SARANAC LAKE — On Wednesday, Feb. 12, the recently formed NY-21 Congress Watchdogs group is offering a free online training workshop on how to research congressional legislation at 8:15 p.m.

The training will be led by Peter LaVenia, a founding member of the group, co-chair of the New York State Green Party and a professor of political science at SUNY Oneonta. The workshop is open to all, and people can sign up to receive the meeting link by emailing ny21congresswatchdogs@gmail.com.

Inspired by the work of longtime consumer and public-interest advocate Ralph Nader, NY-21 Congress Watchdogs is a new regionally based, grassroots advocacy group whose aim is to work across party and even ideological lines to monitor the voting record, statements and actions of whomever is currently serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 21st Congressional District (NY-21) — regardless of the person’s party affiliation — while, at the same time, inform district residents of their representative’s activities to encourage widespread citizen action that is in the public interest and serves the common good.

The NY-21 Watchdog project is essentially a test case for what Nader envisions in his 2012 book “The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future” — namely, a Congress watchdog, or CWD, group established in every one of the 435 congressional districts across America. The NY-21 Congress Watchdog group is strictly nonpartisan in that it is not affiliated with any political party, and it welcomes all members of the public who share its mission of acting in the public interest and serving the common good.

Offering this training opportunity on the birthday of Abraham Lincoln seems especially appropriate in that Lincoln served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives (1847-49) as something of a public-interest advocate himself. Elected in 1846 as a member of the Whig Party, he promised to serve only one term; opposed the Mexican-American War; supported the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in any new U.S. territories; and, in January 1849, proposed a bill to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.

To learn more about the group’s efforts — including to receive a copy of a previous media release, titled “Elise Stefanik’s Record Regarding Working People Is Downright Spooky!” — write to ny21congresswatchdogs@gmail.com.