BY Dana DuGan
The election is over. Demonstrators marched. Now what?
According to an ad-hoc “Get Involved” group, the next step is to follow through. Last Thursday, Jan. 19, more than 200 people joined Wood River Valley residents and representatives of nonprofits at the Limelight Hotel in Ketchum for a primer on being involved in the political process.
The Idaho Conservation League’s Betsy Mizell, community engagement associate, and Jonathon Oppenheimer, government relations director, facilitated the lecture, with input from Blaine County Commissioner Angenie McCleary; founder and CEO of Sun Valley Institute for Resilience Aimee Christensen; and community activist Kaz Thea.
Ketchum Mayor Nina Jonas also spoke, briefly, to the room.
“It’s very hard to make decisions without input,” Jonas said. “What we do here trickles up. It’s so important to show up.”
Across the board the speakers agreed that being involved and making your voice heard takes planning, organization, and sacrifice.
Christensen shared an array of national websites that people can access for direction, such as Indivisible Guide, One Action A Day, Results.org, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Women’s March and many more.
Oppenheimer discussed the issues he deals with while lobbying the Idaho State Legislature and told the crowd that anyone can come testify on a subject.
“It’s a little bit frustrating,” Oppenheimer said with a laugh. “There are some who may not agree with us all the time. Michelle Stennett is one of our heroes. But it’s important to reach out and respectfully tell your representative how you feel.”
He added that there are specific issues you could testify about at the Legislature.
One of the most important of this current session is protecting Idaho’s public lands.
“The attempt by some Idaho politicians to take over 34 million acres of public lands continues in the Legislature,” he said.
In fact, a report from the Conservation Economics Institute, commissioned by the ICL, found that the proposal could cost taxpayers more than $1 billion after five years and more than $2 billion after 20 years. Such losses would necessitate the sale of large swaths of land, something Idahoans have routinely objected to.
“The county needs to hear from people who oppose the public land grant,” McCleary said. “We can work on it at a state level for the community.
“It’s critical to participate with public comments. Getting involved means showing up. We’re healthier and happier if we’re engaged in our communities. We need strong leaders at every level and always vote”
McCleary added that people can stretch their involvement by joining boards and partnership with such organizations as Mountain Rides, the Blaine County Housing Authority, Blaine County Transportation Authority, Sun Valley Economic Development, and 5B Restoration Coalition.
Thea, who has run Valley-based organizations, volunteers frequently and runs for various offices at the local level, encouraged people to write letters, send email and make calls to local media outlets, elected officials, state representatives and all the way to the White House.
“It inspires me to give back to my community,” Thea said. “There are grassroots opportunities. It takes engagement and participation; the return is a huge benefit. Always show up. Always vote. You can be an inspiration to your family and friends.”
Hadley DeBree, executive director of the Environmental Resource Center in Ketchum, introduced the nonprofits present and encouraged people to sign up with them to volunteer and receive information. Many followed her advice afterwards.
Social movements have roots—it takes time, but it’s important to have specific policy demands, one thing many thought was missing from the nationwide Women’s Marches. But those who marched knew that getting specific is what comes next.
Christensen ended her talk with a quote from President Barack Obama that summed up the feeling of the meeting:
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
