Membership numbers are booming for Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter

EVERETT — Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter, a progressive action group, has seen a tremendous uptick in new membership since January as the group organizes rallies and events in response to President Donald Trump’s second term.

In 2016 after Trump was elected for the first time, congressional staffers started the Indivisible movement, writing a 23-page handbook titled “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda.”

Since then, the movement has turned into thousands of groups across the country, such as the Snohomish County chapter, uniting people to take political action.

“I cannot sit back and watch my country and democracy basically devolve and not do anything about it,” co-leader and founder of the Snohomish County Indivisible chapter Naomi Dietrich said, reflecting on her reaction to the 2016 election. So, she got her hands on the Indivisible guidebook and created a local chapter.

During the first term, the group was fairly small, she said, with a steady group of 10 to 15 members. But even with the smaller group, Dietrich said the chapter held a rally or demonstration every month through the entirety of the four-year term.

“We just spent those four years working really hard,” she said. “The most special thing is that we have developed some amazing relationships with the truly amazing elected officials we have here in Snohomish County.”

The group continued to do remote work through the COVID-19 pandemic and President Joe Biden’s term, and by November 2024 the group had 300 people on its mailing list, Dietrich said.

But when Trump was elected for his second term, membership began exploding. Now, the chapter has almost 1,000 people on the mailing list, and the group has been scrambling to facilitate enough new member meetings to include everyone and get them up to speed with events and action.

“We are absolutely trying to meet the moment by adding additional meetings every chance necessary,” co-leader Paula Townsell said.

The group will have access to the county’s public utility district auditorium in April, which will drastically increase their capacity for meetings, Townsell said.

To sign up for the mailing list, go to snocoindivisible.org.

Eliza Aronson: 425-339-3434; eliza.aronson@heraldnet.com; X: @ElizaAronson.

Eliza’s stories are supported by the Herald’s Environmental and Climate Reporting Fund.