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Happy Thursday, Fellow Democrats!

We are now 82 days away from electing a new President of the United States!



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** THE NEW TICKET
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Who is excited about this?


Congratulations to Joe Biden for making history – and herstory -- and choosing his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris for Vice President!



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** DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS VISITORS
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Our office remains closed for inside visits and meetings but Stacey Klim is at the office on Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for visitors to pick up Democratic gear (yard signs, bumper stickers, etc.) and to conduct other essential services.

Please note that our office will be closed completely on Friday, August 21^st.

Democrats coming to the office should knock on the door, social distance, wear a facemask, and provide their own hand sanitizer. Thank you as we continue to look after the safety of our fellow Democrats.


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** PRIMARY ELECTION INFORMATION
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Voting has begun in Indian River County with Mail In Ballots. As of today 8,136 Democrats have turned in their ballots.

If you aren’t signed up for Vote By Mail or prefer to vote in person, Early Voting began Saturday, August 8^th and will last through August 15^th, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can vote during Early Voting at the following locations:

Main Library
1600 21^st St
Vero Beach, FL 32960

Supervisor of Elections Office
4375 43^rd Ave
Vero Beach, FL 32967

Sebastian City Hall
1225 Main St
Sebastian, FL 32967

NOTE: Return your Primary ballots!

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* If you still have a VBM ballot, be sure to sign and date the back of the envelope and return it as early as possible. Recommended date by which to mail is 7-14 days before the election, the sooner the better.


OR

* You can drop off voted VBM ballots at lockboxes located at the Supervisor of Elections office and all Early Voting sites.





** DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER POST THEIR TRIBUTES AT THE COVID-19 WALL OF CARING AND REMEMBRANCE
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Our website, www.democratsofindianriver.org ([link removed]) , now has a new feature: The Covid-19 Wall of Caring and Remembrance. Here you can leave tributes to friends and family you have either lost in the pandemic or are very concerned about during the current health crisis.

The wall is dedicated to the victims of the pandemic. It is our testimony. We know this should never have happened. Because of the lack of leadership from the President on down through the Republican ranks, we have 165,000 American deaths today. We are being touched here in Indian River County, too. Our members, like many in the community, are grieving.

Let’s honor and remember our loved ones. Read the tributes and submit your own. Go to:
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DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
The Democratic National Convention Committee has published the Convention schedule ([link removed]) for the August 17-20 Democratic National Convention.

Caucus and council meetings taking place each day will be open to the public. Florida Democrats can RSVP to meetings at DemConvention.com/Schedule ([link removed]) .

Highlights of the virtual Convention schedule include:
* Monday, August 17: Opening ceremonies, Michelle Obama keynotes
* Tuesday, August 18: Keynote address and roll call, Dr. Jill Biden keynotes
* Wednesday, August 19: Vice Presidential nomination. President Obama and Kamala Harris keynote
* Thursday, August 20: Joe Biden's acceptance speech





LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Do you have time on your hands AND would like to do a little writing? Wouldn’t it be nice to see the TC Palm with letters supporting Democratic candidates and ideals? If this sounds like something you are interested in, check out our website page about writing letters to the editor for more information.
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CANDIDATE INFORMATION

The Democrats of Indian River have just posted on our website under the “Voting” tab, candidate information sheets ([link removed]) for those candidates running in the August 18th primary. Every year, the Democrats provide short bio sheets and links to online interviews with the candidates. Thank you to our wonderful mother-daughter volunteers who drafted this year’s biographies!



AL GRIFFITHS CARAVAN & FOOD DRIVE

The Democratic Candidate Caravan organized by Al Griffiths, House Representative 54 Candidate, on Sunday, August 9^th, was a success! Thank you to all of you who came out! The next one is slated for Sunday, August 23^rd at 1 pm. Meet up at Democrats of Indian River HQ at 2345 14^th Avenue.







DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CLUB NEWS

For personal reasons, Silvia Cancio has stepped down as DWC of IRC president. The board has appointed Pat O'Hara as interim president to serve out the remainder of Silvia's one year term.

