"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

29-Year Police Veteran, Wilmington Native Elevated to Chief

Donny Williams, who has served as the Interim Chief of the Wilmington Police Department since January, was named as the new chief last week by a unanimous vote of Wilmington City Council, according to WECT.com. He brings a unique and inspiring life story to the post. “I’m the first police cadet to be a chief. I’m the first resident of public housing in the city of Wilmington to be a police chief. My story is proof that you can do anything you put your mind to,” said Williams. Williams told WECT that there is a lot of work to do but he is determined to make Wilmington a greater and safer place for everyone.

Chief Williams is a Wilmington native who has served with the police department for 29 years. He replaces Ralph Evangelous, who retired from the WPD in January, and is the current interim police chief in Wrightsville Beach.

According to WECT, during his career with the Wilmington Police Department, Chief Williams worked in patrol and in special assignments that included Crime Prevention, DARE and Housing. He is credited with expanding the agency’s Police Activities League (PAL), which now serves more than 500 children through basketball, soccer, wrestling and cheer and dance. While serving as police captain, Chief Williams managed the Support Services Division and the agency’s $24 million dollar budget. As Deputy Chief he oversaw the Special Investigations and Criminal Investigations Divisions. Most recently Williams made headlines for reaching out the the leadership of the local Black Lives Matter movement and expressing support for their calls for change. Chief Williams is shown above leading his own solidarity march to the 1898 memorial.

Statues Removed, Police Fired as Wilmington Council Confronts Issues of Race

In one of his first duties as police chief in Wilmington, Chief Donny Williams moved quickly on Wednesday to fire three of his officers who were heard using violent, racist, profane language in recordings apparently made accidentally on a police car dash cam. One of the officers was recorded saying that he couldn't wait to go out slaughtering blacks which he called "f***ing n***ers," according to numerous press reports.

Port City Daily said the dash cam recorded two phone conversations, apparently accidentally, and a supervisor conducting a routine audit of the videos found the disturbing content. The Wilmington City Council along with Williams held a press conference to address the conduct of the former police officers. Williams said he was saddened by the actions of the officers, but would have no tolerance for this type of behavior. “Today is a challenging day for me because as your police chief, one of my first major tasks is to announce the termination of three veteran police officers,” Williams said. The New Hanover County District Attorney is in the process of either dismissing or reviewing around 89 pending cases connected to the three officers, according to WECT.

One day later, city workers removed two Confederate statues from their bases in downtown Wilmington, taking them to an undisclosed location on orders from the city council. While the bases and inscriptions remain, the city removed the statue of George Davis from the Market Street median and the Soldiers of the Confederacy statue from the Third Street median, both near the intersection of Third and Market streets in the heart of downtown Wilmington.

City officials released a statement quoted in Port City Daily, that the move is temporary and is aimed at both protecting the monuments from damage from protesters who would like to see them taken down permanently and, by the same token, to protect those protesters or bystanders who could be injured in the process of attempting to dismantle the statues by force. Wilmington City Council member Kevin Spears was encouraged by these developments, saying that "we're going in the right direction, but we are in uncharted waters." Spears also denied that there was a connection between the firing of the three officers and removing the statues because "the statues were coming down anyway."

Trump Slows Testing. Removes Social Distancing Stickers In Rally, Tries to Kill Affordable Care Act

(From NCDP) At his rally in Tulsa on Saturday, President Trump complained that more coronavirus testing has led to more confirmed cases in the U.S: "When you test -- when you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people. You're going to find more cases. So I said to my people, slow the testing down, please."

The Washington Post reports that in that same rally in Tulsa, Trump campaign workers removed social distancing stickers from seats in the BOK arena.

Trump made it a trifecta of virus spreading Thursday night when his administration urged the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), doubling down on destroying healthcare as millions of newly jobless Americans are losing coverage.

The Justice Department in a new legal brief argues Obamacare in its entirety became invalid when the previous Republican-led Congress axed the unpopular individual mandate penalty for uninsured people. The Trump-backed lawsuit, brought by a group of states led by virus hotspot Texas, puts at risk health insurance for more than 20 million people covered by Obamacare, as well as insurance protections for people with preexisting medical conditions. Biden during a Thursday campaign event attacked Trump for seeking to upend those protections when a growing number of coronavirus survivors are developing potentially long-term health complications.

Senator Thom Tillis, who has blocked Medicaid expansion, voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to take away protections for pre-existing conditions. In step with his past horrifying record on health care, Tillis now supports the dangerous Republican lawsuit that could kill the entire law.

Join The #MarchToTheMailbox Social Media Campaign

#MarchToTheMailbox Week is a Social Media Initiative organized by the North Carolina Democratic Party to Push Absentee Ballots Request Forms this week. Are you concerned that the coronavirus may impact your ability to vote or that of your family, neighbors, and friends? Are you fearful that we will see a repeat of Wisconsin, Ohio, DC, Kentucky and Georgia here in North Carolina this November?

You can help the party increase vote-by-mail, aka absentee ballots, by sharing your #MarchToTheMailbox! To take part:

Download and fill out your absentee ballot request form: www.tinyurl.com/votetrumpout
Take photographs and/ or videos as you mail your absentee ballot request. These can be taken from your mailbox, in front of a USPS mailbox or office, in a socially distanced line at the post office, or other. We encourage creativity!
Post photographs and/ or videos to your personal social media pages/accounts with the hashtag #MarchToTheMailbox so that the NHCDP and DOING can find and like your posts!

