About 30 days after the November election, about 25 La Plata County residents met for lunch and decided to get to work backing progressive policies and opposing President Donald Trump.
“Everybody went around the room and shared, and it was incredibly powerful and intimate. The movement was birthed that day,” Bonnie Cabrera said.
Most in attendance were Democratic campaign workers who had agreed to have lunch in December and stay in touch so they would be ready to work together on the mid-term election, Patty Dionne said.
Instead, they decided to resist Trump and identified issues, such as protecting the environment, to work on. In January, the group aligned itself with Indivisible, a national group aimed at opposing Trump, and members dubbed the group Indivisible Durango. Four members of the Indivisible Durango leadership team, including Cabrera and Dionne, talked about the evolution of the group in a recent interview.
In addition to working on federal issues, the group functions as a hub to bolster other groups, such as Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and to get the word out about legislation, candidates and events, such as protests and marches.
For example, with only an hour’s notice, the group gathered at Vantiv recently to protest a visit by Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, and to demand a town hall in Durango.
As Trump marks his first 100 days in office, Indivisible Durango is ramping up its efforts.
Since December, the group’s membership has expanded rapidly, reaching about 660 people in April. It has attracted not just Democrats, but independents, Libertarians and Green Party members who are concerned about Trump’s policies, the leadership team said.
“He has the been the best catalyst I could ever imagine to get people motivated,” Cabrera said.
After the election, La Plata County residents also formed Our First 100 Days to help educate concerned progressives about how to get involved through workshops, and it has functioned to direct people to nonprofits and other groups that fit their interests, said organizer Michael Rendon.
The talks focused on topics such as identifying fake news, how to work on campaigns and how to effectively tell your story to those in power.
“There was a whole lot of people that were worked up about the election and wanted to do something, but didn’t know what to do,” Rendon said.
Our First 100 Days tried to not duplicate the efforts of other groups, but instead to capitalize on the momentum after the election, said Marcel Gaztambide, a volunteer with the group. Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center, is one of the nonprofits that has seen increased interest and unsolicited donations since the election, said Executive Director Danny Quinlan.
Much of the nonprofit’s work since the election has been informing immigrants about their rights, and educating the public about how immigration law is being enforced. The interest has come from both Democrats and Republicans, he said.
“A lot of people are not informed or misinformed about the details,” he said.
After its initial education and coordination efforts, Our First 100 Days has an uncertain future. It’s possible the group might become part of Indivisible, Gaztambide said.
Even though Our First 100 Days is facing a turning point, in Rendon’s view, the fired-up mood among progressives has not diminished.
“Every day it’s something else. There is no shortage of things for progressives to be worked up about,” he said.
Across the country, almost 6,000 local Indivisible chapters have formed, according to the nonprofit’s website. The national organization provides guidance on how to reach out to members of Congress and sends out calls to action to get members nationwide involved.
It was started by an online guide that laid out a strategy to oppose Trump written in Google Docs and tweeted out. The guide drew inspiration from the Tea Party’s tactics and it recommends contacting members of Congress and taking a defensive approach to stop Trump’s agenda.
To put the principles of the national group into action and organize its large membership, Indivisible Durango formed 14 committees, each with a different focus, including civil rights, immigration, public lands, environment and climate change.
The committees track legislation within their area of interest, and what legislation the three members of Congress that represent this area support. The committees work with outside groups with expertise, such as the San Juan Citizens Alliance, to identify what bills to focus on. When necessary they send emails to members asking them to contact a member of Congress about a certain issue. They have sent 18 emails thus far.
The committees are largely autonomous and can identify other goals that they want to work on as well, said Debbie Meyers with Indivisible. For example, the Environmental and Climate Change Committee decided to support progressive candidates in the La Plata Electric Association election.
The group gathers at monthly general meetings where the committees can give reports, and sometimes they hear short talks from candidates. For example, Dean Brookie spoke to the group when he was running for Durango City Council.
As the group evolves, the leadership team expects the focus will shift to preparing for the 2018 election and support for progressive candidates. Many Indivisible members have not been involved civically or haven’t been involved in a long time, members of leadership team said.
The leaders hope that members will feel empowered and stay involved through the four years of Trump’s presidency.
“In the short term, he’s been like Chernobyl. Hopefully, in the longer term we will have much better nuclear safety,” said Ann Emigh, a member of the leadership committee.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
To get involved
Indivisible Durango will hold a general meeting 10 a.m. to noon May 20 at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
