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EXCITING NEWS! SAVE THE DATE Inauguration Day, Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 5 pm to Toast the Biden Presidency and Share Some Fun with Us! At our Virtual Event we will Salute the Beginning of 2021 and the Biden Presidency. This Event is Open to Members and Non-members. There is no Charge. To Register Click HERE.
Democratic Club News
(Scroll down to read summaries of the major news)
Susan McManus
On February 2, 2021 at noon Dr. Susan McManus, USF Distinguished University Professor (Political Science) Emerita will discuss:
Florida’s Changing Demographics Make Polling Difficult
Dr. McManus will tell us how political parties, candidates, elected officials, and government agencies all rely on public opinion polls for information regarding the opinions and preferences of citizens at-large. Yet polling is very difficult in Florida. This Zoom session will focus on why. She has authored and co-authored many publications on politics.
Register for our February 2nd Virtual Event Click HERE
Register for all of our 2021 Virtual Events Click HERE
Erin Vilardi
On Tuesday, January 5th at noon, Erin Vilardi, the founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead discussed:
What Will It Take? Strategies For Building The Democracy We Deserve.
Erin is the CEO and Founder of Vote Run Lead, the nation’s largest and most diverse training program for women to run for office and win. She emphasized the importance of local elections, the impact of women on the political process as well as some election reforms that we should be thinking about for the future.
TO VIEW THE VIDEO FOR OUR JANUARY 5TH WEB MEETING FEATURING ERIN VILARDI CLICK HERE. FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK HERE.
Ambassador Christopher Hill
On Tuesday, December 15th, Ambassador Christopher Hill was our speaker. Ambassador Hill is a former career diplomat, a four-time ambassador, nominated by three presidents whose last post was as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April 2009 until August 2010. Ambassador Hill discussed:
President-Elect Biden's cabinet picks and their Impact on U.S. National Security
TO VIEW THE VIDEO OF OUR WEB MEETING WITH AMBASSADOR HILL CLICK HERE. FOR MORE DETAILS CLICK HERE
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin
On Friday, November 13 at noon, the Longboat Key Democratic Club was honored to have U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, one of the Senate's most distinguished members, discuss the implications and political ramifications of the 2020 presidential race and the Senate races which will determine the control of the United Sates Senate. Senator Cardin was first elected to the Senate in 2006. He currently serves as ranking member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee. He is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Environment & Public Works committees. Senator Cardin also serves on the Senate Finance Committee. To view a video of our web meeting with Senator Cardin click HERE.
Brendan Goff, Ph.D
On October 20 at 12:15 Katherine Norman, candidate for Fla. State Senate Dist. 23 and Andy Mele, candidate for Fla. House Dist. 71 joined us for a virtual Zoom meeting to bring us up-to-date on their campaigns.
Following the candidates at 1:00 pm, Brendan Goff, Ph.D., Asst. Professor of History at New College of Florida, presented Election 2020: The Good the Bad and the Ugly. That this past year has been challenging for us all would be an understatement. So why should the upcoming elections be any different? Though historians are generally trained to eschew predictions, Professor Goff believes history can shed some light on what to expect, what not to expect, and what we all can do as the final stage of this electoral season unfolds. If nothing else, we are already experiencing every day and every hour—some good, some bad, and some ugly. And it is very likely that the challenges will not stop on November 4th. Buckle up and strap in, this roller coaster ride is just getting started.
A Q/A session followed the candidate's and Professor Goff's presentations. To watch the video of this Zoom meeting, click HERE.
Like so many, we are mourning Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death. Our hearts are heavy. She was a towering figure and a great humanitarian. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. said that "our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature." Her legacy will be discussed at great length in the coming weeks and months. In their tribute to Justice Ginsburg the Washington Post editors wrote that she "paved the way for women's equality before the law, and for women's rights to be taken seriously by the courts and by society." Across the country Justice Ginsburg is being hailed as a steadfast champion of equality and justice. Unfortunately, her death will likely usher in even more division in American politics. It is likely that the Trump Administration will rush to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court before the next President is sworn into office in January. We will have much more to say about this in the coming weeks. Here is a link to Justice Ginsburg’s obituary in The NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/us/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dead.html
On September 22 Jimmy Kolker, former Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services joined us on a Zoom web meeting to discuss Covid-19 and the Challenge for Global Health Cooperation. Ambassador Kolker was on the front lines of the U.S. Government responses to AIDS, Ebola and Zika. He provided us with a ‘health diplomat’s’ insider view of why we did not learn the lessons necessary to prepare for the coronavirus pandemic. And he will describe how the Trump administration’s transactional and neglectful view of international cooperation has left the U.S. losing leverage around the world as the virus spreads and vaccines and treatment arrangements are developed. His many messages about the way the Trump administration mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic were shocking. For more details and to view the video of the session click HERE.
On Tuesday, September 8 Ron Turner, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) and two of our local political leaders, JoAnne DeVries, Chair of the Sarasota County Democratic Party and Tracy Pratt, Chair of the Manatee County Democratic Party discussed Voting As Though Your Way of Life Depended Upon it In the Era of Covid-19. There was a lively discussion with lots of questions from our meeting participants covering a wide range of issues related to voting in the upcoming election. To view a video of the web meeting click HERE.
On August 11 two distinguished American military and diplomatic officers, retired Ambassadors Charles Ray and James McGee discussed The Use of Military for Civilian Law and Order. This was an important webinar and we encourage you to read a summary and watch the video HERE.
LBKDC Board member Robert Gary introduced Gerald Zaltman, the Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, emeritus, Harvard Business School and co-founder of Olson Zaltman, a marketing research and consulting firm. He was accompanied by his team of political marketing experts. The topic was WHY THE DEMOCRATS NEED A COMPELLING STORY TO WIN IN 2020. Click HERE to view a video of our July 21 webinar. Click HERE to read a summary of this webinar.
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.
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.
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)
