Greenwood County Democratic Party

In this Newsletter:

• Message from the Chair
• Candidate & Elected Officials
• GWCDP News
• Our Community
• News & Noteworthy
• Legislative Updates
• Upcoming Events

Message from the Chair

Elections have consequences, both good and bad. The Biden administration along with the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate have just this week enacted a most needed stimulus bill that is perfectly timed to get our country’s people back to work, children back to school, and states operational with the safety of the people as a priority. 

At the same time, Republican-dominated State Legislations across the country, and especially here in SC, have gone to next-level bully mode: Cutting back voting accessibility that mostly impact minorities and the poor, criminalizing women and health professionals for making their own constitutionally-protected choices, prioritizing guns over infrastructure, and blatantly hateful attacks on transgender youth.

Fielding candidates at the local level are more critical than ever. This week, I’m stealing the words of my fellow Chair in York County, John Kraljevich. Please read and consider stepping up to serve and save your community.

I’ve fielded some questions about recruiting candidates for office, so let me offer some guidance:

 We would like to have a Democrat running for every spot on the ballot, so we won’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Not everyone has to be Abraham Lincoln. But we want candidates who are able to enunciate this party’s ideals and spend the time and effort to run a real campaign that communicates with their voters.

 The best candidates have non-political connections to their communities. Professional networks, volunteer organizations, neighborhood friends, etc. The more people you know, the easier it is.

 You don’t need to be an active member of this party or even particularly partisan to have success, especially when it comes to municipal races

 Candidates don’t need to be perfect angels or Scouts either. No one cares if you’ve been divorced, or if you got arrested for having a joint in your hair at Woodstock. This isn’t a presidential race we’re talking about here. 

 Getting elected to the state legislature, an opportunity which candidates will have in 2022, requires a real time commitment, one that is difficult to handle if you have a regular 9-to-5. Getting elected to town or city council or a school board position does not. Anyone with any profession or any amount of money can run and win one of those races — and serve admirably.

 I am here to answer questions, however broad or granular they may be. This is my job.

– John Kraljevich
Chair, York County Democratic Party

Candidates & Elected Officials

Newly elected Greenwood City Councilwoman, Patricia Partlow, has an actively maintained Facebook Page for Ward 2. Be sure to “like” that page to receive valuable updates that may concern you!

In this Newsletter:

• Message from the Chair
• GWCDP News
• Our Community
• Running for Office
• News & Noteworthy
• Upcoming Events

When I first decided to run for Chair of the GWCDP, I took some considerable time to reflect on my motives for pursuing it and what my vision would be for the Party should I win.

I sketched out the visual logo to the right to help me focus on the four main ways in which we achieve our ultimate goal:

Make our city, county, state, and country a better place by electing Democratic candidates that share our core values of governance. 

One day, I will take the opportunity to detail out the plan I drew up in those early days, but it goes without saying that the Coronavirus lockdown threw a major wrench into them!

One of the areas I’m very proud to say we’ve beaten all expectations falls under the PARTICIPATION heading: Being more visible in the community, serving our neighbors in various capacities, and living the motto “Democrats Care!”.

With our new Community Care Movement under the leadership of Wanda Moore, we’ve been absolutely knocking it out of the park – and we’re getting noticed for it! Below, you will find a number of different examples in the past few months where we’ve been out in the community making a difference.

You can help this movement continue and grow in two ways: Volunteer and Donate! We need people to help adopt a highway and keep it clean, spend time with local children, and visit our elderly citizens. We utilize a portion of your generous donations to deliver pizzas to COVID healthcare workers and to help equip our city youth football league.

Please help us continue to be a force of positive change in Greenwood County, SC year-round and not just during election cycles!

GWCDP News

At our last Breakfast Meeting, Dr. Matthew Logan spent time with us to discuss how the COVID pandemic affected Greenwood County and how the vaccination rollout is making a difference.

As a small token of thanks to Dr. Matthew Logan and the countless healthcare workers that have fought so hard to keep Greenwood County safe and healthy during the COVID pandemic, we delivered over a dozen hot pizzas on a cold rainy day to two vaccination centers. We can never thank you enough for what you’ve endured on our behalf!

