The Washington County Democrats met at Arts Domestique on Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at 7:00 pm. Harold Frakes called the meeting to order and served as Chair in the absence of Lorraine Williams who was in Italy and Richard Gilmore who was on a cruise. There were 12 county Democrats present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited followed by the singing of America the Beautiful. Congratulations was given to Lorraine on the arrival of her new grandson.
The minutes were approved as sent out and the treasurer’s report was given. Kay reported that our old web site is no longer active. John moved and Terry seconded that we reserve a double booth at the County Fair for $200. Motion passed with one Nay vote.
Report of the Chair:
1. Harold passed out a map showing the number of pipelines in the US and how dangerous the leaks are. He said companies are using “eminent domain” to obtain land to use for pipelines.
2. The second handout showed the cost of living in Washington county. Iowa last raised the minimum wage in 2008 and the handout showed that you cannot live on minimum wage. This provoked a lot of discussion.
3. The third handout was about Nutrient Reduction of nitrate levels in our water. The legislature has set a goal of 45% reduction, but there is no baseline on which to measure nor a standard to know if the goal has been reached. Harold asked Matt Schaeffer to write a letter to the editor on this matter. Others are also encouraged to write letters.
4. A flyer was passed around about the Trivia Extravaganza event hosted by Hospice as a fund raiser on Friday, April 24 at 7:00 pm in the 4-H building. He encouraged people to join our Democrat team for this event.
Old Business:
1. There was a report on our Kite flying event in March. It was deemed successful as our first event of this kind.
2. The Pot-Luck “Banquet for the Common People” will be Wednesday, April 29 at 6:30 pm. Andy McGuire, IDP chair, will be present as will Tom Fiegen. Both will speak. John sent around a sign up sheet for food. Terry Philips volunteered to contact the Hillary people.
3. FDR Revival to be held Saturday, June 13 at Lake Darling Lodge was discussed.
4. Farmers Market was discussed. We can set up 4 times as a guest. The other times we could set up outside Arts Domestique. LeAnn suggested we have a theme each week. Diane suggested we have
something to hand out each time.
5. Harold brought up the idea of having “cowboy” cards to let people know what we stand for. We could then pass them out at the County Fair and at the Farmer’s Market. Terry and Matt will work
on how to develop this and will bring their ideas to the May meeting.
New Business:
none
Committee reports:
Affirmative Action: has not met yet
Candidate Development: Jim Gorham reported in Ceanne’s absence. They have met and discussed how to meet the 50/50 by 20/20, recruiting people for County offices, school boards, other county boards, someone to run against Klein, and that there are 3 Supervisors seats to be filled. He asked everyone to be thinking of people to contact. We need to let no position go without a Democrat running for it.
Karen Gorham announced that Lorraine has been appointed to the Kirkwood Board. She will have to run again this fall for this position.
It was suggested to have Karen Gorham talk about what Branstad is doing to education under his leadership. Leanne will share ideas for the Farmer’s Market, and the Float Design Committee will report in May.
Next meeting is Tuesday, May 12 at Arts Domestique at 7:00 pm.
Meeting adjourned at 8:05 for “Coffee & Conversation.” Treats given by Doris Park. Next month, June 9, treats will be furnished by Shirley Pfeiffer.
Respectfully submitted,
Louise Frakes, secretary
Upcoming Events:
June 6 — Ridiculous Day Parade
June 9 — Democrat meeting at Arts Domestique
June 13 — FDR Revival at Lake Darling Lodge
June 14 — Ice Cream Social — Meet & Greet for Tom Fiegen at Richard & Robin’s home.
June 20 — Brighton parade and Kalona parade
June 27 — Trek Fest Parade in Riverside
