Political Work Hour

Politics has been called a contact sport. As serious political office holders have found, the demands on their time for meetings, reading and appearances are endless.

One thing the rest of us might do is to commit to a 'work hour' to help our leaders. The hour could be sporadic or regular. It could involve work to help a leader maintain home or yard. Or it could be political grunt work: canvassing, calling, doing voter registration or stuffing envelopes. Tasks come in all flavors and sizes.

Just saying....What do you think?

For those who want to move forward:

1. Google the candidate you’re interested in and you should find their campaign website or their Facebook page.  Then look for Get Involved or Volunteer page to sign up with them.
2. To volunteer for the Wake Dems Party:

• on the wakedems.org website, select Get Involved, and then select Volunteer.  You can enter your contact information there and someone will get in touch with you. 
• or send an email to volunteers@wakedems.org

3. Fairly soon, you’ll be able to go to Find My Precinct on the wakedems.org site, and find out information on the Dem candidates running in your voting districts. 

Michael Marden

mhmarden@gmail.com

Darkness descends on the NC General Assembly

"Whether it’s cutting off debate on legislation, holding surprise, late night sessions, regularly ignoring the committee process, burying new and controversial laws that were never previously discussed in omnibus budget bills that cannot be amended, holding an endless series of “special” legislative sessions, refusing to record and archive all sorts of important proceedings, or even directly and blatantly punishing lawmakers who dare to speak up during debate, Republicans have evidenced little shame. Much as has been the case with gerrymandering, legislative leaders have not so much invented new tactics and tricks as they have cynically perfected and expanded the use of old ones."

Learn more at NC Policy Watch, courtesy of John Yelvington

Changing Role of WCSD Newsletter

Now that WCSD has a serious Internet presence, it is reasonable to modify the role of its newsletter.
We think the following changes would be beneficial:

1. Focus the newsletter on the coming meeting presenter and topic.
2. Put links in the newsletter to news or sources that seem useful.
3. Move the list of officers, financial reports and meeting minutes to the Internet and keep them updated as time passes.

BTW: We're in a learning curve on the Internet sites, so formatting is not always the way we want it in the long run. Y'all come back, Y'hear?

WCSD - Finances

News and numbers on the income and expenditures of the Wake County Senior Democrats

Treasurer’s Report

Given that January meeting was cancelled because of weather, the year -end report still stands:

WCSD Treasurer's Report as of 12-31-2017 year end
Year to date I & E
Total Donations	1120.00
+ Interest	0.53
= Total Income	1120.53
- Total Expenses	-712.78
= Net Income	407.75
Year to date Assets
Prior Year Assets	932.01
+ Net Income in 2017	407.75
= Total Assets	1339.76

Why Me ?

Why are you a member of the Wake Senior Dems?

We are the Wake County Senior Democrats. We are a proud chapter of the North Carolina Senior Democrats. We welcome anyone who shares our common values and goals: You only need to be 50 years old and a Democrat living in Wake County. Just bring your dues, and you can become an active member immediately.

But why did you join our group? Most of us were invited by someone else to come to a meeting, while some of us just sought out the group after exploring the Wake County Democratic Party or maybe seeing something about the NC Senior Democrats.

Those are the two key elements that we have decided to emphasize this year. 

    1) Invite someone to join you at one of our meetings; take a few of the business cards that Stuart Wallace had printed for the group; hand them out to invite your friends. 

    2) Be sure that you talk to visitors and new members; introduce yourself; make them feel included in our group on their first visit. 

    3) Help us promote WCSD. We are getting better exposure on the Internet as well on social media, but we must do more – always remember: nothing beats a personal invitation. Talk about our group with friends and send them a copy of our newsletter.

Finally, let’s look at ways to continue improving our communication. Several folks have suggested that we organize some coffee/tea discussion groups that can meet between our monthly meetings. If that is appealing, let the officers know that you are interested. We, your officers, will help you facilitate and advertise. Maybe one of us can make an appearance at your event.

Want to be even more involved? Attend the NC Senior Democrats 40^th Annual Convention in Charlotte on Saturday, May 19. Join a committee or just learn what other chapters are doing that increases their effectiveness.

--- Benson Kirkman, President, WCSD

WCSD - Minutes of Meetings

January 17 2018

    Meeting cancelled due to snow and dangerous roads. Presentation rescheduled for February. Installation of new treasurer and secretary were pending at that time.

US Comm. on Civil Rights

On Friday, 2 February beginning at 0900 am the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) will host a public briefing in Raleigh (Marriott Crabtree Raleigh Durham, 4500 Marriott Drive) as part of its ongoing assessment of minority voting rights in the United States. And you're invited!

The hearing will feature testimony from current and former state and federal government officials, legal experts, academics, and the public that will form an integral basis for the UCCCR's 2018 report to Congress, the President, and the American people regarding the state of voting rights in North Carolina and across the nation.

The day-long event will be capped at 6 pm with a two-hour comment period in which members of the public can address the Commission on the state of minority voting rights. Individuals who wish to participate should sign-up at the briefing. Each individual will have up to three minutes to speak, with spots allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis. *Click here for more information on how to provide in-person public comment and when to sign up. * [ http://www.usccr.gov/press/2018/01-19-PR-Briefing.pdf ]

Can't make it to Raleigh on 2 February? You can watch online via the USCCR YouTube Channel [ https://www.youtube.com/user/USCCR/videos ] and also submit your comments online to VotingRights@usccr.gov [ mailto:VotingRights@usccr.gov ], no later thanMonday, March 19, 2018

Onward!

Isela Gutierrez
Democracy North Carolina
1821 Green Street, Durham, NC 27705, (919)-286-6000 [ tel:919-286-6000 ]
Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/democracynorthcarolina ] | Twitter [ https://twitter.com/democracync ]

--M Rulison, Editor, Wake County Senior Dems