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Dear Friend,
As right-wing extremists drag out Trump’s government shutdown, they’ve taken the extraordinarily cruel step of cutting off Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) funding effective this Saturday. This move will throw 41 million Americans into hunger. This is clearly a tactic to blame Democrats and force them to yield on the issue of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Politics aside, more than 2,000 Island County households rely on SNAP, and our neighbors will suffer. It’s up to us to step in and fill the gap as best we can. To combat hunger on our island, you can donate food, money or your time to any of these resources:
Indivisible Whidbey, in partnership with many other organizations, is planning a benefit concert for our island’s food banks. Can you help make this happen? Please email us to join the planning team, which meets next week. And please plan to attend the benefit — date and time to come. If you are a SNAP recipient, here are additional resources and things to know:
Vote Today! Now more than ever, every election matters. Please take the time to cast your ballot if you have not done so already. Ballots must be placed in a ballot box or postmarked by Tuesday, November 4. Indivisible Whidbey deployed volunteer researchers to look at each contested race on the Island. We offered endorsements only where there was a clear differentiator with one candidate highly qualified and/or the other not. Read our endorsements here. Read more analysis and endorsements: Thanks to everyone who has responded to our endorsements, offering differing opinions and new information. We are a grassroots, all-volunteer organization, and we are always learning. After the election, we are committed to monitoring our elected officials and holding them accountable. As we look ahead to 2026, here are some ways you can be involved:
Support Ann Johnson The South Whidbey School Board race is critical. We know that MAGA is using school boards across the country as an entry point for extremist viewpoints. It’s vital that we elect an individual who will continue to exemplify our values, including protecting civil rights and rejecting censorship. Read more about Ann Johnson here. Read more about her opponent here. (Neither website was created or vetted by Indivisible Whidbey.) Ways to help:Text Banking Party: Sunday 11/2 - 5:30 - 7:30 at a Langley location (sign up and we will send you the address) Sign Waving (signs provided): Friday 10/31 7:45 am at Maxwelton & 525 (come in your Halloween costume if you want! ) Saturday 11/1 10 am at Bayview Park & Ride Tuesday 11/4 7:30 am at Ken's Korner Membership MeetingIn keeping with our commitment to host events on different parts of the island, our next membership meeting will be at Clinton Hall on the south end on January 24, 1:30 - 3 pm. Just as our neighbors from the south part of Whidbey Island have made the trip up to Oak Harbor for meetings and events, we hope our North Whidbey friends will make the trip and join us! Sign up here We'll be discussing our plans for the 2026 midterm elections locally and across the country. We'll also cover how you can impact the 2026 Washington Legislative session. Find Your Community Our monthly community socials are a great chance to connect, make friends and talk about issues. And new in November, we’re adding a social in the south end! South Whidbey Social, November 20, 6pm-8pm, United Methodist Church, Langley Co-sponsored by SOS Whidbey and Indivisible Whidbey Volunteers wanted for pie or crisp dessert making Agenda: A chance to connect with each other, ask or comment on our organizational practices and current news. Practice finding common values through short story telling.In small groups, we’ll listen with care, reflecting back strengths and values we hear in each other’s stories.This gentle way of connecting and affirming will be useful for building a base for communicating across differences.
National action While our priorities this week are voting and helping our neighbors facing food insecurity, there is one step you can take as part of a nationwide campaign to urge music streaming platform Spotify to stop running ICE recruiting ads. You can read more here. In Solidarity, Indivisible Whidbey Steering Committee
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Ballots are out, and it’s time to vote! While this off-year election may feel insignificant, it very much matters. Across the country, MAGA has used school boards and other “small” offices to advance their people and beliefs. This may be happening here on Whidbey Island, so read on for guidance and inspiration to vote like our democracy depends on it.
