Lou

DanversDems Meeting – September 17

The September Meeting was held on Tuesday, September 17.

All the speakers did a great job- Beth Kontos was convincing explaining why we should vote to eliminate the MCAS graduation requirement (Ballot Question 2), she  came with signs, buttons, & literature to support the cause. Joan Lovely followed Beth by discussing a variety of noteworthy issues of the day & recent legislative accomplishments, she thanked us for our support. Essex County Clerk of Courts Tom Driscoll also popped in at our the start of the meeting to thank us for our support in the primary, he & Joan both have Republican opponents in November. Phil Bolduc wrapped up the meeting with an engaging talk about volunteerism & the need  for Democrats to be more actively involved on the local level, particularly with all the recent changes in town government (Selectmen, Town Manager, etc). Phil cited an alarming number of vacancies on local boards & committee as currently listed on the town web site, & stressed that it would be great to see many of these vacancies filled by those who share our democratic values. 

We also had a  lively & productive discussion about electronic voting & donations, with numerous members participating. When all was said & done, the consensus was that people preferred to have the opportunity to vote in person, where members could share their unique perspectives & perhaps come up with compromise solutions rather than straight up or down , yes or no electronic voting. Consistent with that approach, after several proposals & “friendly amendments”, it was decided to continue with the $450 in donations

All in all it was a very positive & productive meeting. Attendees were encouraged to promote & buy tickets to our FreedomFest event and to head over to Marilyn’s on 9/30 for her post card party. 

DanversDems Meeting – September 17 Read More »

DanversDems Meeting: August 15

My Notes from DanversDems August 15 Meeting

Hello everyone,

My notes from last nights meeting for those who were unable to attend.

Presentation slides are available here: August Meeting Presentation

The transition from Joe Biden to Kalama Harris was top of mind with members expressing gratitude and respect for Joe Biden and enthusiasm, hope and dare I say joy with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

We had three great speakers;

Alex Bausch from the MassDems related the surge in volunteering since Kamala was nominated and discussed what we can do to elect Harris/Walz particularly in NH.

State Representative Sally Kerans informed us of the progress she and legislators made on the maternal health bill this week and is now on the Governor’s desk, the PFAS bill to protect Firefighters has been signed by Gov. Healey and continue to work economic development and clean energy. Also discussed housing for migrant families, the Steward Hospital situation, battling GOP effort to undermine voting and other issues.

Mary Henry spoke on behalf of Eileen Duff, candidate for Register of Deeds citing Eileen’s qualifications and asking for support on September 3 primary.  

Members were very engaged in discussion on Harris/Walz and with all three speakers.  So much so that I abbreviated some of the agenda but it was great to see the enthusiastic discussion.Members discussed interest in doing campaigning as a group with post card parties, phone banking parties and canvassing in NH.  We will work on these.MassDems is making Harris/Walz lawn signs available for $10.  I have until August 22 to place an order.  Contact me at lou@danversdemocrats.org or 978-304-2714, if you want a sign.  I will send out a separate email (sorry, yet another email) specifically for this.

Shout out to Liz Brennan for a very successful Toiletries Drive for the Food Pantry and to Phil Bolduc for negotiating with Town on guidelines for having an information table at the Summer Concerts and other events.

Charlotte Jordan was voted in as the newest member of the DanversDems team.  Welcome Charlotte.

OctoberFest is September 28. (save the date) Theme is “We ChooseFreedom!”   Everyone should have received an email invitation.  Contact me if you did not.  Volunteers to serve on OctoberFest Committee are welcome.

Democratically yours,
Lou

lou@danversdemocrats.org

DanversDems Meeting: August 15 Read More »

DanversDems Toiletries Drive for Danvers Food Pantry

DanversDems held a Toiletries Drive for the Danvers Food Pantry on Saturday and Sunday August 10 & 11 at the CVS downtown at 1 Maple Street.

DanversDems turned out to collect items for the Danvers Food Pantry. First time we held such an event at a business location. We collected many items from DanversDems and from people visiting the CVS.

If anyone wished to donate but was unable to, you can bring items to Thursday meeting or contact Liz at liz.conrad98@gmail.com

Thanks to Liz Brennan for running this successful event.

DanversDems Toiletries Drive for Danvers Food Pantry Read More »

Gov. Tim Walz for VP

Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her VP running mate. Walz appeared to be lower on the list behind Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro to Arizona Senator Kelly.

Walz is not as well known but complements Harris’ experience. Harris’ choice of Walz as her running mate could broaden the ticket’s appeal: Harris as a Black, Asian woman from California with experience as a prosecutor, and Walz as a white, folksy Midwesterner with a record of enacting progressive policies. It is hoped that he will help win the critical midwest states.

He was elected to Congress from a moderate district. He served 20 years in the National Guard. He is not a coastal elite or an Ivy League guy.

The 60-year-old governor’s track record of winning over red-leaning voters makes him a compelling choice for the Democratic presidential ticket. Here’s what to know about Harris’ running mate:

Walz has roots in rural America

Born in West Point, Nebraska, Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at 17. He graduated from Chadron State College in 1989. 

