PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Susan Dollar
Wow! Super Tuesday really was a
super
day!
We Texas Democrats can celebrate the surge in voter turnout that surpassed the Republican turnout! For the first time since 2008, more Texans voted in the Democratic presidential primary than in the Republican primary. A total of 2,076,046 Democrats showed up at the polls on Tuesday, compared to 2,008,385 Republicans. Statewide, there were 45% more Democratic voters that turned out on Tuesday than showed up four years ago.
During the two weeks of early voting, I worked as a clerk at the Kendall County Election Office and I was elated to see all the young voters, the new-to-Boerne voters, and even a few RINO voters that showed up to vote in the Democratic Primary. On Election Day, I worked at City Hall and by late afternoon, our total count showed that 58% of the voters at that location were voting in the Democratic Primary! TAMOUTYT!
A huge thank you to everyone who is working hard on the
Get Out The Vote
efforts! It is paying off! So many of our BAD members and KCDP members worked tirelessly over the past weeks, making phone calls, writing/mailing thousands of postcards, texting to literally hundreds of cell phones, and working long hours at early voting and on election day. Thank you!!! Now we need to look forward to the run-off election on May 26 and the General Election on November 3. We’ll need all hands on deck to sustain the effort and win in November. There will be something for everybody to do – more about that in May, as we head into the summer months’ activities.
Please make plans to attend our upcoming evening meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 12. We will show the documentary,
Suppressed: The Fight to Vote
and I know you will find it interesting…and motivating. See you there!
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Thursday, April 9,
Noon
Thursday, May 14,
Noon
Thursday, June 11,
6:00 pm
Thursday, July 9,
Noon
All meetings are held at the Longhorn Cafe, 369 S. Esser, Boerne.
Please call in or order your food online ahead of time
so that our meetings can start on time.
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THURSDAY, March 12
6:00 pm
Our program at this
evening meeting
will be a film presentation.
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This documentary tells personal stories from voters across the state of Georgia to paint an undeniable picture of voter suppression in the 2018 midterm election.
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FEBRUARY MEETING SUMMARY
Judy Dewey,
Secretary & Newsletter Chair
The February meeting began with an introduction of guests and new members. Our guest speakers were the two Democratic candidates for state board of education, Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Letti Bresnahan. They each discussed their backgrounds, work experience and their goals for the state board of education if elected to serve.
President Susan Dollar, discussed the club's future Gala and the activities chair vacancy. Officer reports were presented and approved. Kevin Henning, county chairperson, reviewed all the upcoming voting initiatives and the Primary Election. He asked that members consider volunteering to work at Democratic Headquarters in the future.
Other activities such as the Democratic Book Club and the new League of Women Voters were reviewed.
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Pictured from left to right: Letti Bresnahan Rebecca Bell-Metereau, SBOE candidates
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MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
Brooke Orr, Membership
The BAD club currently has 192 members. As membership chair, I inform members when their memberships are up for renewal, welcome members to the BAD meetings, ensure they sign in and get the name badges that I create for them, and coordinate with the treasurer to maintain a list of all paid club members.
March membership payments are now due. You can pay by mail, at the meeting, or online on our website. Dues are $40 per member for those under 60 years of age and $25 for those over 60 years of age. See you at the meeting!
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Volunteer Member
Richard Caldwell
I am a Texan, born in Houston, but raised in Brownsville, Texas. My grandparents on my mother's side were from Mexico. My grandmother did not speak English so I grew up speaking Spanish, but I have lost a lot of my Spanish speaking ability since I don't use it that much.
My first involvement with politics was when John Kennedy ran for President. My Dad was a labor organizer and an Election Judge, but I don't know if he was a Precinct Chair. He was very active in politics and campaigns.
I moved to Houston to complete my last two years of college. I have a BBA from the University of Houston. Shortly thereafter, I met Mary Ann and one year later we were married (going on 53 years this May).
