March 13, 2022 / Newsletter 267 |
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RUN FOR OFFICE!
You can help Dems up & down ballot by being a candidate.
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When: Monday, March 14, 2022,
6:00 pm (meeting called to order at 6:30)
Where: Gainesville Civic Center
Special Guest Speakers:
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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 April 9 at a Regional Environmental Summit and afterwards hear from our local and state Democrat candidates. .
Read more
www.mobilize.us
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Upcoming key election dates:
You can request your absentee ballot for May primary now. Elections office begins mailing out ballots on April 5.
Last day to register to vote in May primary: April 25
Flowery Branch City Council Post 2 special election: March 15
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Request your absentee ballot
Any registered Georgia voter can request an absentee ballot online, by mail, by phone or in person.
To request an absentee ballot, you must complete an absentee ballot application and return it to the Hall County elections office by mail, fax, email (as an attachment), or in person.
You must include a valid GA Driver's License or State ID number on your application! If you don't have a GA Driver's License or State ID, you must provide a copy of 2 types of acceptable ID, one with a photo and one with your home address, as listed at the bottom of the application form.
Get an absentee ballot application:
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Sign in on the My Voter Page to find an Absentee Ballot Request Information box with a link to the absentee ballot application.
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Call the Hall County Elections Office. Phone: 770-531-6945
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Visit the Hall County Elections Office at 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Lower Level, Gainesville, GA 30504 Directions
Complete the form and return it to the Hall County Elections office by mail, by email (as an attachment), or in person. Remember to include your ID number or copies of your ID documents.
Mailing Address
Hall County Registrar
P.O. Drawer 1435
Gainesville, GA 30503
Email elections@hallcounty.org
Fax: 770-531-3931
In person: 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Lower Level, Gainesville, GA 30504 Directions
Your absentee ballot will be mailed to you. We'll include details on how to complete and return your absentee ballot in a future newsletter.
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Apply to Be a Poll Worker |
Hall - WorkElections
Apply online by clicking the Read More link below. Poll workers should plan to vote before Election Day unless they are assigned to their own polling place. Citizens who ...
Read more
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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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...
Read more
www.mobilize.us
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Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
Put on your shoes & let’s get going!
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!As I write this on Friday afternoon, qualifying having closed at Noon, I am extremely pleased to advise you that we have 6 Hall County Qualified Candidates! They are:
- Pat Calmes, Hall County Democratic Committee member, running for Hall County School Board at large;
- Laura Colaninno Hall County Democratic Committee member, running for Hall County Commission, District 1;
- Kim Floria, Hall County Democratic Committee First Vice Chair, running for Georgia House District 30;
- Angela Middleton Hall County Democratic Committee member, running for Hall County School Board, post 1;
- Isabel Martinez Flynn, Hall County Democratic Party member, running for Hall County School Board, post 2; and,
- Devin Pandy, Hall County Democratic Committee Member, running for Georgia House District 29.
These folks have tossed their respective hats into the political ring. They are to be congratulated and supported. We invite each of them to appear at our Hall County Democratic Party meeting on Monday, March 14, to be recognized and congratulated. They all need your support and help during this race. I am also pleased to note that each of these excellent candidates is running without primary opposition. Thank you all!
There is, of course, one other race of some interest: Mike Ford, Hall County Democratic Committee Chair, running for US House of Representatives, Georgia District 9. I am relieved to be able to report that I, too, am running without primary opposition. Thank all of you for your help and support.
You might find it interesting to know that Andrew Clyde has 4 primary challengers. They are: Michael Boggus, a sort of right wing constitutionalist who may be a supremacist; J. Gregory Howard, a right wing publisher and radio show host; John London, who says he is a minister; and, Ben Souther, a 30 year old – no longer FBI agent, now real estate person – whose website looks like the inside of the hunting section of Bass Pro Shop (count the dead animal heads). All are presumed to be spouting the usual Republican lines and themes. It will be a very interesting primary for Let it Slide, Clyde.
We’ve finished the qualifying process. Kim Copeland manned the office for five days, helped our local folks qualify, and filed the paperwork with the Election Board – in spite of conflicting and confusing instructions from the Board. Kim Copeland needs a very large “Thank You!”
OK, this is what we work for. Put on your shoes and let’s get going!
