Hanover County Democratic Committee

Hanover Democratic Women's Coffee Caucus - Stay tuned for more information 

All Democratic Women Are Welcome!  

We've had a good time coming together with new and old participants to socialize and to learn about taking action for Democratic causes during our summer and fall Virtual meetings, but with the November and December holidays approaching fast after Election Day, we'll be resuming our Hanover Democratic Women's Zoom Coffee in the new year. Be looking for more information on that. No matter what the outcome of our national elections, our Hanover Democratic Women must continue working to preserve our Democracy.  

It's always good to take a little time for energizing fellowship with other Democratic Women. There's plenty of room for a really big group at these virtual Coffees, so everybody, please join us - and please encourage like-minded friends and neighbors to "zoom" with us, too. 

For more information contact Diane Neergaard at daneergaard@comcast.net or 804-304-1951.

Our Coffee Caucus is a group of Democratic women of all ages who meet monthly for the pleasure of being with other concerned women and to make bonds so we can better work together for Democratic purposes. There are no formal memberships or fees. We look forward to returning our pre-Covid program of meeting sometimes in the day and sometimes in the evening, at the homes of volunteer hostesses at different locations around the county.

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Parent Category: About HDC

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE AT NOVEMBER MEETING

In Virginia, we know that no sooner is one election over, then it's time to get ready for the next one. That's exactly what we will do at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14 when Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy will be the guest speaker at our virtual monthly meeting.

Delegate Foy is a candidate for governor in 2021. First elected to the House in 2017, she represents the 2nd District, which includes portions of Prince William and Stafford counties. Born and raised in Petersburg, she was one of the early classes of cadets to graduate from Virginia Military Institute. In the General Assembly, Jennifer has fought for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation to combat Virginia’s teacher shortage, expansion of Medicaid to 400,000 Virginians. More information is available on her campaign website: jennifercarrollfoy.com.

The Zoom log in credentials are:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85699040716?pwd=cGtvK0IwbkpZcjFmUUVSS0NPZ0FXdz09

Meeting ID: 856 9904 0716
Passcode: 890597

By Phone 
+1 301 715 8592 US

Live Streamed on YouTube 
youtube.com/channel/UCK8XYH_xdXqcH1xE4kBoXiA

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Parent Category: About HDC

MEN'S FORUM TAKES A BREAK

Because of the holidays, the Men’s Forum will not be meeting in November and December. Please enjoy the holidays but please stay safe. See everyone in January.

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Parent Category: About HDC

RECYCLING OUR SIGNS

By Caroline Cooke

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is one of our themes — or it should be. As good Democrats, we also want to be good stewards of Mother Earth. 
Campaign signs are a recycling challenge because they’re made from multiple materials. Disposing of them requires taking them apart and disposing of each portion based on its material. The good news is that we have a plan to collect the recyclables.

CAN recycle in Virginia:
Yard sign soft, plastic sleeves
Yard sign metal wire stands (that the sleeves slide onto)
Yard sign metal wire stands (that corrugated sign fits onto)

CAN NOT recycle in Virginia, and should be taken to dumpster:
Sturdy, corrugated plastic signs of any size
Plastic coated cardboard (paper) signs of any size

KEEP to reuse: steel stakes for larger signs

I’m volunteering again this year to collect the soft, plastic sleeves on Sunday, Nov. 8 after Election Day for a Dem friend in a nearby county. Her recycling project, now two years old, has a direct community benefit for the Cartersville Garden Club. And we can help bring the plastic full circle.

What the Cartersville Garden Club does: Any collected recyclable, soft plastic is taken to their intermediary, which then ships it to Trex, which converts it to wood-alternative lumber. For every 500 lbs. of recyclable plastic the product is returned to the club in the form of a bench. The club selects the location. Four benches have been placed thus far. Let’s help the plastic come full circle!

We have a plan to collect recyclables on Nov. 8. I’ve reached out to each District Chair for their help in asking the precinct captains (or other volunteers) to collect the yard signs from each precinct. Please separate the pieces, putting plastics in a larger trash bag for ease of handling and zip-tying the wires for ease of handling. As we go to press, several collection points are finalized, some await coordination. I’ll start the morning in South Anna.

If you got a yard sign individually, please help to recycle by getting the plastic sleeve and wire to either your District Chair (or the volunteer for precinct signs) or me, before Nov. 8. We’ll work it out. I can be reached best at ctcooke9108@gmail.com. If you’re headed to Ashland for something, our Chair Dan McGraw will accept these small signs at his side porch, 100 Dewey St., Ashland. If all else fails, please take it to your usual soft plastics and metal recycling points.

Many thanks!

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Parent Category: About HDC

Hanover Democratic Sample Ballot

Message from Daniel McGraw. Chair HDC

As many of you know, early voting has already started. All registered voters can go to the County Registrar to vote in person, drop off their mail-in ballot, or participate in curbside voting.  Going into this unprecedented election cycle, and as the first day of early voting started to approach, I felt a sense of urgency to share the Democratic Sample Ballot.  

There were many email discussions taking place about what is the best decision. Many people across the state were engaging in intense social media discussions. And, early voters were asking me to share my opinion on the matter of Amendment One. Therefore, I called for a special session to hear from members of the Executive Committee. Prior to that session, I sent a survey to the committee leaders, and fielded email replies about the topic.

