The Washington County Democrats held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 11 at Art Domestique. Vice-Chair Richard Gilmore called the meeting to order at 6:02pm with the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and singing “America”. There were 14 County Democrats present plus 5 guests.
Minutes of the previous meeting were approved. Kay Ciha said the treasurer’s report had no changes.
Introduction of Guests:
Ann Dietrich spoke about Tom Fiegen who will be running for the US Senate seat. Tom’s main focus is on supporting local food production. She stated that Iowa has 208 Farmer Markets.
Shawn said that Gov. O’Malley is a strong progressive. He has come to Washington once and hopes to return soon.
Emily spoke on behalf of Hillary Clinton. She said people are very excited about Hillary’s new education policy.
Dylan is also with the Hillary campaign. He introduced himself and hopes to get to know us better.
Jacob is with the Bernie Sander’s campaign. He hopes to set up individual meetings this coming week. He also stated that the first Democrat debate will be Oct. 13. He said there will be a Bernie Sanders event at the Library this Thursday at 6:00 pm. He encouraged people to attend.
Report of the Chair:
Lorraine spoke about the 2nd District Caucus Training and said there will be more later.
She thanked those who helped with the fair: set up, tear down, worked at the booth, etc. She said the flashlights went well.
Old Business:
The Second District Workshop date has ben changed. She believes it will be Nov. 14 and she will double check that date. It will still be held at the Washington Kirkwood Center with our county party responsible for the lunch, etc. Harold explained that this workshop has many interesting topics and encouraged all to attend.
This coming Thursday, August 13, is our day for the Farmer’s Market. Richard will have the table set up with a patriotic cloth on it, the black board there, etc. John will bring the flashlight stickers, the flashlights, and the cowboy cards. In an effort to reach out to the Latino population, Harold suggested contacting Jackie A. & Heather L. He will work with Gary Murphy on that. Lorraine said she would
contact Sonja.
New Business:
We discussed our Fall Fund Raiser. Sunday, Oct 11 was suggested for a possible date. Lorraine will check to see if that interferes with any other city/county activities. As in the past Dodici will cater the main meal with all Democrats bringing desserts. There will be an auction and Lorraine will ask Gary Murphy if he will be auctioneer that day. We discussed inviting various speakers: Kevin Kinney, Dave Loebsack, and other possibilities. Lorraine made a plea for candidates to come. If we have actual National candidates, we will chance locations (probably to the 4-H building) where there would be more room for a larger crowd.
Committee Reports:
Affirmative Action: Lorraine thanked everyone who had worked on getting the cowboy cards done:
this committee, plus Louise Frakes, Robin Plattenberger, Richard Gilmore, her son, and Mary Patterson. Karen Gorham asked if we have the list of those who attended the first caucus of the Obama campaign. She thought we could get a lot of Latino names from that. Lorraine will check on it. Harold said the committee has not met for a long time. He will check with Gary Murphy.
Candidate Development:
Jim Gorham stated that this committee has not met again either. Jim will follow up with the person who is considering running against Jared Klein. He said there are open seats on the Washington City Council this fall and 3 for Supervisors next year. We need to be locating candidates. We have heard that Ceanne will be moving so Lorraine will need to appoint a new chair for this committee. This
committee should make contact with the other two democrats who are planning to run in 2016 Primary for the U. S. Senate.
Community Events:
• Ice Cream Social this Sunday, August 16, from 3:00-5:00 at Richard & Robin’s. Fundraiser for Tom Fiegen. Robin asked if some would bring cookies or bars to go along with their homemade ice cream and for some to come help set up and tear down.
• Gov. O’Malley was here last Friday afternoon. The Des Moines Register had a nice article about it and pictures, too!
• Hillary event Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Wagon Wheel Vineyard at 3:00 pm
• Emily is hosting “coffee and conversation” at Dodici Shop every Friday at 1:00pm She asked people to come and join her. However there will not be a meeting this Friday, August 14.
• Gloria and her tack need a home for the winter. Richard volunteered his back room.
Platform Committee:
Steve asked everyone to begin thinking about planks they want to submit at the Caucus.
Sept. 8 is School Board election. Early voting can be done now. Lorraine asked everyone to vote for her for the Kirkwood position and to spread the word. Karen Gorham gave a glowing endorsement of Lorraine. Some of her talking points include: there needs to be gender balance on the board. Right now there are only 2 women (there used to be 4), but more importantly Lorraine brings enthusiasm and fire. She is a “do-er”. She is community minded. She was unanimously voted upon to fill Karen’s position when she resigned. She has already gone to Washington DC for training. She is a business owner and actively involved in Washington. Karen encouraged everyone to go to the Court House and vote now.
Next meeting will be Sept. 8 at 6:00 pm at Art Domestique. Mary Jo Roberts has signed up to bring treats. We thank Lorraine for the coffee tonight. Meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Louise Frakes, secretary
