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Happy Thursday Democrats!

Congratulations to the Biden-Harris Administration for all their pro-active Executive Orders and orderly governing on issues that most affect our working families and seniors in these first 8 days in office. We look forward to more cabinet confirmations and legislative packages coming out of our Congress.

FEDERAL

White House Website

President Biden and his team have taken over the White House website and are updating it each day. If you would like the most current information about the administration and their activities, you can find it on
The White House ([link removed])

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Representative Posey Survey
Representative Bill Posey has a new 2021 survey asking “What’s Important to You”. You can complete the survey at
[link removed]


STATE

HB 1 –

Yesterday, Florida legislators began fast tracking Governor DeSantis racist and unconstitutional bill (HB1/SB484) that supports draconian police state measures to criminalize Black Lives Matter protestors and peaceful demonstrators. Despite being sent 4000+ emails, hundreds of phone calls, and testimony from 70 individuals who overwhelmingly opposed the bill, HB 1 passed out the first House Subcommittee (Criminal Justice & Public Safety) 11-6 on party lines.

The bill summary can be viewed here:
[link removed] ([link removed])


ACTION TO TAKE-

HB 1 will next be put before the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee as early as February 4^th. You can send a letter to the committee members, legislative staff and bill sponsors at
[link removed] ([link removed]) .

On the Senate side, the bill will first be heard in the Criminal Justice Committee. Chair Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) has the authority to give the bill a hearing or let it die in committee. It’s vital to ensure this bill dies in committee. To contact Senator Pizzo and ask him to stop this bill from going forward, email him at
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or call his office at (305) 795-1205 (Miami) or (850) 487-5038 (Tallahassee).


HB 241 – Erin Grall’s Parental Rights

Representative Erin Grall has introduced House Bill 241 – Parental Rights. This bill aims to give parents all encompassing rights around education which will ultimately impact public education, as we know it. To read the bill and see bill information you can do that here [link removed]

You can read more about the bill here: [link removed]

HB 241 is currently in the Health and Human Services Committee. If you would like to write to the members of the committee and express your opposition to this damaging bill, their emails are:

[email protected];
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected]; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected]; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ; [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ;


Florida State Legislature

The Florida State Legislature officially begins the 2021 session on March 2^nd, but as you can see many committees are already meeting. As constituents, we should be actively involved in the bills and activity at the state level. Take some time to explore the Florida State Legislature website at
[link removed]



LOCAL

PRESS RELEASE: Democratic Groups Come Together to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s Legacy

January 25, 2020

On January 18, 2021, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Democrats of Indian River participated in the National Day of Service by holding a food, dry goods and hygiene products drive for our local food banks. Distribution drop off sites were conveniently located in Gifford, Sebastian and Vero Beach. The Democratic Executive Committee, the Democratic Club of Indian River and the Democratic Women’s Club of Indian River collected enough food and goods to fill three trucks and two automobiles. In addition, just under $1,000 in restaurant cards and cash were collected for distribution.

“I want to thank the Indian River County community for their generosity and service to their fellow citizens. What you saw on MLK Day was a direct recognition from our community that there are many working families and seniors in dire need of food assistance due to unemployment and health issues during this pandemic,” said Adriana de Kanter, Chair of the Democratic Executive Committee.

Beneficiaries of the food and goods included: Church of God by Faith in Wabasso, Operation Hope in Fellsmere, the Indian River County Food Pantry, Our Father’s Kitchen, and The Source, all in Vero Beach. The group encourages other service organizations to focus on food drives during this ongoing pandemic.

Adriana de Kanter, Chair



DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER

The Democratic Club of Indian River

February Dem Club Speaker

The next meeting of the Democratic Club will feature Dr. David Moore, Superintendent of the School District of Indian River County. Please join us on Wednesday, February 10^th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. The link will be emailed closer to the meeting date. Also, the first ever Club elections will be held Wednesday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. For more information about the election, please email
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Florida Seniors New Facebook Page

The Florida Seniors For Biden campaign page has been converted to "Florida Seniors Blue '22". The Facebook page is focused on preparing to take back the Governor's mansion and Marco Rubio's seat. The page will include discussion of senior issues such as social security, Medicare, housing, the pandemic and much more.

If you were a member of the Florida Seniors For Biden page, you will automatically remain on this page. Anyone else interested in joining the page can sign up at:

[link removed]

The page has 2,200 members and the goal is to build this community to at least 6,000 by summer. You will be hearing in the near future from Jon Bauman and Yolanda Russell on some of our future plans and zoom meetings.


GET INVOLVED

As we begin to prepare for 2022 elections, we need our local Democrats to help us build a strong DEC (Democratic Executive Committee). The way to do is through Precinct Captains.

DEC members are the Precinct Captains of the Democrats of Indian River County. Precinct Captains are elected officials who work to educate, energize, and organize the registered Democrats within their geographic area (precinct). A volunteer position of Precinct Captain requires dedication. One must be willing to commit to attending monthly DEC meetings, vote on issues relevant to our local Democratic Party, lead neighborhood volunteers in canvassing, phone banking and texting, and represent the Democratic Party at community meetings and activities. A Precinct Captain must be both personally motivated, have the ability to motivate others and possess an ability to work well with others. Training and support is provided on an on-going basis. Time commitment per month is approximately 5-10 hours. At this time, all our meetings are virtual and we are not actively engaging in person with Democrats in each precinct.

If you are interested in being a precinct captain, please email Stacey at
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])


CALENDAR

Tuesday, February 2, 2021:

8:30 a.m. – Vero Beach City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to
[link removed]


9:00 a.m. - Indian River County Commission
For agenda and meeting information go to [link removed]


Wednesday, February 3, 2021:

9:00 a.m. – Orchid Town Council
The agenda and how to attend the meeting virtually can be found here:
[link removed]

Thursday, February 4, 2021:
7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil


COVID

The number of cases daily continue to be very high in our county. Continue to stay vigilant, take necessary precautions, wear your mask and wash your hands.
The Indian River County website [link removed] provides information on:
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* Covid cases and relevant statistics
* Vaccination information
* Testing sites
* Governor DeSantis’ executive orders


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The IRC Health Department Vaccinations
Updates and announcements for expansion of vaccination criteria and notifications for additional vaccination clinics and appointments are available via the IRC alert system. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe to Indian River County’s FREE alerts (Alert Indian River) by going to www.alertindianriver.com


Publix Vaccinations
Appointments for Publix vaccinations can only be made online. Once you are on the website, scroll down to the county you live in and if there are appointments available it will indicate that.
Hint – there have been reports that the page refreshes itself when making an appointment. Don’t refresh the page yourself or you will lose your spot.

[link removed]


TIDBITS

Newsletter Reboot, 2.0

As you know, our newsletter has changed. We are taking a more pro-active approach to the work that needs to be done over the next four years. We need to get our work underway that will educate and involve our Democrats of Indian River County more.
We know many of you are feeling a sense of helplessness right now. We are living through a pandemic, we aren’t attending events, we are stuck in our homes, and our country is polarized by division. We hope that you will take this time to learn, engage and prepare for our upcoming state legislative session and other government activities in our county and at the federal level. And, we plan to help you do that.
Below is a short, 2 minute survey. Please let us know how you like the new layout, the presentation of information and if there is anything else you would like to see.
[link removed]

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That’s all, see you next week! Stay Safe and Well!

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Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County
2345 14th Ave.
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Vero Beach, FL 32960
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