February 20, 2022 / Newsletter 264 |
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RUN FOR OFFICE!
You can help Dems up & down ballot by being a candidate.
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HCDP Quarterly Committee Meeting
When: Tuesday, February 22, 2022,
6:30 pm
Where: HCDP HQ
Note: This meeting is for HCDP current committee members and those interested in serving on the committee.
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SAVE THE DATE!
HCDP Meeting
When: Monday, March 14, 2022,
6:00 pm (meeting called to order at 6:30)
Where: Gainesville Civic Center
Special Guest Speaker: Lester Jackson, Democratic Candidate for Labor Commissioner
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Go Tell It In The Mountains! · Democratic Party of Georgia
Democrats Care about preserving and protecting our North Georgia environment!! YOU are INVITED to attend a Day of Engagement! JOIN US at a Regional Environmental Summit and afterwards hear from our local and state Democrat candidates. This event...
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www.mobilize.us
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Descendants of Forsyth County's racial cleansing in 1912 ...
Descendants of Forsyth County's racial cleansing in 1912 tell their stories Few Black people, if any, lived in Forsyth County for more than five decades. In 1912, more than 1,000 Black residents in the county were forced out of their homes,...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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If you weren't at our February meeting, here's what you missed |
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Charlie Bailey, candidate for Lt Governor of Georgia, spoke to our group about why he's running and what's at stake in the 2022 elections. His statewide campaign is focused on education, healthcare, and voting rights. Hoping to defuse the divisiveness in our current political environment, Charlie said he shares Stacey Abrams's vision of ONE Georgia. He took several questions from the audience and encouraged us all to get involved and stay involved to help elect Democrats this year. You can learn more about Charlie Bailey and donate to his campaign here: https://www.charlieforgeorgia.com/
Several of our members have expressed an interest in running for office this year. Qualifying begins in 2 weeks. Watch this newsletter for announcements of who will be running and for which offices!
There was a discussion about the Hall County Commissioners' desire to control the Board of Elections. There is research ongoing about filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of counties affected by the state legislature's efforts to undermine the independence of elections boards in the state.
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Mike Ford announces candidacy
The biggest news of the night was that Mike Ford announced that he will be running for Congress in Georgia's 9th District!
Citing the words to a song used by JFK in his 1960 Presidential race, Mike says he has high hopes for 2022.
Note: The HCDP can't officially endorse Mike or any other Democratic candidate before the May primary.
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Upcoming key election dates:
For May primary election:
First day to qualify to run for office: 9 AM March 7
Last day to qualify to run for office: NOON March 11
First day to request absentee ballot for May primary: March 11 (mailing out begins April 5)
Last day to register to vote in May primary: April 25
For Flowery Branch City Council Post 2 special election:
Qualifying: Feb 14-16
Election: March 15:
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Writing Wednesdays with Fair Count & VoteRiders · Fair Count
Nearly 155,000 registered Georgia voters do not have ID on file with the State. Under the State's new voting law, they will face additional barriers to casting their ballots. Join Fair Count and VoteRiders for a virtual letter writing party! You...
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www.mobilize.us
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Apply to Be a Poll Worker |
Hall - WorkElections
Apply online by clicking on the "Apply Now!" button above. Hall County also has a downloadable PDF application, available here. Poll workers should plan to vote before Election Day unless they are assigned to their own polling place. Citizens who ...
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workelections.com
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Drive Voters to the Polls
Hall County Dems have the opportunity to work with RideShare2Vote, a national organization that helps coordinate getting voters to the polls.
if you're interested in volunteering to drive people to the polls during the primaries or the general election, email Jennifer LaRose at jblarose13@gmail.com to learn more.
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Run for Hall County School Board |
Are you a resident of Hall County who cares about education? Then run for the Hall County School Board! Three seats are up for election this year:
Board of Education Post 1
Board of Education Post 2
Board of Education at Large
To run for the Post 1 or Post 2 seats, you must live in the associated district. To run for the at-large seat, you cam live anywhere in Hall County except inside the city limits of Gainesville (which has its own school board).
Serving on the school board requires a small time commitment for attending monthly meetings and keeping abreast of school issues and initiatives. It provides huge rewards through its impact on the education of all K-12 students in the county.
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How to run for office : Life Kit
subscribe to Life Kit podcast subscribe to Life Kit podcast If you've ever thought about running for office - your town council or school board, the state legislature, even Congress, this guide is for you. We'll tell you where to start and how to ...
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www.npr.org
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Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
The Legacy of Andrew Clyde
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Clyde slid onto the political scene in 2019, fighting with the IRS and proclaiming Second Amendment ethics. When his fellow Republicans gerrymandered out of the 9th District, he made proclamations:
"I’ve never minced words with the people of Georgia; I made a promise to fight; I will continue to stand in the gap for the conservative values; (My) being a hardcore conservative would come at a steep price; I have always happily paid that price in the name of freedom; and, I believe the word of God which says all things work together for good. Soli Deo Gloria"
“Soli Deo Gloria” is translated: “glory to the only God.” Does Clyde slide away from every faith other than Baptist? He can explain.