South Whidbey School Board Indivisible Whidbey is endorsing Ann Johnson for the South Whidbey School Board. We base our endorsement on a careful analysis of her positions and those of her opponent. As this controversial race has gone on,we are concerned this could be a case where MAGA is working to place a person who shares their beliefs in office. The impacts could be devastating and long-term. Based on our research, Gwendy Gabalien has not been transparent in her views, presenting herself during the election in ways that don’t align with her long-held views. Indeed, Gabelein has refused to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. That speaks volumes about where she stands; you can read more here.(This website was not created by or vetted by Indivisible Whidbey.) If you live in South Whidbey, please vote for Ann Johnson and urge all your friends and family to vote in this pivotal local election. Volunteer during these critical last two weeks -- sign up on Ann Johnson’s website! Join a texting party November 2, 5:30 - 7:30 pm at Whidbey Island Yoga in Langley. Together, we can prevent MAGA from getting a foothold on our Island. More Whidbey Island Endorsements Indivisible Whidbey volunteers researched candidates and are endorsing in the following races:
Read more about our endorsements. For other important races, watch the recent League of Women Voters candidate forum recordings, which are available here. Rally Follow-Up As Ezra Levin and the national Indivisible Team said, “Saturday was comfortably the largest single-day peaceful protest in American history. More than 7,000,000 people at more than 2,700 protests across the world — including in the biggest and bluest city centers and reddest and most rural towns in America.” Watch our slideshow of incredible photos from this event. How You Can Still Help Huge thanks to everyone who made this rally possible, including the League of Women Voters Whidbey Island, Whidbey SOS, our musicians and actors, Whidbey’s Handmaids, and all of you who showed up with signs, costumes, energy, and loud voices! Grassroots volunteers plan these important demonstrations. If you have the means and would like to support this visible display of resistance, please donate to Indivisible Whidbey. Donate Here Your contribution allows us to continue standing up in defiance of the current administration by supporting work around the country, building our local community, and continuing to find ways to take action. Lost and Found Did you lose an umbrella or a green beanie cap that says “Montana Tech”? Contact [email protected] to get your item back. We also have red reader glasses found at the July membership meeting, and would love to return them. Membership Meeting You asked for it, you got it. Our next membership meeting will be on January 24, 1:30 - 3 pm at Clinton Hall on the south end of the island. We are one island, and we’ll continue to vary locations from north to south, so we hope that people from Oak Harbor and the rest of North Whidbey will make the trip to join us. Sign up HERE We all have the 2026 midterms on our mind, and in January's meeting, we will talk about Indivisible Whidbey’s approach to those elections here on the island and across the country. We will also share how you can have an impact on the 2026 Washington Legislative session. In the meantime, don’t forget about our monthly local socials in Coupeville (4th Tuesday of every month) and Oak Harbor (1st Monday of every month)! Action You Can Take Today TAN: Unlawful Federal Access to WA Flock Camera DataThe University of Washington Center for Human Rights has discovered illegal federal access to local police departments’ automated license plate reader data. These readers — manufactured by Flock Safety and commonly called “Flock cameras” — can help track stolen vehicles. However, federal immigration authorities have made thousands of searches that collected data from 31 police agencies in Washington state (sometimes with the local agency’s knowledge and cooperation, in many cases through “back door” access to agencies that never granted permission). This violates the state’s Keep Washington Working Act, and there’s a suggested action in TAN* to urge Attorney General Brown to sue the federal agencies responsible. *TAN, or the Take Action Network, is an online platform that makes it easy to stay informed on urgent issues and take action with thousands of like-minded citizens. Learn more and sign up here. National Actions Email your Democratic senator(s) and encourage them to hold the line in this Trump Shutdown showdown. So far, all but three Senate Democrats and Independents — Senators Cortez Masto, Fetterman, and King — have held the line against Trump's dangerous budget. We must let them know we’re behind them as long as they keep fighting hard! Volunteer for a virtual phonebank to help Democrats win big in Virginia this fall. We’re making 1,000,000 calls to voters to help build a Democratic trifecta in Virginia, a vital defense against Trump’s authoritarian overreach right in his own backyard! All you need is your phone and a computer. Join a live phonebank training here. Recharge With Some Fun! Join Fret & Fire singing songs of change, hope, and resilience, at The Taproom at Bayview Corner this Saturday, October 25, from 7 to 9 pm. Kevin Fristad and Michael Laslett invite all to “stand in solidarity against injustice and find strength in music.” They will donate all their tips to Indivisible Whidbey! As the fire hose of disheartening news continues, take heart in our community. We are in this together and finding ways to make a difference! In Solidarity, Invisible Whidbey Steering Committee |
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January 2026
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