Hanover County Democratic Committee

Moving Hanover Forward

Take Action Now!

Unhappy with Trump’s destructive agenda? TAKE ACTION NOW!

This new resource from the Hanover Democratic Committee is designed to help citizens take strategic acts that will protect our Democracy.  Watch for weekly action items here on the HDC webpage, in your inbox and on Facebook. 

Action 1:

Fight Locally:

The Republican Party and its allies are waging a nation-wide war to limit individual freedoms: the freedom to make reproductive healthcare choices; the freedom for parents to help their children get gender affirming healthcare, the freedom of teachers and corporations to exercise their First Amendment rights, the freedom for children to be safe from gun violence, and the freedom to have access to diverse collections in our public and school libraries.

This war is being waged in Hanover, with the current battle being a fight over which books will be allowed in school libraries. The Hanover County School Board proposed a change to its policy that allows an individual to challenge the appropriateness of library or text books for various grades. The current policy already gives ample opportunity for parents to give input and have books reviewed. In fact this policy has been used by parents to remove a book from a school library. Parents always have the option to say their child should not read certain books.

The new policy would make it easier for one person, whether a parent or not, to challenge a book and have it pulled from libraries across the county even as it is being reviewed. This new policy is unnecessary and would be prone to abuse. There is a nation-wide effort to limit the access to books, particularly those by Black or LGBTQ authors.

Please consider attending the next School Board meeting on June 13 at 7 pm at 200 Berkley Street to speak against the policy or attend to support those who are opposing it.

If you want to speak during public comment time, submit a request NOW to sbpubliccomment@hcps.us that includes your magisterial district and the topic of your comments. The guidelines for public comment are: “Public comment is included as part of the school board’s agenda during each regularly scheduled monthly business meeting. Any citizen may address the board on any matter that is within the scope of the board’s authority. The time allotted to each speaker shall be three (3) minutes. Please visit BoardDocs for more information."

In the meantime write or call each of the School Board members to express your opposition to this proposed policy.

John F. Axselle III, Beaverdam District - Chair
Phone: (804) 798-7782; email: SB-jaxselle@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2023

Robert J. (Bob) May, South Anna District - Vice Chair
Phone: (804) 752-4646; email: sb-rmay@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2025

Ola J. Hawkins, Ashland District
Phone: (804) 357-3743; email: SB-ohawkins@hcps.us
Term ends on June 30, 2024

Steven Ikenberry, Cold Harbor District
Phone: (804) 514-2197; email: sb-sikenberry@hcps.us

John E. Redd, Jr., Mechanicsville District
Phone: (804) 746-7112; e-mail: SB-jredd@hcps.us

George E. Sutton, Henry District
Phone: (804) 779-3324; email: SB-gsutton@hcps.us

Action 1:

Yell at our Congressmen:

Yes, TAN does believe we should always be courteous and respectful when expressing our political positions, but the current refusal of our Congressmen, Rob Wittman (202-225-4261 or 804-730-6595) and Bob Good (202-225-4711 or 434-791-2596), to vote to raise the debt ceiling is trying our patience. It is well-documented how defaulting on the national debt will harm the U.S. economy, possibly throwing us into a recession. It is less obvious that this will also hurt our national security, but President Biden has already cancelled part of his diplomatic trip to Asia so he can come home to negotiate with the Republican hostage takers. Having such uncertainty about whether the U.S. will pay its bills plays into China’s narrative that democracies don’t work.

Tell Wittman and Good that their short-sightedness will be particularly devastating to Virginia because of the large number of federal employees and contractors in the state. Assure them that if things get bad, everyone will blame them, not the Democrats for this fiasco.