Monthly news & updates
St. Johns County Democratic Party
71 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 6
St. Augustine, FL 32084
Currently open 11-3 Monday through Thursday
Phone: 904-823-2336
www.StJohnsDemocrats.org
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DeSantis' Self-Serving Actions Endanger Floridians |
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Ron DeSantis's political ambitions are recklessly endangering the lives of our children and all Floridians. His executive order effectively blocked local schools from requiring masks to be worn by children, including those who are not vaccinated. DeSantis directed the Florida Commissioner of Education to take all legal means necessary, including withholding state funds from school boards that mandate masks. This, while Florida leads the nation in COVID hospitalizations among children.
Children are just the latest target of the governor's efforts. The executive order he signed in May prohibits Florida cities from enforcing any COVID-19 related mandate, and earlier this year, he signed a law banning businesses, governments, and schools from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccinations from people seeking services. Time for Mr. DeSantis to go!
Please note this statement does not constitute endorsement of any Democratic candidate. As of 8/4/21, the list of Democratic Candidates for Governor includes:
Charlie Crist, U.S. Rep for FL CD-13 and former Republican governor
Ivan Graham, Dentist
Timothy Mosley, Charity Founder
Robert Willis
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Make Your Voice Heard at SJC School Board Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 10th at 9 AM! |
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St. Johns County Schools are scheduled to begin on August 16, 2021 without a mask mandate in place. Northeast Florida is at the epicenter of Florida’s Delta variant surge and masks are known to be protective.
The St. Johns County School Board meeting will take public comments about whether to mandate masks at its next meeting on
Tuesday, August 10th, 9 AM at the
SJCSD Administrative Building, 40 Orange Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084
Please attend and make your voices heard!
If you cannot attend in person, please email your comment to each of the School Board members listed below, plus the Superintendent, well before the meeting. Emailed comments will be read after in-person comments are made.
We are responsible for the protection of our children. Thank you for lending a hand. Our children need it.
St. Johns County School Board Members
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Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate visits
Party Headquarters
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Several Democrats have announced their decision to run for U.S. Senate, the seat currently occupied by Senator Marco Rubio.
One of them, Mr. Ken Russell, was in town last week and visited our party headquarters in St. Augustine, where he spoke about his platform and answered questions. You can learn more about him at his website here.
Please note that providing an opportunity for a candidate to speak prior to the Primary does not constitute an endorsement. Our doors are open to any Democratic candidate, and we expect to host many forums to inform our voters as the campaign season begins to heat up. Any endorsements will be announced only after the Primary election.
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR U.S. SENATE
CURRENTLY INCLUDE
Edward Abud
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Rally to Pass the FOR THE PEOPLE ACT |
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DEMOCRACY CAN'T WAIT, a nationwide effort to mobilize voters in support of passing the For the People Act, will hold a Florida-wide virtually rally on August 10th. You can register for the event here: https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/403978/
Congress must pass the For the People Act by August 16 when the federal government releases census data to states and congressional districts are redrawn. If the For the People Act fails, millions of Americans will be drawn into unrepresentative, gerrymandered districts. Currently, Congress has a recess scheduled to begin August 9. But they shouldn't come home until they've taken care of business and saved democracy.
The stakes have never been higher. The freedom to vote is under attack by extremist state lawmakers across the country who want to put up deliberate barriers to make it harder to vote -- especially for people of color. And in response to this urgent threat to our democracy, people all across the country are raising their voices and showing up to fight for the passage of this bill.
The Senate needs to step up, do its job, and pass the For the People Act to protect our votes and our democracy before the 8/16 deadline. Join Florida's virtual rally on August 10th to tell our Senators: Democracy can’t wait - pass the For the People Act now!
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St. Johns County Democratic Club Events |
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Saturday, August 7th, 6:30 PM
The Ponte Vedra Democratic Club will hold its Summer Social at Pusser's Bar and Grill in Ponte Vedra Beach at 6:30 PM on Saturday, August 7th.
Please register by visiting this link: https://bit.ly/3em6SVq or contact Jan Kary. Hope to see you there! |
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Monday, August 9th at 6:30 PM
Northwest St Johns County United for Progress will hold its monthly meeting via Zoom on Monday August 9th. We will be featuring Feeding NE Florida and Hugging Our Kids.
