Quick Take
Margaret and Roya Ghodsi, a mother-daughter duo from Capitola, are emblematic of a growing number of local residents not active in politics before 2025 who began to participate in protests after Donald Trump's second inauguration. They were part of the local chapter of the national organization Indivisible, instrumental in organizing the "Hands Off" and "No Kings" rallies.
This midwinter season, Lookout Santa Cruz is checking in with some of the people and topics we’ve covered over the past year.
For progressives and Democrats in Santa Cruz County, 2025 began in the aftermath of a body blow. The first punch, the 2024 election, had landed and the second one, Donald Trump’s second inauguration, was coming hard and fast.
In that period of uncertainty, the local chapter of the national progressive organization Indivisible got busy. Indivisible had been active locally during the first Trump term, but the 2024 election brought on a new wave of alarm and urgency, as well as new interest in the group from many who were not involved before.
Indivisible chapters in Santa Cruz and in Watsonville each mobilized for national events, including the “Hands Off” rallies in April, the “No Kings” march in June and the second “No Kings” protests in October, as well as smaller actions throughout the year. The October event attracted more than 15,000 protesters.
As a way to look back at Indivisible’s 2025, we chatted with two activists who had not been part of the organization before this year, but who participated in the rallies held since the inauguration. The mother-daughter duo Margaret and Roya Ghodsi of Capitola had attended the Women’s March back in 2017 in downtown San Jose. But their activism had not progressed much past that — until this year.
“I had done Vietnam War protests way back when I was in high school,” said Margaret, 70. “But then, the Women’s March kinda woke us up again.”
Both women used the word “devastated” in reference to the 2024 election, in which they both voted for the Kamala Harris-Tim Walz Democratic ticket. Margaret, motivated to do more, attended an Indivisible meeting shortly after the inauguration, where she learned about the organization’s team approach to address specific issues and themes. The Ghodsis both became part of the group’s economic team. Both women remembered the sense of empowerment they felt at the Women’s March years earlier. Though they didn’t officially become a part of Indivisible until months later, they were eager to participate early on.
Indivisible was established as a national organization in 2016 in response to Trump’s first election as president. With more than a million members nationwide, the organization has more than 3,000 active groups, including two in Santa Cruz County.
Roya Ghodsi, 36, said that Trump’s reelection and the activism of her mother and those of an older generation brought about introspection on her own duty as a citizen.
“I probably wasn’t quick to act,” she said. “The conversation between me and some of my friends had been, like, maybe we don’t know enough. What can we add? The team we’re on, everyone was my mom’s age, and that’s fine. But you start to think, maybe I don’t have the knowledge or power. At some point, you’re like, all right, all these [older] people are doing stuff that’s really ultimately for me and younger people who are going to be around longer than their generation. And I’m not out there doing it with them? That’s kind of weird.”
Still, she thought, she had to act. “But what I realized is that you don’t really have to know exactly what to do, because our power is in our numbers when we come together. Just adding yourself as one more person willing to fight the fight along with everyone else is very valuable,” she said. “I’m still trying to crack the code of how to get others in my age group and younger to join, but we’ll see.”
Margaret and Roya attended the “Hands Off” and “No Kings” rallies and were inspired by the shared sense of purpose.
“It just felt very similar to the Women’s March,” said Margaret. “Really good energy, people just happy to be doing something and being heard. Lots of creativity, terrific signs and everyone of one mind. That’s exciting and fun to be part of.”
By year’s end, both mother and daughter were speaking at Indivisible meetings, and both were mobilizing regularly on a food drive to help locals in need.
“It’s a little too daunting to worry about if it’s going to work out or not,” said Margaret. “You would like to hope so, but that could stop you from getting out of bed some days. I think just being in community and connecting with who’s around you and feeling like you’re a part of that change is valuable, even if you don’t know what exactly it’ll come to.”
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