My first job out of college was with, SER Jobs for Profit, a non-profit that targeted the Hispanic community providing job training and employment assistance. When Nixon cut our funds, I went into industry, working for chemical companies (Texaco Chemical), an oilfield service company, a credit bureau and retail
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My last position was a Director for the Denver Harbor Senior Citizens. We were housed in a City of Houston park. We offered a breakfast and a lunch; provided activities and day trips. One important lesson I learned here was by collaboration with other non profits your program could offer so much more to your clients. Houston had a program that "fixed up" old homes so seniors could stay in their homes. These weren't total remodeling jobs, but enough to make the home livable. We partnered with other non profits and help one another on these projects. I really hated to leave these seniors, but it was time to retire.
We lived in Houston for 42 years. While in Houston, I worked on elections and campaigns. We had the good fortune to move to the Boerne area. We have lived here for 13 years.
One of the first things I did after moving to Boerne was join the Kendall County Democratic Club. I have been involved with club activities, served as club President, worked as an Election clerk and Election Judge. I worked really hard on the Joseph Kopser campaign; currently I'm Precinct Chair for Precinct 2120.
We have two children of our own. A son who lives here with our grandson; a daughter in Colorado with our grand daughter. If you are grandparents, I think you will agree with me that they are the best thing that has ever happened to you.
I firmly believe in the Democratic Party. We are not perfect, but that's what makes us so interesting. We do have our hearts in the right place.
* Richard is a big volunteer with the YMCA and leads the MLK parade every year, carrying the US Flag.
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TREASURER REPORT
Sharon Noack, Treasurer
Thanks to all who have given donations to BAD. We have recurring donations as well as one time donations. We really appreciate your support of our goals.
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Welcome to the BAD Board!
Welcome to Brenda Schmidt, our new Activities Chair and to Krista Bermillo-Vasquez, our new Social Media Chair. Thank you for stepping up to help out!
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Laura is responsible the publication of our club announcements and events. She is also the club photographer and maintains an online file of club photos and activities. She also coordinates the "Progressive Views" column in the Boerne Star newspaper. Laura is alway looking for news article and letters to the editor, so if you have something to say, get in touch with Laura!
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
KENDALL COUNTY UNIT
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The newly organized LWV-Kendall County has some events scheduled and some future unscheduled plans. We will continue to have the Informational Voter Booth set up in front of Salty & Sweet, located at 123 N. Main Street in Boerne. We are scheduled for the following dates:
- March 14 & 15 (Market Days)
- April 2 (Diva Night)
- April 11 (Market Days)
- May 9 & 10 (Market Days)
- June 13 & 14 (Market Days)
- July 11 & 12 (Market Days)
- Aug 8 & 9 (Market Days)
- Sept 12 & 13 (Market Days)
- Oct 10 & 11 (Market Days)
The LWV-TX State Convention is April 17-19 in Austin, Tx. We would like to participate in their Auction Fundraiser by providing a basket from LWV-Kendall County.
We are hoping that LWV-Kendall County will be able to create a Voter Guide and/or host a Candidate Forum for the May City Council Race.
Julie Rosenberger is our local organizer for the LWV. Thanks, Julie!
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BAD BOOK CLUB
Stacey Gilfillan
Book Club Leader
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The BAD Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Democratic Headquarters, 518 East Blanco (rear entrance behind Mary's Tacos).
Everyone is invited to join us! It doesn't matter if you haven't read the book - come out and enjoy a glass of wine while listening to the discussion!
March 11 Book:
T
he Moment of Lift
by Melinda Gates
April 8 Book:
The Triumph of Injustice
by Saez & Zueman
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KEVIN HENNING
County Chair, KCDP
Notes from the Chair
WOW! I cannot thank all of you enough for turning out to vote in the Democratic Primary and for working so hard to get the vote out. We had 2569 folks vote in the Primary, well over twice the number in any previous Primary. Below are some stats that Luke Rosenberger prepared, the increase in Democratic primary voters as a percentage of total primary voters is impressive:
2012: 4.11%
2014: 5.04%
2016: 10.03%
2018: 12.38%
2020: 26.36% (!!)
