Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Democratic Party. We were thrilled to recognize Claudia Thomas and Chad Farrell as our Volunteers of the Month for November! They attended their first Breakfast Meeting just this past July but since then they’ve been instrumental in the success of the Floyd’s Fish Fry and have assisted with Breakfast Meetings since. Thank you for your contribution to the cause!
Also, upcoming events & closing remarks.
1st Vice Chair, Rev. James Thompson, drops some truth on the very important topic of politics mixing with religion.
Our November Breakfast meeting opened up with some Party updates from Chair, Bill Kimler
In this Newsletter:
| Message from the Chair | Amazing accomplishments in 2021! |
| GWCDP News | Breakfast Meeting on Nov 6 – new location Don and Carol Fowler Building Dedication |
| Upcoming Elections & Voting Rights | Congrats to District 5 nominee, Sloan Griffin Ninety Six Municipal Elections today |
| Our Community | Partnering with the 8th Annual Thanksgiving Outreach Cokesbury Street cleanup scheduled GWCDP sponsors Ales for Trails 5K SC Stay Plus is now in Greenwood |
| News & Noteworthy | MAT Trans a dream come true for Councilwoman Childs McMaster basks in undeserved glory |
| Legislative Updates | The truth about the Build Back Better Act Vote scheduled for John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act |
| Upcoming Events |
We have an action-packed newsletter today, so I will keep it brief!
I have the utmost respect for journalists and the news media, and while I abhor the term “fake news” (which means “news I don’t like”) there is psychological evidence that negative news sticks with us more than positive news.
When it comes to the Biden agenda, and living in the South, negative news certainly has obscured the truth of how successful of a year its been! While the Biden Economic Framework doesn’t have everything we had helped for, it is STILL the most progressive piece of legislation proposed in decades! What’s in it?
Do yourself a favor and take 80 seconds to listen to Jon Favreau (of Pod Save America and former Obama speechwriter) lay this out in the clearest manner I’ve heard so far. Make sure also to see Sen. Chris Murphy’s writeup at the end of this newsletter for an enlightening hypothetical conversation about the Biden Administration’s accomplishments this year.
And finally – please share! Information is a light in the darkness, but it needs YOUR help to make it shine.
Breakfast Meeting on Nov 6 – new location!
Our next Breakfast meeting is coming up this weekend and there’s a location change – for a good reason!
We will be meeting from 9 am to 10 am on Saturday, November 6 at the Boys & Girls Club cafeteria (the same place where the Floyd’s Fish Fry was held). The new location and shortened time will allow us to participate in the special celebration of the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site which starts at 10 am right next door! This is part of a 3-day set of events to mark this important occasion.
Guest speakers at our Breakfast Meeting include:
We’ll also have important updates, food, and socialization aplenty. Mark your calendars and then come on out for these great back-to-back activities!
Continue readingFrom our friend, Mary Geren, comes information about this vital program!
I serve as an advocate for renters, but this program benefits renters, property owners, and our economy at large. Many potential applicants are simply unaware that this assistance exists, which is where I come in. I have been tasked with promoting and amplifying the program and helping applicants navigate the cumbersome application process.
Beginning on Monday, Nov. 1, I will be at the Greenwood Food Bank, and my office hours will typically be 10:30-3:00 Tuesday-Thursday. I usually take one remote work day per week and would communicate that information as needed. I am also open to rotating my presence with other agencies and/or setting up pop-up sites at special events, etc. So, if you know of possible pop-up locations, please let me know.
Thank you so much for helping us spread the word about this much needed assistance.
Click either of the images below to be taken to a larger version.
We hear about the struggles to get massive legislation passed in DC and and several express frustration as we see all the gory details of “how the sausage gets made” played out in the media.
But this year truly has been a tremendous one for the Democratic agenda. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has captured it perfectly!
What if, on Inauguration Day, I told you that in his first year, Joe Biden would cut childhood poverty in half?
“That’s a good year 1,” you might reply.
Ok what if he also got the GOP to agree to the biggest infrastructure bill in the nation’s history?
“No way!” you’d say.
What if I told you he ALSO got the biggest ever investment in clean energy through a fiercely divided Congress?
“You’re pulling my leg”, you would say.
No, I would reply. And now I’m going to blow your mind, I would continue.
Guess what else he did?
He got funding for 1 MILLION new affordable housing units.
He put the biggest ever investment in anti-gun violence programs.
He cut the cost of child care by $10,000 for low and middle income families.
“Whatever”, you would scoff. “All that is impossible in one year.”
Oh, and did I leave out that he got universal preschool passed – for all 3 and 4 year olds? He did that too.
“Stop,” you might complain.
Also he ended corporate tax avoidance. Amazon will finally pay taxes.
“No President could do ALL that in ONE year”, you would say.
When we pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better Act, Joe Biden and this Democratic Congress will have made 2021 the most consequential legislative year, with the biggest positive impact on American families, in generations.
That’s the truth.
In this Newsletter:
| Message from the Chair | Getting things done |
| Upcoming Elections & Voting Rights | Primary Election Day in Greenwood County District 5 |
| GWCDP News | Breakfast Meeting on Saturday, Nov 6 |
| Our Community | 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historical Preservation Site |
| We Need Your Help! | Meeting locations Carnell-Drummond-Mays Dinner Committee Chair Printed logo |
I sometimes fellow members complain along the following lines:
“Why did we elect Democrats to be in the majority if they can’t get XYZ done?”
where XYZ is any of a number of important issues such as Voting Rights, Climate Change, Immigration Reform, etc.
