4th quarter 2023: december edition The Beacon Donate to Support ICDP Candidates & Projects Campaign Committee is Working on 2024 Candidate Support It is just 12 months until our next national election. One of the key roles of our party is finding and supporting residents of our county to run for office. The ballot will include seats at the county, township, and town levels. Serving on school boards is important too. In 2020 we had four members who threw their hats in the ring. We expect at least two of them to run again. Democrats are more likely to vote in national elections when local candidates are on the ballot. This makes it possible for our state and national-level candidates to continue to win. Rural counties with larger Republican populations make a strong impact for these state and federal seats when rural Democrats vote. At our monthly meeting on November 14, the committee proposed a goal of 12 Iosco Democratic candidates on the 2024 ballot . The motion was approved. How can you help meet or beat this goal?? If you are interested, attend a couple of meetings of the board or entity. Meet some of the current members and see if the work and agenda are of interest. Check out the history of the work from minutes of meetings or by talking to staff. Why is this board’s work important to you? How would your experience and knowledge fit the mission? Would the time you would need to spend be possible? If you know someone who may be interested, you might share what you have learned and invite them to join you in attending a future meeting. Information on the seats to be on the 2024 ballot are on the ICDP website at https://www.ioscocountydems.org/running-for-local-office.html The Campaign Committee will be meeting each month briefly at 4 PM before regular meetings in the office. Please come early and join us. If you have a friend or neighbor who may be interested in making our government balanced, please invite them to join you. Our members who have experience in running for office will share their knowledge. Members will contribute to your campaign. Teamwork is the strength of our party. If you have ideas or questions on this, please give me a call or text at 7733438663 or email at
[email protected] Jim Mortimer, Campaign Committee Chair Financially Supporting the ICDP’s Goals Yippee – the ICDP membership hit our $30K fundraising goal for operational expenses! The additional goal of $10K for funding local, state and federal candidate campaigns along with other 2024 election expenses fell short achieving 60% or $6K. Members have been generous and we truly appreciate your dedicated support; however, due to unforeseen events, we had fewer fund raising events than intended. If anyone is able to donate by the end of this calendar year to help raise the total closer to 10K, please FEEL FREE to do so by contacting Tom Davidson, Treasurer at
[email protected] or sending a check to Iosco County Democratic Party at 224 Newman Street , E. Tawas, MI 48730 before December 31 with a 2024 campaign designation on the check. Sue Duncan, Communications Committee Co-Chair Less Roadside Litter due to the Adopt-A-Highway Project - September 27, 2023 Along US-23 this fall drivers may enjoy both the lake views and lovely homes, and now cleaner shoulders along the road. The Iosco County Democratic Party team was pleasantly surprised at how little trash there was to pick up along the two mile stretch cleaned last week. Way to go John and Jane Q. R. Public!! Halloween Party Fundraiser Carole and Gary hosted the October 29, 2023 Halloween fundraiser complete with ghouls, goblins, delicious Halloween-themed food, drinks and some pretty amazing music by Ted Wasilewski. Along with a host of good people and a beautiful location, the ICDP raised over $800 from this event. Thank you to everyone who attended - we dressed up well! A good time was had by all! Iosco County Doesn't Fare Well in Healthiest Places to Live Survey A recent article in MLive asked where the healthiest places to live were located in our beautiful state of Michigan. The data analysis was conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focused on health outcomes and health factors. Iosco County ranked in the bottom 10 counties at 79 of 83, lower than most of the counties in the UP and close to last-ranked Wayne County. There is a lot to do to improve access to healthcare and quality of life for those of us living here year-round as well as those of us who are here vacationing for parts of the year. A resource that might be helpful is Rural Vote.Org. They are focusing on healthcare as a strategy for the upcoming 2024 elections. Please click on the links before for additional information and key messages to use as you initiate conversations with family and friends. Deirdre Honner, Membership Committee Chair read MLIVE article here read rural VOTE.org article here Meet & Greet with Candidate for 1 st Congressional District On October 24, 2023, Callie Barr visited Iosco County Democratic Party HQ and spent the evening talking about her vision for the future of Congressional District 1. Barr is running on a platform of fighting for the needs of Northern Michigan families. She has said that she will focus on issues such as affordable healthcare, education, and childcare. Barr is a compassionate and caring leader who is committed to fighting for the needs of all residents of Michigan's 1st Congressional District. She is a strong advocate for veterans, education, healthcare, and infrastructure. She is also a strong supporter of the environment and believes that we need to take action to protect our planet. The primary election for Michigan's 1st Congressional District is on August 6, 2024. The general election is on November 5, 2024. Communications Committee Update The committee ran the following advertisement in the Oscoda Press and Iosco County News Herald the week of November 20, 2023. Special Events Update The ICDP’s annual Holiday Party is scheduled for Saturday, December 9, 2023 from 6 – 8 pm at the main office at 224 Newman Street in East Tawas. link to Events & Service Activities ICDP at Paul Bunyan Days Parade Native American Appreciation Event A lively group of approximately 25 people, aged three years and older, gathered at Iosco County Democratic Headquarters on Monday, November 20 at 5:30 pm to share in a native-themed dinner and to hear speakers share information and stories about local Indigenous matters. It was a way to recognize that November is Native American Heritage Month. The food was interesting and tasty. Special thanks to the many members that fixed special foods based on recipes collected into a cookbook by Betty Fahselt and native friends. The cookbook is for sale at $25.00, the actual printing cost to Betty. It is a beautiful and unique item. Carol Kushion, a Dem member and a Tawas Bay Artist Gallery friend of Betty’s shared moving and interesting information based on her personal Big Sister/Little Sister relationship as a CMU Student with a Chippewa girl from the Mt. Pleasant reservation. She also shared knowledge, history and art work of Tawas Lake and the gathering of native wild rice on Tawas Lake. She gave an excellent presentation. Thank you, Carol. At Betty’s request, I read some background information about the tribes In this area. Rev. Pamela Harkema, the minister at the Oscoda Indian Mission United Methodist Church located just north of Oscoda, shared photos and historical information. The large screen TV was a definite asset. An interesting fact was that the Indian cemetery on Kings Corner Road has always been a native burial site, with bones dating back as far as 1,300 years. The church service is in English, although the Doxology is sung in Chippewa. The pictures of the little chapel and her warm welcome to all that would like to attend services on Sunday’s at 1pm was exceedingly kind and thoughtful. An event attendee from the Hale area remarked that he’d never come to a Dem event although he has been a member for some time. He was very positive about the food, and speakers and was “very glad” he attended. This is exactly what one would hope to hear. Sue Duncan, Co-chair Communications Committee Have an Article for The Beacon? Want to help publish each edition? We want to hear from you! Click on the link below with your comments and articles, and we’ll be in touch! Be sure to add
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