Please contact Rick Chapman to obtain the Zoom meeting link. |
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Other Democratic clubs and caucuses in St. Johns County, including the Democratic Women's Club, Black Caucus, Environmental Caucus, Young Democrats, and St. Augustine Club will resume their regular meeting schedules in September. September events will be announced in the next newsletter. |
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Sign Petitions to Get Voting Rights on the Ballot |
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Sean Shaw, a former state representative, is behind a massive effort to expand voting rights in Florida, modeled after policies in other states.
Gather Signatures on Petitions to put these Three Amendments on the Ballot
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Prohibit Denial of Voting Rights Restoration for Debt or Financial Obligations
The "Voting Eligibility Restoration Amendment" would prohibit denying the restoration of voting rights due to outstanding debt or legal financial obligations. It would allow ex-felons to vote if other conditions specified in 2018's Amendment 4 are met.
Provide for Automatic Voter Registration
" A Voter Registration Method for Eligible Floridians" would allow for a person to be automatically registered to vote or have their voter registration updated when their driver's license or ID card is given, renewed, updated, or replaced - unless they check a box to opt out of voter registration. Twenty states and D.C. have enacted automatic voter registration policies. |
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Enable Same-Day Voter Registration
" Register and Vote Amendment" would provide for same-day voter registration in which an individual could register to vote and vote at polling places on the day of an election. Twenty states and D.C. have same-day voter registration.
Any registered Florida voter may sign a petition. Petitions must be signed and submitted for verification by January 2, 2022. To be placed on the ballot in 2022, 891,589 petition signatures must be verified. Let's do our part by getting every Democrat in St. Johns County (and more) to sign these petitions!
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Drop by our headquarters to sign these three petitions and pick up copies for your friends and family members to sign!
We are submitting completed petitions to the amendment sponsors on a weekly basis. Our office at 71 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 6 in St. Augustine is generally open 11-3 Monday through Thursday.
If you prefer, you may download the petitions here, print them out, and submit the completed forms yourself. Thank you!
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Do You Know Someone Who May Be Interested in Running for Office? |
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Gearing up for 2022! In a little over a year, we will be electing a new U.S. Senator and Congressional Representatives, in addition to Florida's Governor, Lt. Governor, Senators and Representatives, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, and Chief Financial Officer.
At the county and municipal levels, we'll be electing individuals to seats on the St. Johns County Board of Commissioners, School Board, City Council for St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach, Ponte Vedra Municipal Services, and Special Districts such as Airport Authority, Soil and Water Conservation, Mosquito Control, and Port Waterway and Beach.
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Our Candidate Development Committee is Here to Help! |
Many offices will be up for election and our Candidate Development Committee stands ready to help interested individuals think through their options.
The committee can provide information on the various seats that will be on the ballot and may be able to connect prospective candidates with individuals who have special knowledge of the position.
The committee has also curated a compendium of tools, resources, and training, and plans to provide ongoing monthly support to candidates, especially those running for the first time.
The 2022 election is an opportunity to elect leaders with Democratic values all up and down the ticket! Please refer anyone who may be thinking about running (or anyone you think might be a good candidate) to Cathy Cosby, committee chair.
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Join us for Action Tuesdays! |
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In July, we continued our Action Tuesdays and again reached out to thousands of Democrats in St. Johns County to urge them to vote by mail. We know from past elections that when Democrats sign up to get their ballot in the mail, they are far more likely to turn out. And we know that voting by mail is safe and reliable in St. Johns County.
After mailing welcome letters to newly registered Democrats and contacting those whose mail ballot requests had expired (many didn't even know that they expire!), we began our first round of outreach to DEMs with a history of not always voting (especially in mid-term elections like the one coming up).
We explain that having a mail ballot does not mean you can't still vote in person if preferred. Vote-by-Mail protects your vote: in case of an emergency, illness, or dangerous weather, you have a back up and can still vote from home. Any registered voter (including you!) can protect their vote by requesting a mail ballot. Simply call the Supervisor of Elections at 904-823-2238.
Consider joining us each Tuesday in August between 11 AM and 3 PM to help out. It's a great way to meet like minded people, discuss issues, and contribute to our goal of outstanding Democratic turnout in St. Johns County! No registration required -- just wear a mask and drop in at 71 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 6, St. Augustine.
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Thank you!
You may also contribute by check, payable to
St Johns Democratic Party. Please mail to
71 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 6, St. Augustine, FL 32084.
Please note your address, phone, and email, and
Include occupation if contribution is $100 or more.
Please Note: Contributions to political parties are not tax-deductible.
Political advertisement paid for by St. Johns Democratic Party, 71 S. Dixie Highway, Suite 6, St. Augustine, FL 32084. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
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