Dec 2023 Reorganization (sl)
RE-ENLIST WITH US IN DECEMBER
As most of you know, under state party rules, the Hanover Democratic Committee must reorganize every two years. This will happen in December and will be the focus of our Dec. 9 meeting, which will be at 10 a.m. at Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive.
After Thanksgiving, we will send a more detailed email to recipients of our newsletter about the steps they need to take to re-enlist in an election cycle when nothing less than democracy is on the ballot. In short, we need you, and we need you to recruit your like-minded friends for our December reorganization.
Information about renewing your membership is on this site. Go to the Join Now page and see how you can do this online, or click the red button for a form that you can print, if you prefer to do this by mail or would rather hand it in at our Dec. 9 meeting. A full listing of our new tiered membership structure is located at this link.
Again, more information will be forthcoming in your inbox and in the December newsletter but please get ahead of the game and re-up now.
Dec 2023 Monthly Two Cents (sl)
My MAGA Experience at a Polling Place
by Arthur Brill
Little more detail on the incident at my polling station in Beaverdam, Virginia.
Beaverdam is a one-stoplight district. It has a post office and one convenience "general" store. It is about 30 minutes from Ashland, the closest Incorporated town in Virginia. This puts it at about an hour outside of Richmond.
When my wife and I arrived at our polling station, a precinct with just over 1,300 voters), we could hear a man yelling at the volunteer staffing the Democrat party table.
He was wearing a MAGA hat and screaming something about Democrats being evil. As he came toward us and passed us he said something to the effect of "Don't talk to Democrats about abortion."
I responded, "Don't talk to me about abortion."
He said, "I guess you ain't a Christian."
I replied, "No, I'm not."
Then he said something about me going to Hell. Read more
Dec 2023 Latest News (sl)
NEW MEETING DAY AND TIME FOR HDC
We are changing the time and day of our monthly HDC meetings, effective Sunday, January 14. In an effort to accommodate those who cannot attend on Saturday mornings, our meeting will be on the second Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. Same place, Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive, Ashland, in the Rose's Shopping Center. Please make a note of the new day and time and plan to attend. This change will continue until the chair and the executive committee decide otherwise, but it was felt we need to change things up a bit and see if we can involve more possible members at our monthly meetings.
NEW MEETING DAY AND TIME FOR HDC
We are changing the time and day of our monthly HDC meetings, effective Sunday, January 14. In an effort to accommodate those who cannot attend on Saturday mornings, our meeting will be on the second Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. Same place, Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive, Ashland, in the Rose's Shopping Center. Please make a note of the new day and time and plan to attend. This change will continue until the chair and the executive committee decide otherwise, but it was felt we need to change things up a bit and see if we can involve more possible members at our monthly meetings.
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- Parent Category: About HDC
CALL TO CAUCUS - REORGANIZATION MEETING
Purpose of Reorganization Meeting
TO ELECT MEMBERS AND OFFICERS OF THE HANOVER DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE AND ADOPT BYLAWS FOR 2023
Official Announcement
1. Authority: Pursuant to the authority provided by the Democratic Party of Virginia Democratic Party Plan, the Hanover Democratic Committee (HDC) hereby calls a reorganization meeting. This meeting will be held on December 9, 2023, at 10 a.m. at Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive, Ashland, Va. 23005.
2. Incorporated Documents: All appropriate provisions of the Virginia Democratic Party Plan (“State Party Plan”), as amended, and the Bylaws (“Bylaws”) of the HDC are incorporated into this Call.
3. Purpose: The sole purpose of this reorganization shall be to elect members and officers of the HDC for a two-year term and adopt bylaws for 2024-25, in accordance with the State Party Plan and Bylaws.
4. Member Filing Deadline and Requirements: All potential members must meet the requirements specified by the State Party Plan and the Bylaws and must submit a membership application form and $40.00 dues for two years. Application forms may be downloaded here and at the committee’s website, www.hvadems.com. The application form and dues must be received by the opening of the Caucus on December 9, 2023. (Individuals who cannot afford the filing fee may obtain a confidential waiver by contacting the Chair of the HDC, Daniel McGraw, 804-647-9958.)
5. Notice Requirements: It shall be the duty of the HDC officers to ensure that this call receives the widest possible dissemination through the HDC website and the newsletter.
6. Voting Eligibility and Requirements: Any Democrat who is registered to vote in Hanover County may attend and vote in the reorganization Caucus, provided that he or she signs a declaration that he or she is a Democrat, is a registered voter in Hanover County, believes in the principles of the Democratic Party, and does not intend to support any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election.
7. Outreach: Participation in the Caucus is open to all registered voters who wish to participate as Democrats. Notification of the Caucus and the rules shall be published in the December newsletter, in individual notice by mail to current members, and on the HDC website. In addition, it has been announced at the November meeting and in the November newsletter.
8. Election of Hanover Democratic Committee Officers: The officers of the Committee shall be elected by the newly organized Committee at the Caucus. Candidates will be nominated from the floor and may have a total of five minutes for themselves or others to advocate their candidacy. Voting for unchallenged candidates shall be by acclaim; voting for challenged candidates shall be by written ballot of the members present. In the event of a tie, the vote shall be retaken. If there is still a tie, a coin shall be tossed to determine the winner.
Daniel McGraw, Chair
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- Parent Category: About HDC
My MAGA Experience at a Polling Place
by Arthur Brill
Little more detail on the incident at my polling station in Beaverdam, Virginia.