Race to the Finish Line for COVID-19 Virtual Phone Bank

In addition to social media initiatives like March to the Mailbox, we are systematically reaching out to 18,000 New Hanover Democrats over 60 with a goal of connecting with at least 2000.

We are reaching out to our fellow Democrats to check-in and ask how they are doing and to help them apply early for an absentee ballot for the Nov. 3 election. We want every vote to be counted, and to make that happen we need to start NOW! This week we have a Day of Action phone bank on Tuesday, which will begin and end with a Zoom call by the participants. See Race to the Finish Line below for the Zoom link.

We still need volunteers to complete these calls! To volunteer, Email Susanne Werner, [email protected], or Joanne Durham, [email protected] to get connected to this critical effort.

Combined Campaign Phonebanks Reaching Out to Occasional Voters

The Combined Campaign, led in New Hanover by Regional Director Jesse Braughton (right), Manning Turkheimer, Surrayyah Chestnut and Savannah Fritz has been phoning Democratic-leaning inconsistent voters for weeks in preparation for a GOTV effort this Fall, and needs volunteers to help make it happen. This effort is complementary to the effort NHCDP is making, and is every bit as important. In related news, the Combined Campaign expects to merge its forces with the Joe Biden campaign in the weeks to come. For details on signing up for the phonebook, see the Dialing for Democrats event below.

NHCDP Website Now Has Photo Spread of Democratic Candidates

It's a question we often get from friends and neighbors - who are the Democratic candidates? In recent elections we responded with Blue Ballots listing the candidates. This year it has been harder to put them in voters' hands. Thanks to Kate Meyer, a talented volunteer, we now have an excellent photo spread of Democratic candidates on our website. Take a look here, and make sure to bookmark the link so you can send it to others.

EVENTS

NHCDP Virtual Happy Hour With Board of Elections Chair Tom Pollard -- June 29

When: Monday June 29, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Join us for a discussion with New Hanover County Board of Elections Chair Tom Pollard about the Board of Elections' plans for a very challenging election this Fall. Tom plans to come prepared to discuss the fine points of making sure your vote by mail ballot counts. This should be helpful to all of us as we help 40,000 + voters navigating the vote by mail process for the first time.

Click this link to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82684155045?pwd=Y0xrQ0xFOG90b0RSNFdPYy9lZzVMdz09

#MarchToTheMailbox Week -- June 29 through July 3

When: Any time through July 3

Where: Wherever you send your mail

To promote vote-by-mail, make a creative photo or video as you prepare and post your absentee ballot request with the hashtag #MarchToTheMailbox. We plan to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and as many other other Social Media platforms as possible. We need your help to make this a success!

Race to the Finish Line! NHCDP Phone Banking Event -- June 30

When: Tuesday, June 30, 4:00 p.m. and again at 8:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Join other volunteers for a Day of Action to finish COVID-19 Check-in calls. New Hanover Democrats have completed 1,200 calls to voters and have a goal of 2,000 calls. Follow the link here to the Zoom meeting where phone bank volunteers can join and say hello and then reconvene at 8 p.m. after making calls to share experiences.

Wayne Goodwin Hosts Town Hall on Coastal Homeowners Insurance -- July 1

When: Wednesday, July 1, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Are you concerned about the cost of homeowners insurance?

If so, you may want to attend virtual town hall meeting with Insurance Commissioner candidate Wayne Goodwin, Bill Saffo, former Kure Beach Mayor Mac Montgomery and other coastal mayors and Democrats to discuss coastal home insurance and other areas of concern to coastal towns and residents.

Wayne looks forward to the discussion and invites Q&A. Here's the link to register: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/wgjuly1

You Can Vote Training for Nonprofits and Community Organizations -- July 2

When: Thursday, July 2, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Where: Zoom

Want to get up to date on all the recent changes in election law, especially voting by mail? In this webinar You Can Vote Executive Director, Kate Fellman provides the latest on the 2020 election and the impact of COVID-19 on voter education, registration and turnout in this critical election year. YCV provides resources that are useful to every voter and every election volunteer. To register for the event, click here.

Dialing for Democrats from a Distance -- Wednesdays through July 15

When: Wednesdays, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Call from your home

The Combined Campaign invites you to drop in to a Zoom phonebank party from a comfy chair at home between 5 and 8 on Wednesdays to call voters in the 7th Congressional District. To sign up, click here.

Red Cross Blood Drive -- July 7

When: Tuesday July 7, Noon - 6:00 p.m.

Where: Andre Mallette Training Room, Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington 28403

Blood collection by the Red Cross has been hampered by the coronavirus, but life saving donations are still needed. NHCDP and the New Hanover County Republican Party are inviting New Hanover voters to a blood drive event at Government Center on July 7th. Appointments are available from noon until 6 p.m and the event will be in the large training room inside the Government Center. If you are in a high vulnerability group, this event may not be appropriate for you. However we inquired, and the Red Cross organizers will set up the event to ensure appropriate distancing and masks will be provided and required of all staff, volunteers and donors. Donors who don't want to wear a mask will be turned away. Temperatures will be taken, gloves will be worn, surfaces will be disinfected and sanitizer will be readily available. To sign up for an appointment, click here: https://www.redcrossblood.org and use search code New Hanover County.

Best,

Richard Poole, Chair

News Content by James Cummings

If you have any announcements, comments, questions or concerns regarding this email series, please contact the Editor here.

Paid for by the New Hanover County Democratic Party

Mailing Address:

NHCDP

PO Box 3036

Wilmington, NC 28406

Office Address:

5041 New Centre Drive

Wilmington, NC 28403

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