Group aims to be peaceful advocate

Peaceful advocacy is the guiding principle of Indivisible Sussex, Kory Loyola explained during an interview at Greene’s Beans Cafe in Sparta one morning.

Loyola and her sister, Jess Musilli, are two of the founders of the group, along with Julie Clawson. It is part of a loose confederation called Indivisible National.

The community-based group avoids partisan labels. Members advocate against policies that hurt their neighbors or the environment, Loyola said.

On the national website, the mission statement says: “We’ve launched a national campaign to train one million people in the tools of strategic non-cooperation to fight authoritarianism.”

While members participated in the “No Kings” rally on the Newton Green this summer, the group was not involved in organizing it, Loyola said.

Indivisible Sussex is structured as a community-based organization, which members feel is needed in this area. And the feeling of community is very strong.

The Sussex group has more than 400 members. Most live in Sussex County while a few are from neighboring Warren County, Loyola said.

Of the group’s message, Musilli said, “We let them know there is diversity in the community.”

Loyola added, “Most people assume they have a perception of the way people think, but that is not accurate.”

“We’re not here to see people complain,” Misilli said. “We want to see action, to see what we can do to make change.”

The group first got together in January at the Unitarian Fellowship; about 27 people were there, Loyola said.

Commissioner meetings

Indivisible members have been attending Sussex County Commissioner meetings for most of this year, Loyola added.

The catalyst for that was “the Bill Hayden fiasco,” she explained.

Hayden, who was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in 2022, was accused of stolen valor, or claiming to have been a Navy SEAL although he was never in the military.

On July 15, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Hayden had been indicted on a charge of filing a fraudulent tax return, a third-degree crime. He was accused of filing a return on which he claimed a veteran’s exemption to which he was not entitled.

A number of veterans have joined them at recent commissioners’ meetings, Loyola noted.

Indivisible members also attend Board of Education meetings throughout the county to express concerns about the loss of federal funding to area school districts.

Many are teachers

Many of the members are teachers, who are used to collaborative efforts through the New Jersey Education Association and are strategizing to determine how best to handle funding challenges.

Loyola explained that the group emphasizes civility, clear concise arguments and decorum.

Many of the members are people of faith from the Unitarian Fellowship, Sparta United Methodist and Catholic churches, among others.

They come from all over the county: Vernon, Frankford, Sussex, Newton, Stillwater, Sparta, Montague and Franklin.

Indivisible reaches out to the agricultural community, such as the Foodshed Alliance, Genesis Farm, the School of Conservation and environmental groups.

The group also works with students from Sussex County Community College and health-care professionals as well as the League of Women Voters.

Voter registration is a priority of Indivisible.

The group uses social media, primarily Instagram, to communicate.

Micelli said there has been some backlash against the group online, but it is attracting many people in the county.