Details on all the Primary results can be found at these two sites:
Many thanks to all our poll workers! It is a long hard day and everyone did a super fine job. Both Republicans and Democrats working well together for a common cause. There may be hope. Also, kudos to BAD President Susan Dollar who is a champion at recruiting poll workers.
Below are few election results to note. Kendall County will have a runoff for both the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Democratic Party Runoffs:
US Senate – MJ Hegar vs Chris Bell
Texas Railroad Commission – Chrysta Castaneda vs Beto Alonzo
Chrysta and MJ appear to have the edge.
Sadly, Kim Olson (Congressional District 24) who spoke at the last ERD will be in a runoff but appears to be stronger than her opponent.
Republican Party Runoff:
State School Board – Lani Popp vs Robert Morrow
Popp is a right-wing creationist who would be as bad a Ken Mercer (outgoing) and Morrow is crazy, according to his own Republican Party.
Rebecca Bell-Metereau, who beat Letti Bresnahan, is our candidate for State School Board and we must work hard to be sure she wins next November. Rebecca is gifted and would be a breath of fresh air on the Board.
Wendy Davis beat Jennie Lou Leeder and she even got more votes in the Democratic Primary than unopposed Chip the Dip Roy got in the Republican Primary. Let’s hope that’s a sign of things to come. Wendy will be here a number of times over the next seven months and we must work our tails off to get her elected. She also will need plenty of donations.
I am a bit flabbergasted that almost overnight, we have gone to a two-person race for President. Biden vs Sanders will be a donnybrook but we must all come together after the July DNC convention behind one final Democratic candidate – our candidate.
In conclusion, let say one more time how much I appreciate BAD’s efforts in support of the Kendall County Democratic Party and how much I appreciate all that you great Democrats are doing to turn Texas Blue. We’re working on our
Get Out the Vote
plan for next November, so please join us over the next seven months to implement that plan and don’t forget to come to the Kendall County Democratic Convention on March 21.
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2020 ELECTION INFORMATION
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There arethree remianing elections in 2020: the Uniform (local) Election (May 2), the Primary Run-off Election (May 26), and the General Election (November 3). We'll keep you informed of important dates associated with each election.
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KENDALL COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS
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518 East Blanco Road (behind Mary's Tacos)
Office hours:
Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 830-331-0672
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Be wise, be nice. Know the rules of the area in which you live regarding your political signs!
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T
he above picture is one of Brian Kemp, the Republican who "beat" Stacey Abrams for Governor. Maybe you remember his commercials? Click on the links below.
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In 2018, Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, winning more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. Abrams was the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States, and she was the first black woman and first Georgian to deliver a Response to the State of the Union. After witnessing the gross mismanagement of the 2018 election by the Secretary of State’s office, Abrams launched
Fair Fight
to ensure every American has a voice in our election system through programs such as Fair Fight 2020, an initiative to fund and train voter protection teams in 20 battleground states.
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What Is the 2020 Census?
The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.
The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The 2020 Census counts the population in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Each home will receive an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire—online, by phone, or by mail.
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Kevin, our Democratic chairman telling the BAD members that everything WILL be alright
!
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Armando, Marilyn and Kevin sharing a pose at the BAD meeting.
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Peg Layton and Kevin Henning sharing some primary strategies!
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Judy Dewey and Janice Ballard ready with meeting paperwork.
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SBOE candidates Letti Bresnahan with Shawn Bonner....and Rebecca Bell-Metereau with Susan Dollar.
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The February Book Club met at the Democratic headquarters to discuss the book,
We Are Indivisible
(and drink a little wine).
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Primary Election Watch Party!!
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"If Trump gets elected, I'm leaving the country..."
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So, how many of us heard people during the presidential election say this (or even thought it ourselves)? And many have been thinking they should move during these last three years? However now, with Coronovirus - we can't leave the country. BUT,.....maybe there's hope and we can go find another world.
If you want something other than distressing news to watch, you can tune into FOX or National Geographic channels Monday (March 9th) at 9:00 and watch Cosmos: Possible Wolds.