“Never minced words” with Georgians? Really? Clyde said: “If you didn't know that TV footage was a video from January the sixth, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.” Clyde said the rioters behaved “in an orderly fashion.” Yet he admits he helped barricade the doors to the house floor! 772 people have been arrested and charged with crimes and 212 have already pled guilty. None have been acquitted. Sliding away from the truth? He can explain.
“Standing in the gap for the conservative values?” Or sliding away from responsibility? He claims “conservative values” but has been fined multiple times for avoiding the metal detectors and refusing to wear a mask on the house floor. He can explain,
Willing to “pay a steep price” for his pretend conservative values? Hardly. This millionaire slides his salary over to the IRS as “withholding” to avoid having his fines deducted from his congressional salary. Is sliding away from courage of his alleged convictions Clyde’s SOP? He can explain.
Is Clyde “happily” paying the price “in the name of freedom,” or does he just think the 9th District voters won’t notice when he slides away from responsibility? He can explain.
Does Clyde have the courage to honor The Word he claims to believe or does he “let it slide?” Is Clyde really helping “all things (to) work together for good?” He can explain.
Clyde used 1.1 million dollars of his own money to run in 2019. On January 6th , he joined other Republicans and voted to reject the state-certified election results of Arizona and Pennsylvania. The slide continued as Clyde avoided the lunacy that would be obvious if he rejected those from Georgia – which made it possible for him to become a Congressman. He can explain.
Clyde let it slide when he joined the nonsense about a “stolen election,” Jewish space lasers, Dominion voting machines flipping and deleting votes, Sidney Powell’s failed Georgia suit, that mail in voting is fraud, and that dead people voted. He can explain.
Georgia certified our results three times. Rudy and Sidney are getting disbarred for their lies and disinformation. Dominion is going to bankrupt Fox News because it intentionally lied about their voting machines. Let is slide Clyde has been on the wrong side of these claims from the start. A reckoning is coming for all those who have mislead us and those who conspired with them to hide the truth.
Clyde has a graduate degree from the University of Georgia. Do you believe that he was duped about election fraud? That his own eyes deceived him about January 6th? Or is it simply a case of “let it slide Clyde” thinking you won’t notice? You decide.
Mike
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YOUNG VOTERS FIGHT FOR THEIR FUTURE |
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Young adults are not shrinking away from activism. Many understand that their future depends on getting involved now. Among the issues of concern for young adults are:
- Voting rights
- Education
- Climate and Environment
- Healthcare
- Racial & Gender Equality
- Reproductive Rights
In the meantime, how well are our state elected officials caring for or youth? Besides banning books, they’ve ignored the mental health needs of school kids. They bemoan the effects that remote learning or wearing masks have on students, but they haven’t funded mental health resources for schools. Georgia ranks as one of the worst states for supporting mental health in schools. How about our state university system? Not only does our highly-regarded system of colleges and universities prepare students for the future, it also draws in big money in research grants. So what does Brian Kemp do? He replaces members of the Board of Regents who didn't want to install his unqualified candidate with his own political cronies and voila! Sonny Perdue--no patron of higher education or scientific research--is set to become the next Chancellor.
How are Republicans supporting young families? They refused to vote for the Build Back Better bill, and as a result, the childcare tax credit lapsed at the beginning of the month. The GOP in the state house are rapidly working to replace education with indoctrination. Reproductive rights? According to Republicans, you have no right to make decisions about whether to bring a child into the world. Make no mistake--it's not limited to anti-choice bills that would overturn Roe v Wade. Their determination to control women's bodies has spread to questioning the SCOTUS decision that states couldn't impose felony charges on couples using birth control. That's not hyperbole. Three GOP candidates for Attorney General in Michigan, when asked, said they thought states' rights were more important than individual's right to privacy when it comes to birth control.
The story is the same, whether it relates to racial justice, working to ameliorate climate change, making it easy to register and vote, expanding access to healthcare, advocating for fair wages in service industry jobs, or providing affordable housing. Republicans, by word and deed, are doing nothing to address the concerns of young people.
Young people are finding ways to speak up and speak out, through advocacy, demonstrations, volunteering for candidates and causes, starting up green businesses. We applaud their efforts. If you are a young Democrat, please let us know what you think and how you are fighting for a better world. Email us at HallCountyDemocrat@gmail.com
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They Are Coming For All Birth Control
Wrap your brains around this. All three Republican candidates for Michigan Attorney General support reversing the Supreme Court's 1965 decision in Griswold v. Connecticut. Each of the radical Republicans running for Michigan AG want to overturn...
