Waldo County Democrats had a wonderful turnout for our March 10 meeting, with many new and returning members and guests joining to hear guest speaker Emily Cain talk about the threat third party candidates pose in this November’s presidential and congressional elections. Emily outlined the undemocratic and opaque practices of the No Labels party and disturbing background of some third-party candidates. She encouraged WCDC to reach out to No Labels party members to make sure they actually intended to change parties and they understand how problematic the No Labels party really is. Learn more about these issues here on the Third Way website.
Legislative Updates. Our legislators Rep. Jan Dodge and Rep. Paige Zeigler updated us on what’s going on in Augusta, and County Commissioner Betty Johnson told us about the recent county budget process. Sara Salley said the National Popular Vote has been passed by the Maine House and is before the Maine Senate for a vote on Tuesday morning. Senator Chip Curry is undecided on the issue and could be the deciding vote. The most effective way to let Senator Curry know your stand on the National Popular Vote bill is to call him at 207-323-9976 [corrected] before Tuesday morning, March 12. Learn more about NPV here. Visit www.waldocountydemocrats.com/elected-officials to find other legislators’ contact info.
2024 Candidates. Brian Blake announced he is running for Troy Select Board and for the Maine House in District 68 (Burnham, Troy, Clinton, and Pittsfield). We also learned from Scott Cuddy that he is running for the House seat in District 37 (Winterport, eastern Frankfort, Prospect, Stockton Springs, and Searsport). We’re excited about both these great candidates and will be working hard for them to flip these seats BLUE! Mike Ray updated us on his race in House District 40 (Lincolnville, Liberty, Montville, Searsmont, Morrill, and Islesboro) and Rep. Jan Dodge reminded us of her re-election campaign for House District 39 (Belfast, Northport, and Belmont). There are still efforts underway to recruit a strong candidate for District 38 (Unity, Thorndike, Jackson, Monroe, western Frankfort, Swanville, Brooks, Waldo, and Knox) and we hope to have an announcement soon.
Want to do something quick and easy to support our great State House candidates? Visit the Maine Clean Elections page and make a $5 qualifying contribution to help them qualify for public campaign financing!
Chair’s Report: Caucus Outcomes and Convention Updates. We’re still counting, but it looks like about 240 local Democrats gathered at caucuses to get organized for the upcoming elections! We’re so grateful to 50+ volunteers who pulled together to make it all happen. We’re especially excited about the 14 local committees that were formed or re-established. Congratulations to everyone who was elected or re-elected to chair your local committee – you can see who they are at www.waldocountydemocrats.com/local.
For those of you who were elected as state convention delegates, thank you for stepping up to represent Waldo County! Delegates vote on important party business, such as the party platform and state leadership. We have more delegate positions available for people who want to participate. You can be a voting delegate without attending the in-person convention because the voting will take place online during the week leading up to the convention. If you want to have a voice at the convention, please become a delegate! Send us your name and contact info by April 1. Invite your friends to participate too. Going to convention can be a lot of fun, especially with friends and family. At our April meeting, we will elect delegates to fill the vacant positions.
Platform Committee. Sue Conard reported that the Platform Committee has passed a proposed amended platform to be voted on by delegates to the State Convention. Read the proposal at www.mainedems.org/platform and join our April 21 meeting to discuss it. Thank you for serving on the committee, Sue, and keeping us well-informed!
Proposed Hate Crimes Statement. We discussed the following proposal by the DEIB Committee:
The Waldo County Democratic Committee hereby answers the call of the Maine Democratic Party, to stand together and speak out with one voice in support of Maine’s communities that are marginalized, and against hatred and bigotry. We must continue to make it clear that all people, regardless of their race, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic class are welcome to come and make their home in this beautiful state.
WCDC members asked the DEIB Committee to consider adding disability and religion to the list of communities that are marginalized. We’ll vote on the statement at our April 21 meeting.
New WCDC Member Elections. We elected the following new members to the County Committee: Jason Trundy, Susan Cutting, Mike Ray, Nick Seeger, Martha Proulx, Jan Geller, Ron Pinkham, Carol Tate, and Celeste Furnari. Thank you for joining us in this important work!
