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** Happy Thursday Democrats!
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Office News

The office will be CLOSED the week of September 13 through 17. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 21^st.


Newsletter

There will be no newsletter next week due to our Operations Coordinator going on vacation. The newsletter will be back on Thursday, September 23^rd.
Vandalism

We want to extend a big THANK YOU! to those of you who donated towards a new sign for us. We hope to be able to have a new sign in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your support and kindness!
FEDERAL

Where O’ Where is Marco Rubio?

Senator Rubio has been in office for more than a decade now, but based on his voting record in Washington, it’s unclear what he’s actually done for Floridians.

He hasn’t held a town hall since 2018, but still finds time to pursue his presidential ambitions. This week, Sen. Rubio is fundraising in Iowa while his own state is grappling with a resurgent COVID crisis.

When Sen. Rubio actually does show up, he consistently votes against the best interests of Floridians. He voted to give tax breaks to large corporations and the ultra wealthy, and to end the Affordable Care Act, which would have stripped health care access from millions of Floridians.

Sen. Rubio also voted against bipartisan infrastructure legislation that will create thousands of good paying jobs in Florida and voted for massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

We’re not sure where Marco Rubio is but it’s clear he’s focused on one thing: furthering his own political career. Sen Rubio’s primary ambition is to be president, not to fight powerful special interests and help Florida families with the real issues we face every day.

Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Marcus L. Dixon released the following statement regarding Rubio’s trip to Iowa:

“Marco Rubio is more concerned with helping Iowa politicians raise money to further his own political agenda than standing with Floridians suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Jetting off to raise money in Iowa while his constituents worry about how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe is another shameful example of Rubio failing to have the spine to lead during a crisis.”

Florida needs real leadership in Washington, not a senator who’s missing in action. Marco Rubio was elected to serve the people of Florida, not himself.
Visit RunAwayRubio.com to learn more about Florida’s absentee senator. Share on social media to help Sen. Rubio find his way home.



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STATE

DeSantis Loses His Mask Mandate Appeal

The continuing saga of DeSantis trying to exert his power over every child in our education system, has come to another judicial decision. Yesterday, Judge Cooper reaffirmed his decision that DeSantis cannot mandate a mask ban in the Florida public school system.

DeSantis will no doubt try to appeal to a higher court, but for now our students and teachers in Indian River have a bit of protection. You can read more here:

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DeSantis’ nonsense has empowered a local group of parents who call themselves “Mom’s for Liberty” (founded by former school board member Tiffany Justice and led by a woman named Jennifer Pippen) who have been very vocal about masks. These parents sued the school district last year to get the mask mandate removed and they lost. Now they are raising money and have started a petition to remove the School Board members who voted in favor of the mask mandate. You can read more about their behavior here:

** [link removed] ([link removed])


Redistricting

Redistricting is the once-a-decade task of drawing new political boundary lines for the state Legislature and congressional districts. The Legislature, unfortunately controlled by Republicans, draws the maps, and they must be signed by the governor.

To learn more about the Redistricting process, the census data and look at local statistics, you can go to the Florida Senate website at:

** [link removed] ([link removed])


LOCAL

City Council Candidates

Municipal Elections are right around the corner. If you live in the town limits of Vero Beach, Sebastian or Fellsmere here are important election dates:

Voting Registration Deadline: October 4

Early Voting: Not Offered

Mail Ballot Request Deadline: October 23 by 5 p.m.

Election Day: November 2 - 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.


The candidates for Vero Beach are:

Taylor Jack Dingle
Tracey Lockwood Zudans
John E. Cotugno
Brian Heady
Rey Neville
Ken Daige
Charles R. Wilson

The candidates for Sebastian are:


The qualifying period for Fellsmere is still in process. We will let you know the candidates after the qualifying period.



Here is an interesting (and disturbing) article about right leaning partisan politics in the Sebastian City Council race.

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Women’s March





Discounts from your Library Card!




Legal Advice


DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER

Democratic Women’s Club

We See It All: Liberty and Justice in an Age of Perpetual Serveillance by Jon Fasman is the next Book Group selection. The virtual meeting will start at 2:00 pm on August 27th. If you are not a Book Group member and would like to attend please contact Rita Milelli at ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
.

Democratic Club of Indian River

The next Democratic Club members meeting will be held on Zoom. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 14th at 6:00 p.m. The speaker will be Paul Seldes who will provide accurate data on the current status of COVID in IRC and the State. Hopefully, Paul will be able to give us an idea of which way the virus is trending.


We will also be rolling out the At Large voting and Voter Registration Trailer initiatives at the meeting. More information will soon be provided in a Mailchimp email to members, as well as postings on Facebook to the Democratic Club Group and Liberals in Vero pages. For those who are not yet members but wish to attend, please email to Wendy McDaniel at: [email protected] to request a Zoom link. A Zoom link will be sent to members and those requesting a link, the day of the meeting.

Paul Seldes Bio:

Paul Seldes is an experienced emergency management and homeland security professional with over 30 years in public safety and emergency management as a trainer and practitioner. In addition to his numerous professional certifications he is also a Certified Florida Professional Emergency Manager (FPEM) and a Florida Master Instructor (FMI).


BREAKING NEWS: We have just confirmed that the Democratic Club of IRC will host the Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Florida, as well as a 2020 Candidate for Governor, Nikki Fried at its October 12^th, 6:00 p.m. meeting. The meeting will be held at the Heritage Center in Downtown Vero Beach. The event will be in person. Attendees will be required to be fully vaccinated, masked and seating will be socially distanced. We have arranged for security for the event. More information will be provided in coming days.



CALENDAR

Thursday, September 9, 2021

5:01 p.m. – School Board Special Meeting on Budget and Millage, School District of Indian River County, 6500 57th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32967

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

9:00 a.m. – IRC County Commission
For agenda and meeting information go to
** [link removed] ([link removed])


1:00 p.m. – School Board Discussion, School District of Indian River County
For agenda and meeting information go to
** [link removed] ([link removed])



6:00 - 8:30 p.m. - School Board Business Meeting, School District of Indian River County
For agenda and meeting information go to
** [link removed] ([link removed])



Thursday, September 16, 2021

6:00 p.m. - Democrats of Indian River, DEC Meeting
Meeting via Zoom. Contact Stacey at ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
for meeting link.


7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to ** www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil ([link removed])

COVID UPDATE AND VACCINATIONS

Covid Update

Indian River is still seeing a high surge in cases, as is the rest of the Treasure Coast.

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Statistics

A great place to check statistics for Indian River County is on Covid Act Now. You can access it here:
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The vulnerability level in IRC continues to be high so please continue to wear your mask and take necessary precautions.



Vaccinations

You can search for vaccination locations and details by clicking here:

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TIDBITS

Texas

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.
Suite 7
Vero Beach, FL 32960
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