In this Newsletter:
| Message from the Chair | I agree with Congressman Jeff Duncan? |
| GWCDP News | Gubernatorial candidates swing through Greenwood Recap of the 1st Annual Floyd’s Fish Fry & Cookout Breakfast Meeting on Oct 2! |
| Upcoming Elections & Voting Rights | Greenwood County Council District 5 Candidates Redistricting hearings in Greenwood Compromised Voting Rights Bill in Congress |
| News & Noteworthy | Women’s March in Greenville on Oct 2 |
| Upcoming events |
Message from the Chair
Who knew Congressman Jeff Duncan was such an avid reader of the Index Journal? Unfortunately, he took exception to a recent Editorial pointing out the silliness of the “letters of impeachment” members of the Republican Congress have been filing – not over crimes like attempting to sell arms to a foreign country in exchange for damaging information on a political opponent or for inciting an insurrection at the nation’s Capital. Nope, elected officials like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Jeff Duncan (what a pair!) just don’t like the job President Biden is doing.
Our Congressman wrote:
“On Afghanistan, I supported both President Trump and President Biden’s plan to withdraw forces, but how you finish matters.”
Well, on that last statement, I wholeheartedly agree with Congressman Duncan! So let’s quickly review how things finished under Trump’s presidency:
- A stock market performance that trailed that of Obama & Clinton
- A COVID vaccine that lacked a federal logistical distribution plan
- A 2020 GDP of -3.7% (that’s a negative sign, folks)
- A nation far more divided, as seen on the steps of the nation’s capitol on Jan 6
- Finally, as Kayleigh McEnany (former Press Secretary under Trump) accidentally pointed out, the U.S. murder rate more than tripled during Trump’s final year of office.
What a finish to brag about!
GWCDP News
Gubernatorial candidates swing through Greenwood
In a single 7-day period, Greenwood was host to two of the Democratic challengers for SC Governor!
We hope you were able to take advantage of this opportunity to get to know our candidates better as we have a tough choice to make between several very strong Democratic contenders on June 14, 2022 in the SC Democratic Primary election.
SC Senator Mia McLeod was first to visit, headlining the 1st Annual Floyd’s Fish Fry (more on that event below). Video of her full speech is available on our YouTube page. You can learn more about and contribute to Mia’s campaign at miaforsc.com.
Former Congressman Joe Cunningham stopped by for a Clemson football watch party at Montague’s the following Saturday. He had a busy day upstate starting at the McCormick County Fish Fry and concluding in Greenville for a Gamecocks watch party.
You can catch Joe’s speech on our YouTube page as well and then visit his campaign web site joeforsouthcarolina.com.
Recap of the 1st Annual Floyd’s Fish Fry & Cookout
On Sept. 11, the Greenwood County Democratic Party hosted Floyd’s Fish Fry and Cookout at the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakelands Region.
This inaugural event carried forward the tradition of Sen. Floyd Nicholson’s famous Fish Fry, serving over 350 meals to Democrats and supporters on a picture-perfect afternoon.
The event attracted a number of high-profile speakers, headlined by gubernatorial candidate Sen. Mia McLeod who spoke on the importance of representation in rural communities.
Other speakers included Craig Khanwell speaking on behalf of US Senate candidate Krystle Matthews, Sen Floyd Nicholson, Rep. Anne Parks, SCDP Chair Trav Robertson, County Councilwoman Edith Childs, City Councilwoman Patricia Partlow, SCDP 3rd Vice Chair Jalen Elrod, GWCDP Chair Bill Kimler, GWCDP 1st Vice Chair James Thompson, and County Council District 5 candidates Tom Melson and Ron Davenport.
In addition to food and speakers, DHEC was on site providing free COVID vaccinations to some of the attendees, live music was performed by Greg Lee & the Takeover Band, and additional music spun by DJ Nafi da God. Former GWD50 School Board trustee Claude Wright was honored by trustee Sabrina Conner with a framed photo collage given to the Wright family. Numerous tributes were also given in memory of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Recognizing the Nicholsons lifelong dedication to promoting education, the Greenwood County Democratic Party announced they would match the Floyd & Mamie Nicholson Scholarship at Lander University, awarded to students who are the first in their families to go to college.
Video of all of the speakers are available on our website!
The GWCDP sincerely thanks the dozens of volunteers and hundreds of attendees who made the Floyd’s Fish Fry & Cookout one for the ages.
Breakfast Meeting on Oct 2
Our next in-person Breakfast Meeting will be this Saturday at 9 am, hosted at the Morris Chapel Family Life Center.
We are happy to have John Kraljevich, the Chair of the York County Democratic Party, join us to talk about the Register 46 program that was piloted in their county and is now expanding throughout the state.