With his wife, Gwen, he moved in 1996 to Mankato, Minnesota, where he taught in a public school for more than a decade before entering politics. He also has a master’s degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Walz was a teacher

Walz served a red-leaning district in the U.S. House for 12 years

Walz has an impressively productive — and progressive — track record as governor

Minnesota Democrats, fresh off gaining control of the state Legislature after the 2022 midterm elections, had a historically productive legislative session. With Walz as governor, they secured free school lunches and free college tuition for some families, codified abortion rights, enacted stricter gun violence prevention laws, expanded protections for transgender youth and restored voting rights for formerly incarcerated people.

Walz is behind the ‘Republicans are weird’ refrain

Gov. Tim Walz for VP Read More »

Attended Harris Rally in Concord NH

Maria and I attended a Harris rally in Concord, NH on July 30. I wanted to see how real the energy we are seeing is and hopefully get some Harris swag. First Gentleman Doug Emhoff was the speaker. The venue was an IBEW Union hall. I think it was by invitation only as we had to sign up and they checked us on a guest list as we entered. They provided the venue name at 8:00 AM for doors opening at 9:30 AM

The hall was basically just standing room only. There were seats for seniors off to the side. I am not great at guessing the size of a crowd but I’m thinking 200 – 250, maybe more. I think this is a pretty good turnout for Doug Emhoff. Also there was something not seen at these events: young people. There were a lot of seniors as usual but there were a lot of non seniors. There was a lot of energy in the crowd just waiting for the speakers and we did wait a while. The NH officials came out about 11:30 and Doug Emhoff about 12:30. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic. Even though we were standing waiting for up to three hours, no one seemed to mind.

As far as getting Harris swag, not so successful. They didn’t seem to have a lot and were giving out what they had individually to people. I got a couple hand signs and 1 lawn sign.

Attended Harris Rally in Concord NH Read More »

Kamala !

Great job Democrats! Democrats did what we all hoped we would do. We quickly coalesced around Kamala Harris as our nominee for President. This could have been a chaotic battle among many capable people but it was anything but that. All potential candidates quickly endorsed Kamala setting up a quick approval from the delegates. A GREAT job!!

Kamala came roaring out of the gate. $47 million was donated within the first 8 hours coming from thousands of first time donators. She projected the strong voice that is required to defeat Trump. The party is hyper energized around Kamala and ready to go win this election.

We love Joe Biden (and Jill) and are proud of everything Biden/Harris accomplished but at 81 he just didn’t have the energy to battle the MAGA threat. Kamala is well qualified to be President and take it to Trump. The prosecutor vs the felon.

This is still a huge battle but we can do this!

Kamala ! Read More »

THANK YOU, JOE!

Everyone has heard by now that President Joe Biden has withdrawn from seeking the nomination and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

There will be and already is lots of discussion concerning whether VP Kamala Harris is the selection or maybe others will seek the nomination. But that is a discussion for tomorrow.

Today we should reflect how lucky we were to have President Biden for the last 3.5 years and be grateful for what he has done for us and the country.

Joe Biden is a good and decent man. He saved us from 4 more years of Donald Trump and the extreme anti everything party.

We all want to forget COVID but Joe Biden took over when thousands were dying daily. He got supplies to hospitals, got shots into arms, provided money to businesses to keep them afloat and the country out of a depression.

He was inaugurated in a heavily guarded ceremony with almost no participants because Donald Trump executed an unsuccessful insurrection on January 6. Joe Biden navigated us through this. Who actually thought that the DOJ would arrest and convict hundreds of insurrectionists.

He passed the biggest bill to allocate money to fight climate change. Maybe the biggest threat to all of us.

He passed the CHIPS act bringing the manufacturing of computer chips used for just about everything electronic back into the United States.

This economy created millions of jobs, raised peoples wages, stock market over 40,000. The economy is so hot that all efforts to slow if down have met with limited success as there’s still demand for jobs.

He almost single handedly resurrected NATO and unified it to fight Russia the second largest threat to democracy (you know who number 1 is) in Ukraine. He has also unified our allies on the Pacific Rim to counteract China in the region.

Insulin capped at $35, out of pocket costs for Medicare at $2,000, working every path to eliminate student debt.

We filled the courts and executive positions with people who looked like America. People from all races and religions. He nominated the Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

How many times have we heard politicians say that you must put the country ahead of oneself for the good of the country. How many politicians have ever done it? Joe Biden just did it. Joe Biden should be honored for the patriot that he is. He likely has saved us again from Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans (which appears to be all of them).

Joe waited until after the MAGA Convention to announce this so we could hear from the very old, mentally unstable, incoherent man ramble on for 90 minutes. Until after the over confident MAGAs picking a horrible VP with no experience who changed all his views. Basically Donald Trump with a beard.

Thank you if you reached this spot. I likely missed many accomplishments but this is what I could recall off the top of my head.

I believe today what I always have: that there is nothng America can’t do when we do it
together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.

THANK YOU, JOE

OK. Here we go! Get to work! We can do this!

THANK YOU, JOE! Read More »