Mike
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Our Hall County Democratic Candidates! |
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We have a bumper crop of Hall County Democrats running for office in 2022. From US Congress to State office to Hall County seats, our members have answered the call to run. We owe them a big THANK YOU for stepping up as we all fight to move Georgia to becoming a BLUE STATE.
Now WE need to do our part to help with their campaigns!
Each one needs a strong support team to set up and maintain websites, to help with messaging (signs, flyers, texts, phone calls, emails, press releases and so on) and tracking donations and expenses, and to canvass to get out the vote.
Our candidates are your friends and neighbors, and they need your help. They’ve been courageous enough to step up for us. Won’t you help by stepping up for them?
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PAT CALMES
Hall County School Board at-large
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KIM FLORIA
Georgia House District 30
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LAURA COLANINNO
Hall County Commission District 1
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MIKE FORD
US House District GA09
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ANGELA MIDDLETON
Hall County School Board Post 1
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ISABEL MARTINEZ FLYNN
Hall County School Board Post 2
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DEVIN PANDY
Georgia House District 29
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JODY COOLEY
Georgia Senate District 49
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In addition to these candidates from the Hall County Democrats, the following Georgia House & Senate Districts that have precincts in Hall County also have Democrats in the race.
In GA HD28, which is mostly in Forsyth County but also covers a small portion of West Hall, Democrat Claudia Wood has qualified.
Democrat Louisa Jackson is running in GA HD100 which includes an area in South Hall around Buford/Lake Lanier Islands.
In GA HD103, another district that spans North Gwinnett and South Hall, the Democratic candidate is Ernie Anaya.
GA SD50 includes areas of East Hall. The Democrat in that race is Paulette Williams, of Clayton.
The article below from the Gainesville Times lists all the qualified candidates in our region and includes maps of the various districts.
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Who's running for office in May? Primary races are set - ...
The primary election is May 24 followed by the general election on Nov. 8. The winner of some of those seats will be determined in May. The Times will have additional information on each race in the coming days and weeks.
Read more
www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Press Release March 11, 2022
Record Number of Georgia Democrats Qualify for 2022 Election
As the qualifying period for the 2022 midterm elections ends, a record-breaking 310 Democrats have qualified to run for office up and down the ballot – shattering numbers in 2018, the last non-presidential election year. Democratic candidates have qualified to run in every statewide seat, every federal seat, and 71% of state legislative districts. More seats in Congress, the State House, and State Senate are contested in this election cycle than in 2018.
“With a record-breaking number of contested seats and number of candidates qualifying to run for office this year, it’s clear that Georgia Democrats’ momentum has never been stronger” said Scott Hogan, Executive Director marketing of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “We’ve always believed no seat is too blue or too red to count out. As we look ahead to the primary and general elections, Georgia Democrats are going to continue shattering records, flipping seats, and defying expectations.”
“When I became Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia in 2019, we made it a priority to ensure Democrats were competitive in more seats all across Georgia – and this year’s qualifying numbers are a testament to those efforts,”said Congresswoman Nikema Williams, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “It’s exciting to see an unprecedented number of strong, diverse Democratic candidates stepping up to run for office in every corner of the state, up and down the ticket. Democrats’ historic victories in 2020 and 2021 were just the beginning – we are ready to turn Georgia blue for good in 2022.”
2022 qualifying numbers compared to 2018:
All Offices
310 total candidates qualified to run – compared to 259 in 2018.
Federal Office
33 total candidates qualified to run – compared to 28 in 2018. Every seat is contested – more than in 2018, when all but one seat were contested.
Statewide Office
37 total candidates qualified to run — compared to 20 in 2018. Every seat is contested.
State Legislature
240 total candidates qualified to run – compared to 211 in 2018.
71.18% of seats are contested – compared to 67.37% in 2018.
181 candidates have qualified to run in 128 seats.
71.11% of seats are contested – compared to 66.67% in 2018.
59 candidates have qualified to run in 40 seats.
71.43% seats are contested – compared to 70% in 2018.
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This week we’re featuring writer Diane Oliver, whose body of work consists of 6 compelling short stories. Oliver grew up in suburban Charlotte, NC, during the early days of school integration. Her stories reflect ways that Black suburban families navigate through a white world. Killed in a motorcycle accident while attending the famed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Oliver died shortly before her 23rd birthday. |
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The Short Stories and Too-Short Life of Diane Oliver -...