Let’s be clear: Democrats indeed have the White House and the majority in the US Congress. It’s therefore in the US Senate where there’s been the greatest struggle to see the progress we worked so hard to bring about in the 2020 election. The Senate is nearly perfectly divided with 50 Senators who are Democrat (or caucus with the Democrats, like Sen. Bernie Sanders) and there are 50 Republicans. VP Kamala Harris serves as a tiebreaker.
It only takes one to gum up the works, whether it’s Joe Manchin tanking environmental action or Kyrsten Sinema, who opposes prescription drug pricing reform.
But what if Jaime Harrison had been elected to the US Senate from South Carolina. My, how things could be different!
I would like us to rephrase the above question to the following:
“What can we do to elect more Democrats so that XYZ can get done?”
Lets localize this question a bit: When reviewing voting precinct data in Greenwood County, one sees they can fall into one of two categories:
There’s one precinct in the City of Greenwood that voted strongly for Democrats but only had a 56% turnout – far below the 72% average across the state.
Imagine if turnout in that precinct were 80% or higher.
Imagine if that were the case in other Democrat-leaning precincts across the state.
Imagine if this led Jaime Harrison to victory in 2020.
Imagine all of the great legislation that would now be passing on this very day!
Now let’s stop imagining and WORK to make that happen in 2022! We need to stop making meaningful change other peoples’ responsibility and start to make it our own.
Primary Election Day in Greenwood County District 5
Today’s a big day for the residents in County Council District 5 as there’s a Democratic Primary underway! Click on the image below to learn more about these three great candidates.
Voting is open from 7 am to 7 pm. Be aware that two of the precincts have been permanently moved:
The Democratic Primary for Greenwood County Council, District 5, is just around the corner.
Review the candidates below and then make your choice known!
Are you in District 5?
See the map
or
check your Voter Registration at SCVotes.gov to verify.
Know your Polling Location?
Check your Voter Registration at SCVotes.gov to see the voting precinct address.
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.
Index-Journal interview with Ron
davenport4council2021.com
email
rondagnt007@yahoo.com
phone: (864) 227-8691
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.
Index-Journal interview with Tom
tomgmelson.com
email
tgmelson@gmail.com
phone: (864) 388-0857
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.
Index-Journal interview with Sloan
email
sloangriffin@icloud.com
phone: (864) 344-2872
| Message from the Chair | We are more than our opinions |
| GWCDP News | October Breakfast meeting in the books! Welcome to our first intern, JaDasia Mitchell! Denise Waldrep accepts role as Director of Voter Engagement |
| Upcoming Elections & Voting Rights | Candidate information for County Council District 5 ACLU sues SC over redistricting process |
| Our Community | Mission Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness Piedmont Tech & SC Works Job Fair |
| News & Noteworthy | Biden-Harris Administration’s announce detailed policies in support of HBCUs |
| Legislative Updates | Chamber of Commerce Legislative Luncheon |
I have had the profound privilege to be a member of the “Racial Justice League”, a group founded by Donald Burton, local activist and president of Dream Builders. This group of volunteers has exploring ways to promote Conversation, Education, Collaboration and Action for racial justice in our community.
I want to give special credit to the recent contributions to this effort made by Rev Alexis Carter Thomas, whom we had the pleasure of interviewing at a previous Virtual Breakfast Meeting.
One of the insights she helped bring to our group is that even though we came together under a common cause, we still have differences in opinions among us. Before we can consider ourselves strong enough as a group to discuss racial justice out in the community, we had to first develop stronger bonds between ourselves and get to know each other beyond just our political and social beliefs.
In one exercise, we share stories about our mother’s mothers. We got to know each other in terms of a personal history, generational journeys that led us to where we are today! Before we tackle difficult topics on race, gender, love, religion, and so on, we had to first get to know and respect each other as humans. Failure to do that means we only see each other in terms of soundbites or social media posts. And when we do that, we end up inserting our own preconceptions to who people are and lose the opportunity to truly get to know them.
We have tough conversations ahead and if we are to have any chance of making progress and finding common ground, we need to develop strong relationships that can survive a difference of opinion..
October Breakfast meeting in the books!
On Saturday, Oct 2, the GWCDP held its monthly Breakfast Meeting at the Morris Chapel Baptist Church. Video of the proceedings have been uploaded to our YouTube channel if you were not able to make it. You can also click on the images below to watch a particular segment.
GWCPD Chair, Bill Kimler, provided updates about the wildly successful Floyd’s Fish Fry & Cookout featuring Mia McLeod, Joe Cunningham’s visit to Greenwood, and testifying about SC House Redistricting
Tom Melson, candidate for Greenwood County Council, District 5, spoke about his campaign to the members of the GWCDP.
Sloan Griffin, candidate for Greenwood County Council, District 5, also spoke about his campaign and vision for the district.
John Kraljevich, Chair of the York County Democratic Party, shared his experience running for State House in 2018, piloting the Register 46 Project, and the rapid response behind the Travis Price arrest incident over the summer.
The GWCDP also recognized George Swindell as the October Volunteer of the Month for his years of service on the Executive Committee as Treasurer and for his extraordinary efforts to make the 1st Annual Floyd’s Fish Fry & Cookout a success. Thank you for all you do, George!
Welcome to our first intern, JaDasia Mitchell!
We have recently partnered with Lander University to host an internship program for students looking to gain real-world experience with campaigning, issue research, digital communication, and data analysis.
Continue readingJohn Kraljevich, Chair of the York County Democratic Party, shared his experience running for State House in 2018, piloting the Register 46 Project, and the rapid response behind the Travis Price arrest incident over the summer.