Beaverdam is a one-stoplight district. It has a post office and one convenience "general" store. It is about 30 minutes from Ashland, the closest Incorporated town in Virginia. This puts it at about an hour outside of Richmond.
When my wife and I arrived at our polling station, a precinct with just over 1,300 voters), we could hear a man yelling at the volunteer staffing the Democrat party table.
He was wearing a MAGA hat and screaming something about Democrats being evil. As he came toward us and passed us he said something to the effect of "Don't talk to Democrats about abortion."
I responded, "Don't talk to me about abortion."
He said, "I guess you ain't a Christian."
I replied, "No, I'm not."
Then he said something about me going to Hell.
When we got to the table, we spoke with the volunteer and she was very grateful for us stopping. We went to vote and when we came back out we spoke to her again. At that point, a huge gust of wind came and blew over the Republican tent. I helped them set it back up using some of the campaign signs for tent stakes in the feet of the tent.
On the way back home, I was thinking of how I was assaulted at the Amanda Chase rally in Ashland in 2020 and how insane some Hanover County residents can be.
So, after we got home I packed some food, packed some tent weights, and went back up to keep the volunteer company.
She was gone when I got there, but I sat with the next volunteer. I was told it was really hard to get people stationed out there because people are freaking afraid. After all, everyone knows that Hanover County residents can be insane.
So I stayed through the next shift when two more volunteers showed up. Turns out, one of them is friends with my wife, and we had some great conversations. She texted me a few days ago to see if I would volunteer at the tent but I never got the text. Apparently, it's an iPhone-Android communication issue, and she made a joke about "green people," which is an iPhone texting technical thing. "Green lives matter."
In any case, there was only one more belligerent person who was asking us if we supported the monuments being taken down. It occurred to me afterward that she might have been speaking to me directly because she saw me at previous rallies.
Apparently, both of these people should have been reported because this behavior is illegal.
I had an interesting conversation with the other volunteers about how Hanover County was not like this 20 years ago when we moved here. It changed in 2008 when Obama was elected. The Tea Party sprouted here as a racist reaction to having a black man in the White House. Hanover County boasted Eric Cantor and Dave Brat. As speaker of the House, Cantor gave Hanover County very high visibility and supercharged the Fringe. By the time Trump came around, we had a busload of insurrectionists go to Washington on January 6.
The KKK has recruited in their robes at the Hanover County courthouse. The self-proclaimed president of the KKK who lived in Hanover County was arrested and convicted for running his car into a protester in 2020.
The Tea Party continues to put up huge, gaudy, yellow and black billboards at the entrances to the county trying to intimidate Democrats from moving here because they're terrified of losing in elections. They're the kind of people who are fine with America being a democracy as long as they are in the majority. But as they realize they are losing that majority demographic, suddenly America is not a democracy but some sort of whacked-out biblical republic, as new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called it.
One of our candidates for the Board of Supervisors who was just defeated the other night spouted some crap about preserving so-called Judeo-Christian values.
One of our school board members sent an internal email about preserving biblical values in the schools.
As I said to the school board in response to that, we are not a Christian nation. Virginia is not a Christian commonwealth. And Hanover is certainly not a Christian county.
The fact that these jerks try to intimidate people and assault them because they can't handle diversity and becoming a minority just gives me more energy to get back out there and confront their sorry asses.
Does this mean every Hanover Republican is rude? Not by a long shot. But there is an adage if you've got six people sitting at a table with a Nazi you've got seven Nazis sitting at a table. These extremists must be disowned.
Feel free to share.
End rant.
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- Parent Category: About HDC
RE-ENLIST WITH US IN DECEMBER
As most of you know, under state party rules, the Hanover Democratic Committee must reorganize every two years. This will happen in December and will be the focus of our Dec. 9 meeting, which will be at 10 a.m. at Around the Table, 155 Junction Drive.
After Thanksgiving, we will send a more detailed email to recipients of our newsletter about the steps they need to take to re-enlist in an election cycle when nothing less than democracy is on the ballot. In short, we need you, and we need you to recruit your like-minded friends for our December reorganization.
Information about renewing your membership is on this site. Go to the Join Now page and see how you can do this online, or click the red button for a form that you can print, if you prefer to do this by mail or would rather hand it in at our Dec. 9 meeting. A full listing of our new tiered membership structure is located at this link.
Again, more information will be forthcoming in your inbox and in the December newsletter but please get ahead of the game and re-up now.
- Details
- Parent Category: About HDC
COFFEE IS BREWING
All Democratic Women are Invited!
Because November is such a busy month, especially for us Democrats, our next Coffee will be a joint November/December gathering. More information about the joint Coffee will be coming later.
All Democratic and like-minded women are invited to our Hanover Democratic Women's Coffees which are for bringing together Democratic women from all parts of Hanover (and sometimes beyond) for energizing fellowship and for forming strong relationships to help elect Democratic candidates and promote our Democratic ideals locally and nationally.
The Coffee Caucus is a group for all ages — teens, seniors and in-betweens — who meet monthly, sometimes in the day and sometimes in the evening, usually at the homes of volunteer hostesses at different locations around the county. We have no formal memberships or fees. For more information or to RSVP, contact Diane Neergaard at dianeandallen1@gmail.com, or 804-304-1951.
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- Parent Category: About HDC