A decade before the powerful "Neighbors" was published, Oliver was growing up in the Jim Crow South when Brown v. Board of Education passed in 1954. Her father, William Robert Oliver, was a teacher and school administrator in his native...
Read more
bittersoutherner.com
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In Memoriam
This week, members of our HCDP family are dealing with the loss of loved ones. Please keep them in your thoughts, and those of you who pray, please remember them and their family members in your prayers.
We recently lost a dear friend in Roger Peil, who was always willing to lend a helping hand. At our picnics and ice cream socials, you could find Roger setting up tables, running extension cords, carrying coolers—whatever needed to be done, Roger was there helping out. He also provided much-needed and much-appreciated expertise in managing our member data, making sure we could keep track of all the people who support our efforts. We will miss his smiling face and get-it-done spirit. Our condolences to his wife and our good friend Kathie, as she deals with this devastating loss.
We are also sending sympathy to Gala Sheats—HCDP committee member and member of the Hall County Elections Board—for the recent loss of her mother-in-law. May Gala and her family share happy memories in the days ahead.
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If you want proof that our Letters to the Editor are being read, a new letter this week references a letter from HCDP Committee member Laura Colaninno, which appeared week before last. Letters beget more letters!
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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Opinion: Trump has hijacked GOP
A couple of weeks ago, I read the letters of Mr. Dick Biggs and Ms. Laura Colaninno. Both were of good content and caused me to ponder their thoughts. I commend Biggs on the tenets of his party.
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Opinion: Blaming Biden for Ukraine further divides us,...
I wish to address the blame being laid on President Biden by extremist pundits and high-ranking Republicans in our government regarding the Russian assault on Ukraine. What an immoral and disingenuous exercise at a time when our citizens need to...
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www.gainesvilletimes.com
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State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
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Bipartisan effort to reform Georgia's wrongful...
Two decades ago, Kerry Robinson was convicted for a 1993 rape in Moultrie after he was falsely implicated by one of the actual perpetrators and a state forensic analyst. Robinson, 46, spent nearly the next 18 years of his life in a Georgia prison ...
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www.gpb.org
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Bill inspired by backlash to 2020 racial justice...
A Georgia bill opponents argue aims to stop protests by trampling on constitutional rights through expanded criminal penalties, added civil liability for local governments that allow protests and authorized violence against protesters.
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georgiarecorder.com
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Lawmakers: Senate passes 'divisive concepts' education...
The Georgia Senate passed a controversial bill that would prohibit teachers from teaching "divisive concepts" in the classroom. Senate Bill 377, sponsored by Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia), passed 32 to 20 in a party-line vote. The bill has faced...
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www.gpb.org
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School voucher bill clears Georgia Senate panel despite...
A new school voucher bill sponsored by Senate Pro Tempore Butch Miller moved forward in a Senate committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 601, or the "Georgia Educational Freedom Act," would provide a $6,000 scholarship to nearly all of Georgia's...
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georgiarecorder.com
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PLEASE NOTE: Any articles we post about 2022 Georgia Democratic candidates in contested primary races are intended to keep you informed. They are not an endorsement of any candidate. |
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National News (Some links may require a subscription)
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Disney pauses political donations in Florida, CEO Chapek ...
Disney's CEO said Friday the company is ceasing its political donations in Florida due to the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, and he apologized for the company's previous silence on the issue. "You needed me to be a stronger ally in the...
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www.cnbc.com
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Opinion | Yes, voters 'deserve to know' this GOP plan...
Suppose, for a moment, that the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the group overseeing the 2022 campaigns of all Democratic senators and Senate candidates, announced that Democrats, if they keep congressional majorities after...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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Missouri's proposed anti-abortion law bears an eerie...
Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter. A Missouri lawmaker wants her state to follow in Texas' footsteps and outlaw almost all abortions through the use of a...
Read more
www.motherjones.com
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'Be very careful about the rhetoric': Fiona Hill...
Fiona Hill explained the most likely scenarios for the end of the Russian war against Ukraine, and she doesn't think any of them will be good.The foreign policy adviser and Russia expert told New York Times columnist Ezra Klein that Vladimir...
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www.alternet.org
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