December 3, 2020
A CLOSER LOOK AT COLLIN COUNTY POLITICS
Welcome to a new column in The Rally that will periodically summarize and reflect on what’s going on in local county government.* If you want to know what is really happening in YOUR neck of the woods, read on!
by Misty K. Hook, Ph.D.
Collin County Commissioners Court: At its most recent meeting, none of the commissioners or visible support staff wore masks. This seems an odd choice, especially by County Judge Chris Hill who caught Covid-19. It’s also curious given the recent widespread outbreak in county offices where commissioner meetings are held, plus there are more than 4,500 active cases of Covid throughout the county. The CARES Act funding for additional health department employees hired to clean and contact trace expires on December 30. Please be sure to thank our Republican senators for not passing anything else to help us manage the virus.

During the 17-minute meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved the consent agenda with minimal discussion. Given that they don’t have a Work Session meeting (which would have to be public), I continue to wonder just when it is that they discuss items. They rarely do during these weekly public meetings. As most votes are unanimous, it’s curious how they individually come to the same conclusions without prior discussion.

Judge Hill noted there won’t be in-person jury trials between November 30, 2020 and January 11, 2021. This is concerning as 470th District Court Judge Emily Miskoll mentioned recently that the court is already running two years behind in jury trials. The commissioners allocated an additional $2 million from the CARES Act for food and grocery assistance since the county has exhausted what was budgeted. There is no certainty what’s going to happen with food assistance once the CARES Act expires. The commissioners spent about 15 seconds on the Collin County Health Care Foundation meeting, just long enough to unanimously approve the consent agenda.
McKinney City Council: In the general election, McKinney recalled one of their individual council members in a city-wide vote, a highly undemocratic measure that is being contested. The seat won’t have a duly elected council member until May, so the remaining city council members (4 of whom signed the recall petition) will now appoint someone to fill the empty seat. This should be fun, given that they’re all white. It’ll be interesting to see if they’ll choose a woman or a person of color (or both!) to represent District 1, which is a minority-majority community.
Plano City Council: It’s been pretty quiet. The last meeting covered criteria for the Housing Tax Credit Program Criteria and the Holiday Charitable Giving Effort. Shelby Williams requested each member of the council ring a bell for the Salvation Army for three hours at different locations. This was not met with much enthusiasm, mostly due to Covid-19 concerns. One can’t help but wonder also if council members volunteering for an explicitly Christian charity is appropriate.

I’ll be reporting on Local School Boards in future columns.
*Misty can compile these reports thanks to the hard work of patriotic volunteers from the Liberal Women’s Action Network who follow – virtually and otherwise – politics and decision-making at the local level that effect all our lives. If you’d like to join her team (men welcome!), please join the LWAN Facebook group or contact Misty directly at drmistyhook@gmail.com.
The Collin County Democratic Party is hosting a Food Drive for Community Lifeline Center in McKinney beginning this week and through Wednesday, December 16. Please consider donating to this great organization!

Two of our members, Amanda Massengale and Karen Hearne have graciously volunteered to collect the food items at their home.
Amanda's address: 5008 Sundown Dr., Plano, TX 75023
Karen's address: 5928 Cranberry, McKinney, TX 75070
Food Items

Cereal, any size box
Spaghetti Sauce, 24 oz can or bottle
Pears, Peaches, Mixed Fruit, and Applesauce, 15 oz can
Ravioli, 15 oz can
Oatmeal – cylinder
Macaroni & Cheese, 7.5 oz box Cornbread Mix, 6 oz pkg
Rice, 1 lb bag
Other (Household/Hygiene Items)

Male and Female Deodorant, 3 oz
Toothpaste, boxed, 6 oz
Toothbrushes, adult and child
Shampoo/Conditioner
2-in-1 bottle, 20-24 oz
Toilet Paper, 4-roll packs
Laundry Detergent, 45 oz box
Dish Detergent, 20-24 oz bottle
Feminine Napkins and Tampons
18-count pkg
Razors, 2 or 3 packs
The battle for the US Senate is not yet over, and Collin County Democrats will stay in the fight until we win! Join other local volunteers tonight from 5:00 p.m. for the first in a series of virtual phone banks ahead of the January 5 runoff election in Georgia.

These virtual phone banks are being hosted on Zoom and will use an auto dialer to contact voters in Georgia. In order to join, you must sign up for the shift on Mobilize. Then you will receive an email with information on how to prepare to join the Zoom call. Training will be provided at the start of the event for all who need and request it. More shifts will be added as details are confirmed.

When: Thursday, December 5, 5:00 p.m.
Where: From the comfort of you own home!
To sign up: Register Here

The county party’s Coordinated Campaign is proud to co-host these virtual phone banks with United for Georgia, Lulu Seikaly, Collin County Young Democrats, McKinney Area Democrats and Plano Area Democrats.
Plano Area Dems Virtual Happy Hour is BACK!

Featuring a panel discussion with Jeff Dalton, John Mott, Kevin Numerick and special guest Sharon Hirsch.

Join us Friday, December 4, for a panel discussion on “What the hell happened?” during this past election! Now that we're past the shock of not flipping Collin County. Now that we're thrilled that Joe Biden will be President. Now that we've numbed our disappointment with turkey and pumpkin pie, we can discuss this rationally.

When: Friday, December 4, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Zoom link provided upon RSVP
Frisco Dems Meet & Greet & Trivia
Just for fun. No agenda, no business, maybe some politics! Join our zoom call for trivia and to meet some new friends

When: Friday, December 4, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Virtual Zoom Event
The CCDP Office is CLOSED until further notice. Our office staff are working from home and available by telephone at 972-578-1483 or contact us on the web at collindemocrats.org