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www.dailykos.com
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State by state, here's how well schools are doing at...
There's a growing consensus that the pandemic has taken a big emotional toll on young people. Among other troubling signs, children's hospitals across the country have seen more kids showing up in their emergency rooms for mental health reasons,...
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www.npr.org
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Historians of the future should find legislator's letter ...
By Tom Baxter What with all the current efforts to tell teachers what they can't teach and students what they can't read, some may wonder what exactly the schools of tomorrow should be teaching. Here's a suggestion. In the future, any course on...
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saportareport.com
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Opinion: Sonny Perdue should not become USG chancellor
Trigger/content warnings: Racism, discussion of Confederate imagery Keeping up their streak of questionable decisions, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia announced that they selected Sonny Perdue as the finalist for its...
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uproarcsu.com
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Georgia Legislators Came After Our School Board. So...
Feeling heard and seen by people that look like you and share your experiences is something that every child deserves.
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pv4ps.org
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The Quagmire Called "School Choice" - Public Voices For ...
My journey as an educator started in 2010, at the end of the Great Recession. I was excited to pass my love of learning to future generations of children. I took a job at a local charter school. I had a class of 32, a completely average number in ...
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pv4ps.org
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STUDENT VOICES: UGA students discuss Texas abortion law, ...
On Sept. 1, Texas passed a law banning any abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. Georgia, among other states, has the potential to introduce similar legislation in their next session. After the American Civil Liberties Union successfully...
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www.redandblack.com
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Students and staff oppose Sonny Perdue as potential USG...
On Jan. 25, Board of Regents Chairman Sachin Shailendra declared the national search for the next University System of Georgia (USG) chancellor, following the retirement of the former USG Chancellor, Steve Wrigley. According to an article posted...
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georgiastatesignal.com
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It's Time for You to Run for Office
We've since built a pipeline of more than 93,000 young people who are thinking about running for office: We've endorsed more than 1,800; and elected 637 people ages 18-40 to local offices across 48 states. More than half of these leaders are...
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www.teenvogue.com
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Opinion: Where is my father's Republican party?
On Feb. 4, the Republican Party seems to be confused and splitting in two. Vice President Mike Pence declared Trump wrong about Pence's right to change the count of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021. While the RNC called the Jan. 6 riot a...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Letters to the Editor in the Gainesville Times show that liberals and progressives are willing to speak out. The more such letters are published, the more others with like-minded views will be encouraged to write too.
You can help amplify the message that our area isn’t a monolith of right-wing adherents. If you are interested in writing a letter to The Times, sign up for our Letters to the Editor project. The mission of our Letters to the Editor project:
- counter disinformation with facts
- express opinions that reflect Democratic Party values
- raise the profile of Democratic voices in the Hall County community
The Times limits individuals to having 1 letter published per month. We’re looking for writers to help our members with expressing their views and for individuals willing to have their letters published in The Times. Email hallcountydemocrat@gmail.com to help with our Letters to the Editor project.
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State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
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PLEASE NOTE: Any articles we post about Georgia Democrats on the primary ballot in 2022 are intended to keep you informed. They are not an endorsement of any candidate. |
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Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff on why he wants to stop Congress ...
Following investigations into lawmakers who made lucrative trades at the beginning of the pandemic, Sen. Ossoff has introduced the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act in the Senate.
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www.wbur.org
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Meet candidates for Flowery Branch City Council Post 2:...
Sudderth said that while she "has nothing against Sterling," she believes the council needs a diversity of representation. The council has been dominated in recent years by Sterling residents. "I feel very compelled to have somebody on the...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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David Perdue says he'll unite Republicans, but makes...
Republican gubernatorial candidate David Perdue told a Columbus crowd Tuesday that he is trying to reunite the party after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and others failed to properly investigate the state's 2020 presidential election. The former U.S....
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www.ledger-enquirer.com
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Battleground: Ballot Box | Why Georgia elections boards...
County elections boards are one of the most important parts of the voting process in Georgia that you probably haven't heard much about - except for ways things could go wrong. Since 2020 they've been in the spotlight more and more, with...
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www.gpb.org
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National News (Some links may require a subscription)
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State judges across the U.S. face growing GOP pushback...
In mid-December, Texas' highest criminal court revoked the state attorney general's ability to use his office to prosecute election-related cases without the request of a district or county attorney. In an 8-1 opinion, the all-Republican court...
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www.gpb.org
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Fringe Scheme to Reverse 2020 Election Splits Wisconsin...
False claims that Donald J. Trump can be reinstalled in the White House are picking up steam - and spiraling further from reality as they go. MADISON, Wis. - First, Wisconsin Republicans ordered an audit of the 2020 election. Then they passed a...
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www.nytimes.com
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