The three Democratic Candidates for Greenwood County Council District 5 will also introduce themselves and help voters in that district get to know them better. See below for more information about this race!
This meeting is open all to attend! Click the image to the right to see the full poster. If you plan to attend, please RSVP online or call 864-715-2341 so we can get a headcount estimate.
Upcoming Elections & Voting Rights
Greenwood County Council District 5 Candidates
In the past month, THREE Democratic candidates have filed to run for the open seat on Greenwood County Council for District 5. The Democratic Primary will be on Tuesday, Oct 26. The winner will move onto the Special Election on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
The three candidates will be present at our next Breakfast Meeting on Sat. October 2 and we encourage our members in District 5 to join us to learn more about them!
Ron Davenport is a lifelong South Carolinian with decades of experience in law enforcement and criminal justice. He has a long and proven track record for supporting victims of crime with 20 years in the Crime Victim Services. He also served over a decade in the Greenwood Police Department.
Sloan Griffin Jr is a passionate, principled family man and the owner of Ideal Shoe Shop. He is a disabled veteran having served in the U.S. Army for 24 years and is a member of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club. He intends to run on a platform of direct honesty and transparency.
Tom Melson is a common man for common people. He served his country proudly in the U.S. Army for 22 years and currently is employed with the Federal Government as an IT Contractor. He values faith, family, education, and community and feels as though our government should work for the common folk and be held accountable.
If you wish to voice support for any of these candidates, the Index Journal stated the following:
Letters pertaining to the upcoming special election to fill the unexpired term of the Greenwood County Council District 5 seat must be received no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5 in order to be published no later than two full weeks before the Oct. 26 primary election.
Redistricting hearings in Greenwood
Last Tuesday, the SC House Subcommittee on Redistricting made a stop in Greenwood SC to hear voter testimony about how the House districts are drawn (or should be drawn). Sadly, it was not well attended and only four stood up to speak:
- Don Ciosek spoke about the use of technology & AI as well as the split voting precincts along Lake Greenwood that exist partially in House District 13 (Greenwood) and in House District 14 (Laurens).
- Bill Kimler reminded the panel that the Fairness, Accountability, and Integrity in Redistricting Act (S750 and H4229) is sitting in Committee waiting to be passed along to the General Assembly, and without it there will never be trust in the redistricting process
- Denise Waldrep talked about Ninety Six voters being lumped in with Laurens and the need for an independent election commission to handle redistricting.
- Finally, Rep Anne Parks reminds the panel of the history of her district (District 12) and encouraged them not to change the lines drastically this time around.
If you are interested in learning more about the redistricting process in South Carolina, we encourage you to attend the free Zoom seminar below put on by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of South Carolina. Register for it here.
Compromised Voting Rights Bill in Congress
The original For the People Act represented bold and overdue legislation to secure voting rights and accessibility for all Americans as well as eliminate corrupt practices that have infiltrated the highest levels of government!
Unfortunately, Senator Joe Manchin became a bottleneck in the process and as a result, a good number of ethics provisions had to be removed in order to secure his vote. Items like requiring disclosure of 10 years of tax returns for a Presidential candidate and barring spending on businesses owned by the President, VP, cabinet officials or their spouses/children were removed in order to get his support.
Even with all that, Stacey Abrams has endorsed the latest version of the Voting Rights bill! You can read more about what had to be eliminated to secure Joe Manchin’s support on our website.
News & Noteworthy
Women’s March on Greenville, Oct 2
If you want to express your voice against the draconian laws in Texas
which have turned US citizens into bounty hunters on each other and against similar freedom-restricting legislation being enacted in many other states – including here in SC – you can head right from our Breakfast Meeting on Saturday up to Greenville for a Women’s March that will be taking place there and in cities all across the country!
Click the image to the right to learn more and to RSVP for this event.
Upcoming Events
| LWVSC Session on Fair Maps Wed, Sep 29 7 pm Register Breakfast Meeting Sat, Oct 2 9 am – 11 am RSVP Women’s March on Greenville Sat, Oct 2 12 pm – 2 pm RSVP GWD County Council Tue, Oct 5 5:30 pm Greenwood Public Library Watch on YouTube Greenwood City Council Mon, Oct 18 5:30 pm Municipal Building 520 Monument St Watch on FB Live GWD County Council Tue, Oct 19 5:30 pm Greenwood Public Library Watch on YouTube GWCDP Executive Committee Thu, Oct 21 6 pm Greenwood County Council District 5 Primary Tue, Oct 26 7 am – 7 pm Election Day – Ninety Six Town Council Tue, Nov 2 7 am – 7 pm Breakfast Meeting Sat, Nov 6 9 am – 11 am Veteran’s Day Thu, Nov 11 |
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