Town Meeting with Sen. Chuck Grassley, July 28

Want an opportunity to provide your thoughts or ask questions of Senator Chuck Grassley?  Please consider attending his town meeting in Washington on Thursday!  

US Senator Chuck Grassley

Invites you to a Town Meeting in

Washington County

Thursday, July 28, 2016

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Washington County Courthouse Board Room

(224 W Main St, Washington, IA 52353)

SUNDAY, July 24: 2nd Annual Loeback Brews & BBQ

For Immediate Release

July 19, 2016

Contact: Joe O'Hern
joseph@loebsackforcongress.org

Sunday, July 24th: Dave Loebsack's 2nd Annual Brews and BBQ
Featuring Special Guest Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

Iowa City, IA – Dave Loebsack announced today that he will host his 2nd annual Brews and BBQ fundraiser this Sunday, July 24th, in Iowa City. Congressman Loebsack will be joined by special guest Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Congresswoman Gabbard is an Iraq war Veteran, two term member of the House of Representatives and currently the youngest serving woman in Congress. Other guest speakers will include U.S. Senate Candidate, and former Lt. Governor, Patty Judge and 1st District Congressional candidate Monica Vernon.

Dave Loebsack’s Brews and BBQ
Sunday, July 24th
1pm to 3pm
(Speaking Program begins at 1:45pm)
The Celebration Farm
4696 Robin Woods Ln NE
Iowa City, IA 52240
All Media: To RSVP for the event, please contact Joe O'Hern

 

Washington County Democrats Minutes - June 14, 2016

The Washington County Democrats met at Art Domestique on Tuesday, June 14, 2016. Chairperson Lorraine Williams called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm with 18 attendees.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

The minutes of the May meeting was approved and will be posted on the blog. Going forward, minutes will be posted in advance of the meetings.

Kay Ciha presented the Treasurer's report with updates to membership fees, donations and the candidate fund. New expenses include payment to Lorraine Williams ($190.77) for parade candy. 

Report of the Chair:
Today’s guests are Jim Gorham’s granddaughter, Cara, who attended her first caucus this year and Jacob Bruns, a student from Simpson College who works in the John C Culver Public Policy Center

Old Business:
State Convention: Richard Gilmore, Robin Plattenburger-Gilmore, Pete Morrison, Andrew Allison and Kim Davis will be attending the State Democratic Convention on June 18.  Per Kim Davis and the credentialing committee, no packets will be mailed. 

Parades: We’ll have Kinney & Loebsack signs for the float. Gloria has received a clear rubberized coat & is sporting a new coat of paint.  

• June 18 Kalona Days – organize at 9:00 at the sale barn. Parade at 10:00. Committee members: Sonya Housholder, Bob Spenner, John Greener, Doris Parks & Steve Maxon. Kevin Kinney will be there.
•  June 25 Trek Fest – line up behind the bank at 9:00. Parade at 10:00. Pete Morrison, Andrew Allison, Steve Maxon and Kim Davis. Steve will host Gloria in his garage between the June 18 & 25 parades.
• July 4 Wellman – Gloria will stay at Steve Maxon’s house. Matt and Diane Schaffer are considering hosting a fish fry afterward at their home. 
• July 18 Washington County Fair – A sign-up sheet is being passed around. We’ll give out flashlights and cowboy cards.  Steve Maxon will make stickers for flashlight bottoms. Lorraine will buy the flashlights. John Greener will reorder the cowboy cards.
• July 29 RAGBRAI – setting up a booth would be $700 unless you’re serving food. Non-profits will be charged $350. Given conflicting commitments for members and the cost of a booth, we will not be hosting activities during RAGBRAI.
• Other July parades will be discussed at next mtg.

Other events:  Kim Davis will be scheduling a meet & greet in mid-August or mid-September and will invite Dave Loebsack to participate.  The event will be a lunch/dinner BBQ at her home.

Activities to support Kim’s candidacy for supervisor will be need to be discussed at a future meeting, including phone banking and door knocking.

New business:

Lorraine updated the committee on finding a headquarters for elections.  She has looked at several locations.  Ann Williams’ gas station location won’t work. It’d be $725/mo + water + electricity. There is a house diagonal from the post office that might work and she has left a message of inquiry about it. IDP will need to advise on the “handicap accessible” definition and requirement for a headquarters.  If a portable ADA ramp for “use on demand” will fit the need, Sandy’s building could be a possibility.  It’s 800 sq feet but we’d have to share the bathroom with another office. The bathroom is ADA compliant and Sandy has a portable ramp for ADA use to enter the building. We’re aiming for a September rental start date for headquarters space.  If we get financial help from the campaigns, then we could consider an earlier rental start date, but Sandy’s building isn’t quite ready yet.   

JP Lucaci of the IDP will be covering Keokuk and Washington counties. He is temporarily located in Ottumwa.

Committee Reports:
Affirmative Action: Lorraine will ask the new 2^nd District AA representative for help with our committee. 

Candidate Development: Chris Busch was flattered we’d consider him as a candidate to run against Jared Klein.  He didn’t say no, but it may be too late for name recognition to be have a successful run this year.  Jim Gorham will contact him about a campaign.  We would need to hold a special convention to get his name on the ballot.  If not this year, we should start working on his development and name recognition for the election in 2 years. 

Community Events: Lorraine asked Pete Morrison to consider stepping into the Chair of the Community Events committee.  Pete will consider the request and respond at the July meeting.  In the meantime, John Greener will continue to serve until July. 

Platform Committee: Andrew Allison is the new chair.

Other Business:
Kim Davis needs someone to do her campaign accounting. State Ethics will not allow a candidate to do their own accounting.   

The next meeting will occur on Tuesday, July 12, 7:00 pm, at Art Domestique.

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 pm. 

Attendees: Sonya Housholder, Richard Gilmore, Robin Plattenberger, Robert Spenner, John Greener, Kay Ciha, Lorraine Williams, Pete Morrison, Lynnette Hultman, Kitch Shatzer, Kimberly Davis, Isabella Santoro, Terry Philips, Shirley Pfeifer, Jim Gorham, Sandra Johnson, Jacob Bruns and Doris Park. 

July 12th Meeting Notice

The monthly Washington County Democrats Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12th at 7:00 PM at Art Domestique (118 S Iowa Ave, Washington). 

We will be discussing the Washington County Fair needs and next steps to support party candidates. Please join us! Your input is appreciated!

See you Tuesday the 12th!