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Happy Thursday, Fellow Democrats!
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** A LETTER FROM OUR CHAIR
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Dear Loyal Democrats,
I want to thank each and every one of you for the truly extraordinary effort you put into getting out the vote and enrolling our Democrats in Vote by Mail over this past year. That is the mission of our Democratic Executive Committee and we delivered.
In the 2016 Presidential Election, 66.6% of our Democrats voted. In 2020, 78.2 % voted. This is an extraordinary increase! I firmly believe that much of this increase is due to our Democrats of Indian River outreach efforts. We have worked tirelessly to get Democrats to Vote by Mail. First this effort was made at the precinct level last winter and spring and then our efforts were targeted on key demographics over the summer and fall. We made a plan in January, stuck to it, started our volunteer activities early—slow and steady—and finished with an astonishing showing of Democratic votes. All in all, roughly 90,000 “touches” were made to Democrats via the mail, phone calling, texting, and radio ads—not to mention our loyal sign wavers!
I won’t deny that in spite of our best efforts, the Biden Campaign lost Florida and it hurts. But, we did all we needed to do to shore up our organization, reach out to our constituencies safely and work virtually during a national pandemic. In many ways, the necessity of working virtually made us more nimble and creative. Each of you should be proud of the part you played. I also want to give a shout out to our on-the-ground voter protection team of poll watchers and poll observers, as well as our poll workers.
Elections are a numbers game. In Indian River County, Republicans outnumber Democrats and a majority of our NPAs are not left leaning. Year after year we see the same split in the vote—roughly 60+% Red, 40-% blue. We cannot overcome the numbers. But we can take comfort and validation in the large numbers of Democrats who showed up to participate in our democracy. We are among neighbors who care about our country, our state, and our county.
Let’s continue to watch the election results. We must be patient with our precious democratic processes. In many ways, that’s what this election has been about—preserving and bolstering our democratic processes.
Again, many thanks for your dedication to decency, honesty, fairness, compassion and the truth. Thank you for working so hard to regain our democracy. We love our country.
We are Democrats. We are Americans.
Respectfully yours,
Adriana de Kanter, Chair
IRC Democratic Executive Committee
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** THANK YOU TO OUR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES
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A big thank you to our fabulous Democratic candidates, Jim Kennedy, Scot Fretwell, Al Griffiths and Vada Mossavat. We appreciate offering the citizens of Indian River County a choice in our representation in the U.S. Congress, the state legislature and locally. Also, thank you to each of their volunteers who worked tirelessly to get them elected.
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VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH
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Our October Volunteer of the Month is Kathy Cline! Kathy has done so much for our organization in the last year, we don’t even know where to begin! Many of you inadvertently know Kathy’s works because she was the one who had our “I Give A Dem” yard signs printed. She was also the organizer for our recent Women’s March and the Friday sign waving events in Sebastian. She has recruited members, put out yard signs for all candidates, given rides to those who don’t have transportation and is a sign waver extraordinaire. Thank you Kathy for everything you have done! We are so lucky to have you!
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** IRC DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS HOURS
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Due to safety and health reasons, our office remains closed until November 19^th.
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** DEMOCRATIC CLUB NEWS
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The next virtual Democratic Club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11^th at 6 p.m. We will be celebrating our veterans and our volunteers. The meeting will be on Zoom and all are welcome. The link will be sent this weekend. If you are not a Club member, please contact Claudia Martino
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) to request the Zoom link.
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** DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CLUB NEWS
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The next DWC Virtual Luncheon is scheduled for Saturday, November 21^st, with check-in beginning at 11:30 a.m. The scheduled speaker is Dr. Robert Brugnoli, a Clinical Psychologist, who will discuss ways to deal with stress. If you are not a DWC member and would like to attend the luncheon, contact Pat O'Hara at
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) .
The next DWC Book Group meeting is scheduled for Friday, November 27^th at 2 pm. The group will be discussing Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker. If you are not currently a book group member and would like to join in the discussion contact Maryann Ronan-Lamson at
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) .
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IMPORTANT VOTE BY MAIL DATES
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* November 5, 5 p.m – deadline to cure ballots with signature mismatches
* November 13 – SOE must receive completed ballots from overseas voters
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** COVID UPDATE
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There is a 16 percent increase in coronavirus cases in Florida. Locally, in Indian River County, the number of cases steadily continues to climb. While we’re all tired of taking extra health precautions, this is no time to ease up on our public health precautions. We are heading into traditional flu season and must take care. Wear a mask. Social distance. Wash your hands.
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** THANKSGIVING KINDNESS
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I think we could all use some kindness right now. And there is no better feeling than to be a giver of kindness. So, in the spirit of the season of giving, please consider sponsoring a turkey for families in need this Thanksgiving. The 14^th Annual Turkey Giveaway at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center will take place on Wednesday, November 18^th. To sponsor a family meal, please call Freddie Woolfork at 772-794-1005 ext. 234.
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** That’s all folks. Stay healthy!!!
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Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County
2345 14th Ave.
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