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Democratic Club News
(Scroll down to read summaries of the major news)
Join US for our July 14 webinar that will discuss THE HISTORY OF SARASOTA'S 
AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. Our guest speakers are Vickie Oldham and Walter Gilbert. Vickie Oldham, CEO of Vickie O Heritage Productions, Inc., is a local historian associated with the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition. Walter Gilbert, is the former head of the Sarasota NAACP. They will discuss the African American community and how its evolution has impacted the Sarasota of today. Included in their presentation will be Sarasota’s history of beach integration, curfews, and school desegregation. Click HERE for more details. Click HERE to register.
Watch the Video of the June 16 Local Candidates Webinar. Our Webinar featured local candidates David Graham and Thomas Edwards, candidates for the Sarasota County School Board, and Betsy Young, candidate for State Attorney. You can view the webinar video HERE.
Log on to the candidates websites to donate to their campaigns!
David Graham's website
Thomas Edward's website
Betsy Young's website
We Had a Large audience of attendees at our webinar on Tuesday, May 26 featuring Dale Anderson addressing the critical topic: VOTER SUPPRESSION AND THE DEGRADATION OF DEMOCRACY. We recorded the webinar. You can view the video HERE.
Go HERE to read a brief summary of Dale's presentation and download a copy of the slide presentation in .pdf format.
Robert Gary, former Justice Department Prosecutor and LBKDC Board member, has written a forceful letter regarding the abuse of the rule of law in the Trump administration. According to Robert, we have a President so disruptive that a walk on June, 1st from the White House to St John’s Church resulted in the gassing of lawful peaceful protestors. A walk that prompted an apology from General Mark Milley, the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for “creating the impression that the military is involved in domestic politics. A walk that prompted the potential resignation of Mark Esper, the Secretary of Defense. A walk that prompted a damning letter signed by a thousand alumni of the Department of Justice calling for an investigation of the Attorney General for his role in using illegal force against American citizens. Read Robert's full letter HERE.
The Best and Easiest Way to Vote in Florida is Vote By Mail (VBM). Also, consider early voting. In Sarasota County, if you have not applied to have a Vote By Mail form sent to you, you can request a form from the Supervisor of Elections at PO Box 4194, Sarasota, FL 34230-4194 or call 941-861-8618. You can also request a VBM form to be mailed at www.sarasotavotes.com. You can pick up a form at Sarasota SOE, Terrace Building, 101 S. Washington Blvd, Sarasota, Fl 34236. In Manatee County call 941-741-3823 or go to www.votemanatee.com. The address of SOE in Manatee County is 600 301 Blvd. W, Suite 108, Bradenton FL 34205. The next election locally, a non-presidential primary and School Board election, is August 18th. VBM Ballots go out a month prior to the election and must be received at SOE by 7 pm on election night. VBM ballots are not forwarded by the post office. Please provide the SOE with the address where you want your ballot sent for each election. VBM allows you to avoid the standing in line and other hassles of election day. VBM also assures that you will be able to vote safely in this time of Covid-19. For complete information on 2020 Voting, vote by mail, early voting and in-person voting locations go HERE.
How to Vote in Florida even if You are a Snowbird - Did you know that you can register to vote in Florida even if you do not spend six months and a day here? The so-called 183-day rule is one used by many states for taxation purposes -- but has nothing to do with voter registration. According to Florida law, what matters is where a person intends to make his or her permanent residence for purposes of voter registration. You can be both a legal voting resident of Florida and a taxpaying resident of another state. (You must give up your right to vote in your alternate state.) Looking ahead to the August 2020 primary and the November general election, your vote is likely to be much more important in Florida than in a so-called “blue” state: Whoever wins Florida in November is likely to win the presidency. This is a good time to make a switch. HERE is complete information on how to register to vote in Florida as a snowbird.
Congratulations to Sarasota and Manatee County delegates who were recently elected to represent Florida's Districts 16 and 17. For District 16, Sarasota County Biden Delegates are Mary Clupper, Louis Grossman, Barbara Katz, Mark Pienkos, and Alternate Jay Castle. Sarasota County Sanders Delegate, Johannes Werner. Manatee County Biden Delegate, Patricia “Pat” Simmons. For District 17, Sarasota County Biden Delegates are Sara Bisighini, Norine Hemping, and Steven “Steve” Hemping. Lee County Sanders Delegate is Ronald Smith.
A special congratulations to Longboat Key Democratic Club board member Barbara Katz for being elected as a Sarasota County Biden delegate!
Convention delegates were elected by online votes cast between Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT and Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT. Each delegate candidate is pledged to a Presidential candidate. Presidential candidates earned delegates proportional to the expressed preference of primary voters in Florida's March 17, 2020 Presidential Preference Primary.
All of Florida's District-Level Delegates to the 2020 National Convention can be found HERE.