The committee agreed to only add a suggestion if we had consensus.  Prior to the discussion, 50% of the members wanted a NO vote on Amendment One. Thirty percent (30%) wanted no decision made, 10 % were in favor of a YES vote, and 20% were undecided.  I felt this was an accurate reflection of where the larger group stands.  All major decisions have always been made by either the Chair and/ or the Executive Committee (EC). There was much discussion.  A few important points were addressed: (1) We did not want to make a decision that would be extremely divisive of our membership; (2) We agreed to come to consensus; (3) We determined that this was an issue upon which the electorate would want the opinion of the Chair and EC.

As a result, we did come to a consensus that a NO vote marked on the ballot is the best decision.  However, we also noted that some of our members, including members of the EC, may vote YES for Amendment One. I do not know what the future will hold: Whether we made the right decision or not will be determined in the decades to come if the NO vote prevails. After the meeting, I later heard from a few people that they were concerned that a member of our EC may have been a political consultant and there should have been a more equitable representation. We have definitely learned that it is important for counter-arguments to be equal in weight. Going forward, we will ensure that as many voices as possible can be heard when we are making important decisions. I do not have all of those ways of communication worked out yet, but utilizing Survey Monkey and other platforms come to mind. We do strive to be transparent.

You can view the opening arguments for voting for or against Amendment One here: (obtained from the Men's Forum) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhJDTYzeIdQ 

POSTCARD PEOPLE

Get those pens ready; packets of cards and address labels are ready for you. Each packet has 30 cards because that's how many addresses are on one sheet. 

Needless to say, we are not gathering in one place to write postcards. People can write postcards from their own homes. Porch pickup will be available in Mechanicsville, Ashland, and Montpelier. Contact Colleen Berry at lasseire@gmail.com for pickup locations. 

As to stamps, writers are being asked to provide postage, if possible. It is recommended using a first-class stamp ($.55 or forever) to guarantee delivery. These are larger 5x7 cards, so there is more space to write! If anyone can't write but wants to donate stamps or vice versa, this will be coordinated. 
Our message: There will be a sample paper attached to each packet. You can write for the entire BLUE TICKET (Elect Biden/Harris for President/Vice President, Re-elect Mark Warner for Senator, Elect Qasim Rashid for House of Representative) or any version of them. Write from your heart, what speaks to you about the importance of this election. 

We are writing as PRIVATE CITIZENS, not as a part of HDC or any campaign (postcards are labeled with that message). 
Keep it POSITIVE! Remind people about no-reason-needed, in-person early voting that has started at the elections offices in Hanover (these are all Hanover addresses right now) or absentee mail-in ballots.

Postcards should be mailed by October 15 to catch the early voting  Once the 1,000 cards we have left are addressed, that will be a total of 6,000 volunteer postcards sent, which is great in a pandemic era with no parties. Thanks to everyone who has helped.

VOLUNTEER FOR QASIM RASHID 

We have a great chance at beating Rob Wittman this year, but we need YOUR HELP NOW. Hopefully, many of you watched the Rashid-Wittman Debate for a good comparison between the two candidates. There was no comparison. We need to start now; it is only about five weeks until Election Day.

Various NON-CONTACT volunteer opportunities are available to help elect Qasim Rashid to be our next 1st Congressional District Representative.
These opportunities include:
1. Automatic phone-banking using the automatic dialing system, where your computer automatically dials, indicates who is talking, the appropriate questions to ask and then you record responses on your computer. Contacts will be throughout the 1st District.
2. Self-Dialing phone banking with you doing the dialing. A contact list and script will be provided. Contacts will be in Hanover County.
3. Literature drop (Lit-drop) You will be going door to door and leaving literature at the door with NO personal contact.
4. Virtual house parties to meet Qasim via Zoom or Google Meet. 
5. GOTV Captains for distributing lit drop. Captains at staging areas for people to pick up their lit. The staging area could be McDonald’s, Starbucks, your home, or wherever.

Throughout, all volunteers MUST wear a mask and social distance (a minimum of 6 feet). We don't want others or our volunteers to become infected.
Josh Anderson is Qasim's Hanover County Captain at 571.235.5817 or joshua@rashidforva.com

To volunteer, please contact Josh as above or Don Barth at 804.299.3160 (phone and/or audio message)or 856.889.5905 (phone or text) or donna.don@comcast.net.

OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

We need to have a landslide victory for the Democrats in November so Trump can not contest the election. The only way to achieve this is to get everybody out to vote, which means we need everyone to volunteer.

Below are the volunteer opportunities:

Joe Biden/Kamala Harris and the coordinated campaign: Robert Morissette, robert.morissette@2020victory.com
Mark Warner: Ryan Jackson, ryan@markwarnerva.com

It is less than 5 weeks until the election.  Joe, Kamala, Mark, and Qasim need your help NOW!

Signs are here

We have Biden/ Harris signs!  If you or your neighbors and friends want signs, send an email to info@hvadems.com. Include in your email your name, address, phone number, and the number of yard signs you want. We even have I VOTED EARlY signs and bumper stickers. We also have a handful of 4' x 4' barn signs for those who want to produce a large display. 

Voting has already started. 

You can go to the Hanover County Wickham Building (7497 County Complex Road Hanover, VA 23069) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for early voting, curbside voting, or to drop off your absentee ballot. You can also exchange your absentee ballot for an in-person ballot if that is your wish. The phone number for the registrar is 804-365-6080. Here is the Hanover County Democratic Committee ballot: HDC_Sample_Ballot_2020.pdf. On Saturday, October 24, several people will be gathering at Gandy Elementary School to perform a vote-early rally car ride from Gandy to the Wickham building. The gathering starts around 8:30 a.m. Even if you have already voted, your presence is appreciated.  Social distancing and masks are required.

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Parent Category: About HDC