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Click on any of these icons to be taken to their web pages.
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GET INVOLVED -
VOLUNTEER AT THESE ORGANZATIONS!
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Would you like to be there for your fellow man/woman. Do you enjoy helping people who really appreciate your efforts. Delivering Meals on Wheels to home-bound individuals in need within Kendall County may be just for you. Meals are ready to be delivered at 10:30 A.M. Routes average 1 to 1 1/2 hours to deliver. We are in need of drivers who can commit to 1 day per week.
Contact Josue' Romero
830-249-2114
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Volunteer at the Corner Cupboard Grocery and Nutrition Center
Whether for an hour, a day or a regular, recurring slot, HCFS needs volunteers at the Corner Cupboard. Volunteers are trained in order to best interact with our clients.
Contact Rhonda McNeill
830.249.8643
Volunteer at the Random Hangers
Hangers provides for families in need and generates retail sales for local and out-of-town shoppers where 100% of the proceeds support HCFS programs.
Contact Jill Ramsey
830.331.2219
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Volunteer Opportunities
Scheduled activities typically take place during office hours: Mon – Fri, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. No evening hours except for tutoring and citizenship classes.
Homework help/tutoring takes place Monday evenings, 7 – 8:30 p.m., when school is in session. No tutoring during summer, Spring Break or holidays.
Volunteer opportunities include office administration, transportation, teaching classes, assiting in the World Mosaic Market, and many more.
Contact CRS
San Antonio, TX 78240
Phone:
(210) 949-0062
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The heart of our organization is our volunteers. Together, wecan accomplish more than we could ever do individually. We have volunteer opportunities for all ages and skill levels. Volunteer opportunites include Hearts of Love weekend food bags prer, Pop-Up community dinners, after school programs, community workdays and many more.
Contact BCC via email at
info@boernecommunitycoalition.com
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GET INVOLVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
Let your voices be heard by attending these community meetings.
Click on any of the icons for more information.
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Boerne City Council meets at 6:00 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at 9 Topperwein Road, Boerne.
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The Kendall County Commissioner's Court meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday at 9:00 a.m. in the County Courthouse, 201 E. San Antonio Street, 3rd floor.
The Planning and Zoning meetings are held on the 1st Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the Boerne Police/Municiap Court, 124 Old San Antonio Road.
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The Fair Oaks City Council meets on the 1st Thursday at 9:30 a.m. and the 3rd Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the FOR City Hall, 7286 Dietz Elkhorn Road, FOR.
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The Comfort ISD Board of Trustees meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the CISD Central Office, 327 High Street, Comfort.
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The Boerne ISD Board of Trustees meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Administrative Offices,
235 Johns Road.
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The Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District meets on the 2nd Monday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at 9 Topperwein Road, Boerne.
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BOERNE AREA DEMOCRATS BOARD
President: Susan Dollar
Vice President: Amy Lambiase
Secretary/Newsletter: Judy Dewey
Treasurer: Sharon Noack
Membership: Brooke Orr
Activities: Brenda Schmidt
Publicity: Laura Bray
Social Media: Krista Bermill-Vasquez
Ex Officio member: Kevin Henning, KCDP
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Connect with us!
JOIN THE BOERNE AREA DEMOCRATS
Email: BAD@ boerne-area-democrats.com
Web: boerne-area-democrats.com
Facebook: facebook.com/boerne.area.democrats
Notice Regarding Photography and/or Audio/Video Recording
The Boerne Area Democrats captures photographs and/or audio/video recordings during our events. Such photographs and recordings may be used in BAD's advertising and social media relations to klet others know of our events. In addition, local news organizations may hear of our evengts, and BAD may allow them to record events for news reporting. If youdo not wish to bein photos/videos, please let the photographer/videographer know in advance.
This newsletter is intended for people interested in the work of the Boerne Area Democrats and the Democratic Party in general. To be removed from this mailing list, please click on
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or email us at bad@boerne-area-democrats.com.
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