Here is the next three weeks calendar events for the Sarasota County Democratic Party.
LBKDC Board member Bob Gary and Susan Taft of an important Ohio political family, which has produced a President of the United States, recently discussed our country's current chaos and the need to turn away from the Trump presidency and return to our basic values. Susie Taft is a passionate Democratic.
Susie says .... America is in (justifiable) chaos tonight while Trump is hiding out beneath his desk in the White House, the pandemic is killing thousands while tearing apart our economy, and Trump's record shows he has been remarkably facile at dismantling our democratic agencies and institutions in just 3+ years....Bob Responds.... “Susan your email resonated with me. It reflects the concerns that so many Americans have regardless of party harbor. I know how passionately you wish to see our country return to the basic values of decency and honesty that have been trampled by president Trump.....”Read the full exchange between Bob and Susie HERE.
Longboat Key Democratic Club Board members held a very important and informative web meeting with leaders of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System on Friday May 1st. Sarasota Memorial staff answered our questions and shared up-to-date information on the Covid-19 virus, which we will provide to residents of Longboat Key, Sarasota and Manatee counties and surrounding communities.
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO, David Verinder and physician specialists, Kirk Voelker, MD and Manuel Gordillo, MD, provided insights about the pandemic and discussed their experiences with us. You can read details and view the meeting video HERE. A summary of our very informative interview with Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO, David Verinder can be found HERE.
Also, Dr. Manuel Gordillo answers many questions, including some of those asked by our Board members, regarding the Covid-19 virus in a recent article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. HERE is the link to that article.
We were honored to award the 2020 Murray Blueglass Award to Judge Marvin Morse at our March 3rd luncheon. The Longboat Key Democratic Club gives the Blueglass Award annually to outstanding Democrats who have served with us. Marvin has been a genuine and distinguished lifetime Democrat. He has served with honor and distinction as a member and President of the Longboat Key Democratic Club. Marvin retired from the Board in 2018. We are proud and greatly appreciate his extraordinary participation and service to our Club. He has made a positive and significant difference. HERE, in his own words, is his story.
Terri Rizzo, Chair of the Florida Democratic Party has mailed out the Weekly Update from the Party. The Update contains important information about upcoming Democratic Party events over the next few months. The Florida Democratic Party is responding to our current unprecedented times in a myriad of ways. Check out the details HERE.
The Democratic National Committee, the Florida Democratic Party and 6 other state Democratic parties have launched a new program WITH PAYING WORK for your children and grandchildren to work on the 2020 presidential race. Molly Ingalls, the lead coach for Florida for Organizing Corps 2020, has sent us a letter which details how this program works. Click HERE.
Norma Schatz has released her May letter to Plymouth Harbor residents and others who care. Norma writes, Two elections coming up this year. In addition to the November 3rd State and Federal election, August 18 is the date for local election for members of the Sarasota Country School Board, Sarasota City Commissioners and County Commission (for which district lines are currently in dispute). Be sure to have requested your Vote By Mail ballot from the Supervisor of Elections: 941/861-8618 or www.sarasotavotes.com. While you don't have to use your VBM ballot, not only does Covid-19 continue to be a potential interference but these elections are in hurricane season. Your signature verifies your ballot. If your signature has changed (a tremor or injury, or it just varies), request and return a new voter registration application from the Supervisor of Elections. It's a good idea to make and keep a copy of the signature you use. To support Margaret Good for U.S. Congress District 16 against Vern Buchanan go to margaretgood.com. For volunteering to help the local Democratic party: sarasotadems.org/volunteer. Read Norma's complete letter HERE.
Sarasota Stands Together, An Indivisible Group, has announced that, due to the need for social distancing, the Selby Library is closed effective from March 17th to April 12th. Future SST meetings at the Selby are NOT scheduled at this time. However, there are things that we can do from home. See the suggested home activities HERE.
Longboat Key Democratic Club Board
Ed Sabol
President
Executive Committee
President - Ed Sabol (eddiedc3@gmail.com)
Vice President - Arlene Skversky (arskylbk@gmail.com)
Immediate Past-President - Ken Marsh (awekam@yahoo.com)
Treasurer - R. Andrew Maass (maass.ra@gmail.com)
Secretary - Becky van der Bogert (vanderbogert@gmail.com)
Members
Lois Barson (hbarson@comcast.net)
Michael Boorstein (MABoorstein@outlook.com)
Slade Cargill (gscargill3@gmail.com)
Robert Gary (rdgary@gmail.com)
Terry Guzman (terry4ray@aol.com)
Barbara Katz (katz.barbara@gmail.com)
Lucie Lapovsky (lucie@lapovsky.com)
Alan Sprintz (alan1745@me.com)
C. Evans Tilles (evanstilles@hotmail.com)
Howard Veit (howardrv@gmail.com)
Mary Lou Winnick (edmlw18@gmail.com)