The DWC Book Group will be meeting via Zoom on Friday, August 28^th at 2 p.m. "Running Against the Devil: The Plot to Save America from Trump--- and Democrats from Themselves" by Rick Wilson is this month's selection. The discussion will be led by DEC Chair Adriana de Kanter. If you are interested in joining, please send an email to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])





DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR IRC OFFICE

Both Al Griffiths, candidate for Florida House Seat 54 running against Erin Grall and Scott Fretwell, candidate for Florida Senate Seat 17 against Debbie Mayfield, now have strong social media presences and are looking for campaign volunteers. You can follow them via their websites, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and correspond to them about volunteer opportunities via their email addresses. Volunteer for Al! Fl House District 54 is a new volunteer Facebook site. Here is their information:

Al Griffiths
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[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
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Scot Fretwell
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[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])





BIDEN, LOCAL CANDIDATE, AND DEMOCRATIC GEAR


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** We have some Biden gear in our office! Stacey will be in the office on Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Just knock on the door and she will meet you outside as our office is still closed to visitors.

Currently we have Biden:

T-shirts $15
Yard signs $10
Bumper stickers (rectangle and oval) $2
Buttons $1

We also have FREE:

Jim Kennedy for Congressional District 8 yard signs


Al Griffiths for Florida House 54 signs, pins and bumper stickers:


Scott Fretwell for Florida Senate Seat 17 yard signs


We also have "I give a Dem" yard signs for $6! If you live in Sebastian you can place an order and arrange pick up by contacting Claudia Martino at
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])



And don’t forget our cute Democratic Facemasks! Lovingly made by a fellow Democrat, they are being sold for $10. Contact our office if you want one at:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])





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THREE CORNERS IN VERO BEACH
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As Milt Thomas recently noted, “We have come a long way from those first ideas of creating a huge, open public space devoted to recreation that symbolizes what Vero Beach stands for – a small, residential and vacation community where people can escape the hustle and bustle of big city life and raise their kids or retire to a quiet, peaceful life where nature is its biggest selling point. Three Corners is viewed as a potential showcase of all that is good about Vero Beach. A plan was developed through the thoughtful efforts of Andres Duany’s firm working with the steering committee and community.”

Now Covid is the current reality and so Mr. Duany created a Covid-safe plan in two weeks’ time. This did not have the same level of community input as before and was presented at a city council meeting as a thumbs up or down. Now a third plan has been developed that is targeted at developers taking over the property. The consensus of the community planning process was not to hand over the properties to developers. If we are not vigilant, this last riverfront property will go the way of Royal Palm Pointe and become private property. The people of Vero Beach need to guard against this! As Mr. Thomas notes, “We should take more than the three weeks since July 21 to decide on a plan before asking voters to give up control.”





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** COVID-19
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Indian River County currently has 2574 cases and 57 deaths. The number of cases is increasing both in our county and in the state at a high rate. Social distance and wear a mask!

To stay up-to-date on the cases of Covid-19 in Indian River County and the State of Florida, click on the link below. Updates are made every day at approximately 11 a.m. EST.

[link removed]


Indian River County has created a website dedicated to the Covid-19 virus that contains numerous resources and county information. You can access this information by going to: [link removed]


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** INDIAN RIVER COUNTY COVID-19 TESTING SITES
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The Florida Department of Health has issued a Public Health Advisory advising all individuals in Florida to wear face coverings in any setting where social distancing is not possible, with limited exceptions. As a reminder, the Indian River County Board of Commissioners have recently issued an Emergency Order requiring all persons working in restaurants, grocery stores, food service, retail establishments, businesses open to the public, or any other locations visited by the public where social distancing is not possible, to wear face coverings.

The Florida Department of Health in Indian River County continues to provide drive-through testing for COVID-19 at the Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, by appointment only. To request an appointment, please call (772) 794-7411.

The following drive-through COVID-19 testing locations do not require an appointment and may be visited at the designated times:

Indian River County Fairgrounds
7955 58th Ave, Vero Beach
Mondays and Wednesdays 8:30am to 10:00am

Treasure Coast Community Health
12196 County Road 512, Fellsmere
Fridays 2:30-4:30pm

Gifford Health Center
4675 28th Court, Vero Beach
Saturdays 8:30-10:00 am

You may find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, by visiting the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage: FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov. For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling (866) 779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to [email protected].


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** That’s all folks. Stay healthy!!!
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Copyright © 2020 Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County, All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:
Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County
2345 14th Ave.
Suite 7
Vero Beach, FL 32960
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