Announcements
- Next Meeting: Sunday, April 21 at 1pm (preregister here) PLEASE NOTE THE SCHEDULE CHANGE!!!
- “Return to the Woodshed” Workday and Potluck: Meet Saturday, March 23, at 9am for the Woodshed, 12:30pm for the potluck, in Searsmont. Contact Cheryl Cassidy at 542-4740 or ccassidy@tidewater.net to participate.
- Local Committee Meetings: Belfast Dems are meeting Sunday, March 17 at 2pm at Social Capital. Prospect, Searsport and Stockton Springs (PSSS) Dems are meeting Thursday, March 21 at 5:30pm at the Stockton Springs Town Office. Visit our calendar at www.waldocountydemocrats.com/calendar to get all the details!
- It’s town meeting season! Find yours in the Republican Journal’s list of upcoming town meetings.
Standing Committee Reports
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging Committee – Chair Laura Baker
- Decisions to be Discussed – adopting the ME State Dem Statement on Hate Crime
- Activities in the Past Month – Josh Goldstein represented us at the January State Dem. DEIB Committee meeting featuring Ambassador Maulian Bryant from Wabanaki Alliance. Thursday, Feb. 29 is the next meeting and there will be an update by Ambassador Bryant and Ambureen Rana will speak about supporting marginalized people.
- Plans for the Next Month(s) – On the County DEIB March 3rd agenda we plan to discuss whether or not to ask WCDC to join the Wabanaki Alliance. LD 2007 will also be discussed.
- Other issues on the agenda are student loan issues, responses to Hate Crimes we might take, people who are unhoused with options of prevention/support and lack of support in Waldo County.
- Next WCDC DEIB meeting – Sunday, April 7 at 4pm by ZOOM. If interested to join, please contact Laura at fairtradebaker@gmail.com for the link.
Campaign Committee – Chair Valerie Tate
- Last meeting – February 21, 2024
- Current Project – Candidate Recruiting
- We hosted a Young Dems Candidate Recruiting Event at Hey Sailor! on March 2, 2024, with several young candidates and elected officials.
- We’re still actively recruiting candidates for D2 County Commissioner.
- We’re expecting announcements of candidates for HD37 and HD 38 Representatives (may be able to announce at the meeting).
- Current Project – Municipal races – there are over 50 seats available on planning boards, school boards, select boards, town councils, board of appeals, and city council – town meetings start in March.
- Potential Project – High School Outreach Voter Registration Program based on New Hampshire Report: High School Outreach Program Contributes To Near-Doubling Of Voter Registration Rates Among 18-year-olds. Student leaders help overcome barriers to access. https://thecivicscenter.substack.com/p/new-hampshire-report-high-school.
- Volunteer Needs – If you are inspired to work on any of the projects here, please contact Campaign Committee Chair Valerie Tate at belfastdems@gmail.com.
- Next Meeting: March 20, 2024 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm on Zoom.
(https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83091824262?pwd=YmxXY1BXV0QyWkQvK1QwOUN0eDY2dz09)
Engagement Committee – Chair Cheryl Cassidy
- Tasks Accomplished
- Our committee helped with getting caucus volunteers.
- We got the welcome packets for new members finalized, put together, and distributed at the caucuses.
- We assisted in getting volunteers to help with the text banking for the upcoming information session at Hey Sailor, on March 2nd
- In progress – Getting all the lists of members and volunteers, old and new, updated. There are lots of people helping with this.
- Upcoming – March 23rd, “Return to the Woodshed” volunteer workday, followed by a potluck at the Searsmont Community Building. The potluck is for everyone, not just those who volunteer that morning at the Woodshed. We just need the finalized lists and we can start getting the message out. Until then, spread the word!
- Meetings – At this point in time, the Engagement Committee does not have a regular meeting time. We mobilize as needed! In the future, if we become a committee of more than 4, (one of whom will be moving out of state this summer), we will start scheduling a regular monthly meeting.