Letter to the Editor: Putnam Progressives Meeting Today at 2:30 at Mahopac Library

Putnam Progressives Meeting

Today at 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Mahopac Public Library
668 Route Six, Mahopac, New York 10541

A letter of concern from your neighbors:

The new Trump Presidency is now shaping up and people across the country are expressing deep concern and alarm. While Trump never won a majority at the polls even among those who did vote for him, 20% say they do not like him and are concerned about what he might do. The day after his inauguration several million Americans in hundreds of cities took to the streets to express their alarm and opposition to his proposed policies. These were the largest protests ever in the history of the country.

We all have good reason to be concerned. Already, Congressional leaders are talking about throwing millions off of their health care plans, privatizing social security, our schools and Medicare, overturning a women’s right to choose, deporting millions of people and reversing the progress we made toward equal rights for all. A lot of us hoped Trump’s talk was just talk, but his appointments indicate powerful political groups are really aiming to use him to massively turn back the clock.

It’s no wonder that people have been getting together to talk about how to resist attempts to steal our rights and benefits. Our community has been no exception to this. On January 15th about 60 people from Northern Westchester and Southern Putnam met at the Division Street Grill in Peekskill to discuss our growing alarm. The meeting included church leaders, City Council members, union and community activists and just plain concerned neighbors. The discussion showed all of us that if this assault on our rights goes through it is going to have a profound impact on our community and our families.

After talking about the issues and problems we face, the meeting broke down into groups from different towns and counties. About 15 people from Putnam talked about what they were doing and then agreed to invite others who are concerned to a larger meeting at the Mahopac Library on February 19th at 2:30. The purpose of the meeting is to understand how all of this could affect us --- whether it is issues concerning our water, our schools, our health care and retirement system or our civil rights. We also want to begin talking about how to make sure our elected officials understand we will not accept this wholesale assault on our community and our families’ well being.

We are therefore writing to ask you to please put aside this day, attend the meeting yourself and ask your friends and family members to attend and participate. Forward this email and meeting invitation to as many friends and relatives as possible. Right now we need each other to stand up and speak out.

Sincerely,

Althea Lewis, Cori Madrid, Jane Weiss, Javier Madrid, Laura Zagarell, Mike Zagarell

MEETING TO FIGHT BACK

Where: Mahopac Library

Date: February 19th

Time: 2:30 p.m.