With President Trump, groups fight to be heard
As President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration draws near, local groups representing women and minorities are gearing up over potential fights on rights, legislation and funding.
With a Republican president and the GOP in control of the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, some fear sweeping changes in policy and legislation after Trump takes the oath of office on Friday.
Trump has been frequently criticized for his proposed policies, such as deporting illegal immigrants and banning Muslims from entering the country, to comments about groping women and characterizing Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists. Calls for defunding Planned Parenthood and the potential erosion of gay rights also have raised alarms by some.
Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley received 75 calls over two weeks from people who wanted to volunteer, and it is expanding outreach to educate residents on what's at stake with the defunding of the program.
The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center began developing an advocacy program in direct response to the incoming administration and plans to hold forums on how Trump could affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues in areas such as healthcare.
Even the Mid-Hudson chapter of National Organization for Women, which was dormant prior to the election, saw calls coming in from people who hoped to organize.
While organizations such as the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center focus on how to work with the administration, others like Planned Parenthood prioritize holding elected officials accountable.
Education and advocacy are key goals for local organizations hoping to ensure their voices are heard over the next four years.
But others, while critical of certain stances, supported Trump overall.
Holding politicians accountable
With federal funding for Planned Parenthood is on the chopping block, Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley is organizing to educate people on the effect it could have in the community.
Though the political focus on Planned Parenthood targets abortion, preventative health services make up the vast majority of the organization's work, said Ruth-Ellen Blodgett, president and CEO of the local chapter.
"Abortion makes up about 3 percent of what we do," Blodgett said. "The irony of the defunding attempt is that it will prevent services that help prevent unwanted pregnancies."
Defunding Planned Parenthood would prevent patients from using Medicaid to pay for services through the clinic as well as cut funding designated for low-income patients, Blodgett said.
With 59 percent of patients using Medicaid and 14 percent of patients paying themselves, defunding Planned Parenthood would leave many of these patients unable to afford certain services, Blodgett said.
Following the election, phones "rang off the hook" with people interested in volunteering for Planned Parenthood, Blodgett said. With interest in the group bolstered, the organization is working on using these volunteers to reach out in the community and helping others understand what Planned Parenthood does.
Planned Parenthood is also organizing to send people to Washington D.C. for the Women's March next week, as well as the Day of Action in Albany.
"It's not about getting a place at the table, but outrage will show our elected officials that they crossed a line," Blodgett said. "We're organizing so that everyone in Washington is held accountable for their actions."
Support for Trump, balanced with criticism
As a Trump supporter and a Muslim, a Republican and an immigrant, Aziz Ahsan is optimistic overall about the next four years.
Though the way Trump approached Muslims was "not the best," he said Trump highlighted the community by addressing immigration and forced candidates to acknowledge their presence.
"(President Barack) Obama did not truly embrace the Muslim community," Ahsan said. "Democrats value diversity, but they kept us at arm's length."
Trump's remarks on Muslims as well as his proposed ban on Muslims works as tactics to get elected but could not be implemented once he is president, said Ahsan, attorney at law with Ahsan & Associates and a former trustee of Mid-Hudson Islamic Association in Wappingers Falls.
"Muslims are in every aspect of society, in all 50 states," Ahsan said. "In World War II, there was the internment of Japanese-Americans, but they couldn't do that with such a large group."
As the presidency is much more restrictive than running a business, Congress and the judicial system would be sufficient in preventing Trump from doing anything unconstitutional, Ahsan said.
"You can put anything online and get away with it, but once you're elected, you must comply," Ahsan said. "He can tweet, but there will be consequences."
Education and action
Jeff Rindler, executive director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston, feared the possibility that voices advocating for gay and transgender rights may be drowned out in the Trump administration.
"So the saying goes, 'If you're not at the table, you're on the menu,'" Rindler said.
Dozens of calls flooded the center following the election with people asking if they should get married or change their names prior to Jan. 20, he said.
These concerns extend beyond policy. Some fear that Trump's rhetoric could inspire hate speech, Rindler said.
"Anytime anybody in a position of authority denigrates anyone based on race or sex or sexuality, it sets the tone for others to emulate that type of behavior," he said.
Though the community center received no threats, it did get a call from someone praising Vice President-elect Mike Pence for supporting conversion therapy, Rindler said.
Pence's record on LGBTQ issues coupled with Trump's relative silence on the matter is disheartening and could indicate how the administration leads on these topics, he said.
"No news is no news," Rindler said. "You're not seeing strong support in favor of the LGBTQ community."
So the center took action, making preparations for an advocacy program designed to support the local LGBTQ community. The program is expected to launch within six months, Rindler said.
"The goal is to both mobilize people and help community members empower themselves," he said.
The center is also holding a series of educational events on how the presidency may affect different things for the LGBTQ community. It is planning its next event on healthcare, Rindler said.
Fears in the community
Fears regarding Trump stretch back to when he first announced his candidacy, said Karen Eberle-McCarthy, vice president of Latinos Unidos.
The Newburgh-based organization advocates for Latino issues in the Hudson Valley, as well as teaching English as a second language to adult immigrants.
Eberle-McCarthy, who teaches ESL, said student fears were apparent and directly tied to his immigration policies, which have included mass deportation and the construction of a wall on the southern border.
However, it was the attacks on the character of immigrants that Eberle-McCarthy found the most disheartening.
"The vast majority of immigrants are hard-working people, some working two or three jobs," Eberle-McCarthy said.
In response, the organization focused on educating the community on its rights.
"We've been talking about worker, human and immigrant rights, with the hopes that they will have this knowledge to fall back on," Eberle-McCarthy said.
A new spark
Though the National Organization for Women's Mid-Hudson Chapter had not been active, group organizer Jennifer Shagan said the emails and calls started coming in following the election.
Shagan attributed this to Trump's rhetoric, as well as a 2005 tape in which Trump boasted about grabbing women by the genitals.
"He has a blatant disrespect for people who aren't like him," Shagan said, adding that his comments about kissing and groping women promote and normalize sexual assault.
Though the organization is still mostly dormant, Shagan said she would be interested in restarting if enough people volunteered.
Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW