Our regular office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Our address is 2345 14th Ave., Suite 7, Downtown Vero Beach.
Newsletter Highlights
Education Group starting! See the Get Involved Section
TEXTERS Needed! See the Get Involved Section
Precinct Captains Needed! See the Democrats of Indian River Section
MLK Parade See the Get Involved Section
GET INVOLVED
Education Group
If you watched or read the news lately, you know our public education system is under attack. All over the country “Moms for Liberty” and “Parental Rights” groups are jamming up school board meetings demanding books be removed, masks be removed, CRT stop being taught (it isn’t), and school districts bow down to their every whim. In opposition, groups are starting to form to counter these attacks on our public education system.
Locally, a group of parents and concerned community members have been speaking at our school board meetings and writing letters to provide an alternate voice of reason. We are beginning to organize and need more help. If you are interested in joining a team working to preserve our public education system, please email [email protected] for more information.
Texters Needed
We have purchased a new texting program to reach out to voters in Indian River County. We are looking for volunteers who can send texts. It’s very easy and can be done from your couch or dining room table. All you need is a computer, no phones needed! If you are interested, email Stacey at [email protected] and she can send you more information about how the program works.
Parade
The Democrats of Indian River will be participating in the MLK parade on January 17th. We need walkers and help with decorating the float. If you would like to participate, please email Stacey at [email protected]
DEMOCRATS OF INDIAN RIVER
Democratic Executive Committee
Do you want to be part of the team that votes DeSantis out? Do you want to meet your like-minded neighbors? Are you tired of sitting by while Republicans get elected over and over?
Consider signing up to be a precinct captain for your local area. Precinct captains create relationships with their neighbors, help lead up Get Out the Vote efforts, and work with a fun team.
If you live in the following Precincts, we could use your help:
The next DWC Book Group meeting will be at 2:00 p.m. on January 28th on Zoom. Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost our Democracy and Still Could by Representative Adam Schiff will be discussed. If you are not a Book Group member and would like to attend please contact Rita Milelli at [email protected]
Democratic Club of Indian River
The slate of nominees for the Democratic Club election in March will be announced at the Club meeting January 13th. If you are interested in running for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer or Director, please contact Claudia Martino, the Nominating Committee Chair, at [email protected] by Monday, January 10th. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the January 13th meeting.
Our next Club Member meeting will be Thursday, January 13th, at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will shift our meetings to Zoom while monitoring Omicron. We will keep you informed of changes in venue as this very fluid situation develops.
Our speaker will be Joanne Terry. Joanne, who resides in Brevard, is the first person to throw her hat into the ring to run against, and hopefully unseat, Bill Posey as our next US Congressperson from FL 8.
A brief bio on Joanne:
Joanne Terry of Satellite Beach is preparing to formally announce her candidacy for our Congressional district. She has 27 years of experience in the space industry as a satellite systems engineer, leading diverse teams to solve complex problems. Joanne knows how to bring people together! Focusing on local issues that affect all of us, regardless of our politics, she is confident that by coming together on our common issues, we can break through the fear and anger that keeps us divided. Joanne's top priorities will be the Indian River Lagoon, Infrastructure, our Economic Recovery from COVID, restoring civility to our politics and Bridging Our Divide. More about Joanne's background is on her website at joanneterry.com.
If you are not a member but wish to receive a Zoom link please email our Secretary, Wendy McDaniel at [email protected] to request a link which will be sent the day of the meeting.
Hope to see you via Zoom!
FEDERAL
Floridians Are Paying the Price for Marco Rubio’s Lack of Leadership
Where is Marco Rubio?
The Senator’s last public event in Florida was two months ago. Since getting called out for failing to show up for his job in the Senate, Rubio has missed nine more committee hearings, including meetings on small business development, senior issues, and critical foreign policy discussions about Afghanistan.
“When Floridians need strong leadership the most, Marco Rubio is once again nowhere to be found. Not only is he skipping out on his job in the Senate, he’s failing to show up in Florida to help keep people safe from COVID and get our state back to normal. Sadly, this is what Floridians have come to expect from Rubio, who has shown us time and again that he’s more focused on advancing his own political career than doing the job he was elected to do,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesperson Grant Fox.
Inaction and incompetence from Republican state leaders has exacerbated the recent COVID outbreak, causing mass school absences and hours-long waits for tests. Yet all Rubio has to offer are tweets denying a problem exists and spreading misinformation.
This isn’t the first time Rubio has abandoned Florida in a time of need. In August during the state’s deadliest outbreak of COVID, Rubio flew off to Iowa to chase another failed presidential campaign, dedicating more time to political fundraisers than helping address the ongoing public health crisis.
STATE
Florida State Legislature
Florida Voices for Health, a Statewide Health Advocacy Organization, has put out some valuable information about the 2022 legislative session. Below are some highlights and links to important information regarding the health of Floridians.
The Budget
The state's fall revenue estimating conference reported that the state collected an additional $1.2 billion (and growing) in general revenue for fiscal year 2022-23. The state budget also received a massive influx of federal funds, primarily from pandemic relief. These surplus dollars could be put towards priorities like eliminating the iBudget Waiver waitlist for people with disabilities and improving Medicaid's dental benefits. Passing Medicaid expansion would ultimately save the state another $200 million a year. But Republicans have long refused to expand Medicaid due to the name “Obamacare”.
Redistricting
The legislature is also constitutionally required to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts based on the population changes from the 2020 Census. Because Florida’s population has grown by 2.9 million, Florida will move from 27 to 28 representatives. This year, there will be no public hearings. Instead, the Legislature has created a portal for community input, www.FloridaRedistricting.gov
End of the Public Health Emergency (PHE)
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 PHE in March 2020, most people enrolled in Medicaid could not be terminated from coverage. States were provided with increased federal funding in exchange for pausing terminations. As a result, tens of thousands of Floridians who are not technically eligible for Medicaid have maintained coverage. DCF is currently sending out letters letting people know that they have been deemed ineligible and once the PHE ends they will be removed from the program. This has the potential to impact tens of thousands of Floridians.
The Indian River County MPO will be hosting another “Land Use Visioning” workshop on February 03, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Intergenerational Center. This will build on the activities from the first workshop held back in October. It is a wonderful opportunity to see what the future has in store!
If you are interested in becoming an election worker, the Supervisor of Elections will be conducting two orientation classes on Wednesday, January 26th and Thursday, January 27th. The Election Worker Orientation class is 10-12 a.m. at the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections (4375 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach). Please call Jenny Davis at 772-226-4720 to RSVP for this class. This class is only for new Election Workers and you are only required to attend one orientation class.
Faces of Eve – Fundraiser for Gifford Cultural Center
The fundraiser for the new Gifford Cultural Center is called the Faces of Eve Collaboration. To raise money for the Center, you can purchase the Faces of Eve coffee table art book. Please order your copy today in the link below! They also welcome sponsorships, the various levels are listed on the Rally-Up fundraising page.
Each week we feature a letter that was written to the TC Palm in opposition to Democrats or our ideals. We then ask that you write a response back. It’s time we start speaking out as a collective and correcting the disinformation printed in newspapers. Staying silent is accepting, and we must fight for our democracy.
Here is the letter we ask you to respond to:
The U.S. House committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, is a sham
The sham committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, will end with sham allegations and charges. What was a protest that got a little out of control is being portrayed as an "insurrection" of some sort.
Where are all the charges of treason or sedition? There are none. Where are all the weapons charges? There are very few. And they don't include guns. Only some bats and flagpoles and (reportedly) a fire extinguisher. The only person killed on Jan. 6 was Ashli Babbitt, an unarmed woman among the protesters who was shot by a Capitol police officer.
These protesters believed an election was stolen, which I think it was, and had every right to express their outrage. There are agitators who are not being held who need to be accountable.
Is this sham committee covering up something? Why are some videos not being produced? Where are the investigations of the looters and arsonists that terrorized American cities in 2020? They did more damage than this so-called "insurrection" did.
This sorry excuse we have for a president sitting in the White House today is more of a threat to democracy than any “insurrection.”
The year 1776 was an insurrection. Imagine Gen. George Washington trying to win independence against the Crown using bats and flagpoles. The Redcoats would have laughed themselves to death.
6:00 p.m. – Democratic Club of Indian River Monthly Meeting. If you wish to attend, please email Wendy McDaniel at [email protected] for the Zoom link.
7:00 p.m. - Fellsmere City Council
For agenda and meeting information go to www.cityoffellsmere.org/citycouncil
Have you ever been working on your computer and wish you had some nice, relaxing, calming music playing in the background? Here is a great Winter Night Jazz Music station to put on. It’s perfect for these cooler days and working towards a stress relief mood.
