the murderous assault on cities around the U.S.
This week, we need to keep up the pressure. The latest spending bills only fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through February 13. This is a critical time for our leaders to take action to create limits and accountability on ICE and Border Patrol, or refuse to fund DHS. Our Members of Congress appear to be on board, but we still recommend you call or email them and support their decision vote no on any DHS funding bill unless, at a minimum, it:
Call your senators. Call your representative. Email your Members of Congress Support These Washington Bills There is plenty happening in the current Washington Legislative session that impacts democracy and civil rights. Use the Take Action Network (TAN) to weigh in on these issues: Are you concerned about frivolous voter registration challenges that unnecessarily remove citizens from voter rolls and overwhelm election officials? The Washington State House is considering HB 1916, which strengthens the rules for challenging a voter's registration. It also gives county auditors more power to throw out false claims. Use the script in TAN to urge your state legislators to vote yes on HB 1916. Are you concerned about AI “nudify” apps sold through the Apple and Google app stores? These apps can violate your privacy by deep faking your photos to generate explicit content. Go to TAN and send a pre-scripted letter to Attorney General Brown to ensure our laws protect us all. Not on TAN yet? It’s an easy way to have an impact. Sign up here. Immigrant Justice! SOS Whidbey and Indivisible Whidbey are hosting an Immigrant Justice Open House on February 12, 5:00 - 7:00 pm at the Freeland Library. Drop in anytime to learn ways you can plug in right here on Whidbey, taking hyper-local defense and hyper-local care. Ballots Due Tuesday! Coupeville and Greenbank residents, don’t forget to vote! The Coupeville School District has two levy renewals on the ballot in the February 10 election. These replace the levies that the community approved in 2022. They are not new taxes. Indivisible Whidbey endorses both levy renewals as our island’s school districts prepare students for the future! If you’re registered to vote in the Coupeville School District, we hope you’ll support them. As we fight for our democracy, we believe it’s important to vote in every election. We recommend placing your ballot in a ballot box, as the postal service's delivery can’t be guaranteed on time. Tech / Zoom Help Needed Our next all-island membership meeting will be a virtual meeting, held on Zoom. We have one volunteer ready to help with technology and would appreciate a second person to ensure success. Got some Zoom mojo? Please contact us! Save the Date: No Kings March 28th The next nationwide rally will be Saturday March 28. We are planning big action on Whidbey Island. Mark your calendar and sign up here if you would like to help with the event. In Solidarity, Indivisible Whidbey Steering Committee P.S. In these challenging times, connection is critical. Our community socials are a great chance to meet friends and neighbors, share ideas, and feel a little less alone! Please join us. Meet your neighbors, share ideas, and build community at our monthly community socials: South End: We’re working towards regular meetings on the 3rd Thursday of each month.The February meeting is currently at capacity. We’ll be sharing the location and sign-up details for the March meeting very soon. You are always welcome to join a meeting at another location. Coupeville: 4th Tuesday of every month, 6–7:30 pm. Next meeting is February 24 at the Coupeville library. Oak Harbor: CHANGE: 1st Wednesday of the Month in February and March. The next meeting is from 6-7:30pm on March 4 at the Oak Harbor Library. Donate Indivisible Whidbey State Rte 20 and Main Coupeville, WA 98239 United States If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe. |
AuthorThe Indivisible Whidbey Newsletter is published weekly and if you want it sent directly to your inbox, use the Get Our Emails tab to sign up. Archives
February 2026
Categories |
RSS Feed