In this Newsletter:

• Message from the Chair
• Candidate Updates
• GWCDP News
• Our Community
• News & Noteworthy
• Upcoming Events

Message from the Chair

Yes, a bunch of Republican Senators just went on the record saying it’s perfectly A-OK for a sitting US President to incite a mob attack on our nation’s Capitol. To be honest, there’s already so much that’s been said on that subject, I don’t think I can add any new insight or perspective. History will remember it for what it was.

Instead, I’d rather share that I’m actually feeling quite hopeful and optimistic about our future! Below, you will read about our Volunteer of the Month, Tammy Sampson. It is my view that our most precious resource in the Greenwood County Democratic Party are the volunteers. Without people like Tammy who play a role in spreading the Democratic way, we’re no more than a social club – and social clubs simply do not change the world!

As Dr. Robert Saul shared with us at our last Virtual Breakfast Meeting, everyone can play a part, no matter how big or small. Dr. Saul works to improve the community through his words and published books and letters. Tammy played her part out on the streets distributing signs and driving neighbors to the polls. 

In this newsletter, you will see many other examples of those volunteers who are making a difference one conversation, one distributed meal, one educational seminar, one poem at a time. YOU can get involved in your special way as well. Help edit a video, design a brochure, write some postcards, stuff envelopes, share a post on Facebook, represent a voting precinct, or even run for office!

If you are curious about how to get started, join me at my first ever Virtual Office Hour this Monday, Feb. 15 at 6 pm. You can connect via Zoom or call in on your phone (312) 626 6799, Meeting ID: 815 2263 4736. I truly look forward to hearing from you!

In this Newsletter:

• Message from the Chair
• GWCDP News
• News & Noteworthy
• Upcoming Events

Message from the Chair

Preparing for our monthly Virtual Breakfast Meetings is one of my favorite activites as your Chair. Some months, it is a challenge to acquire guests and produce segments of interest and value to you.

Then sometimes, like this upcoming Saturday, I am absolutely blessed with an abundance of speakers bringing valuable and timely content.

Dr. Mathew Logan will be talking about the COVID vaccine, discussing its safety, effectiveness, and availability. If you have any questions for Dr. Logan, please e-mail us at info@gwdcountydems.org by no later than 9 am on Friday, Feb 5.

We were also very fortunate to get the time of Dr. Robert Saul, an absolute treasure from Greenwood County, whose recent book “Conscious Parenting” contains a surprising and timely take on a subject that’s very relevant to our activities as a political party.

As a new Chair, I’ve been very fortunate to have made friends with other Chairs throughout the state. We’ll have an interesting and occasionally humorous roundtable with Timika Wilson of Union County and Angela Geter of Spartanburg County to get their take on Party organization and activism.

We will have a quick SC Legislative update from former candidate Dense Waldrep, commentary about the proposed SC State budget from our Treasurer, George Swindell, and of course GWCDP updates including the announcement of our Volunteer of the Month!

To get information on how to join in, please sign up via Mobilize. This service also send you e-mail reminders as the event draws close.

Of course, if you are not able to make it, all of the sessions will be available on our YouTube channel after the Breakfast Meeting. But if you join live, you will have the joy of being able to leave comments and converse with other Democrats during the broadcast!

Thank you, and I hope to see you there!

In this Newsletter:

• Message from the Executive Committee
• Candidate Updates
• GWCDP News
• Our Community
• News & Noteworthy
• Legislative Updates
• Upcoming Events

GWCDP Executive Committee Statement on the Inauguration of President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President Kamala Harris

Greenwood, S.C.— Today, the Greenwood County Democratic Party leadership issued the following statement commemorating the historic inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala D. Harris:

“Last week’s inauguration reaffirmed the strength of democracy in our great Nation and fulfilled the promises made by both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when they visited Greenwood, S.C., seeking our support.

“Just as our nation was beginning to recover from one of the darkest moments in our history, we were inspired by the inauguration of the first woman Vice President of the United States, the message of unity from our new President (a lifelong servant to American people), and the powerful words of a young African American poet that shook us to our core.

“From day one, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have built the most diverse cabinet and administration in history. The Greenwood Democrats trust the Biden-Harris administration to lead with the dignity this nation deserves. We support their efforts to eliminate racism, inequality and discrimination while facing the immense challenges of stopping COVID-19, restoring the strength of our small business, and addressing historic unemployment.

“As our new leaders prepare to guide us into a future built on facts, research and data, Greenwood Democrats are excited and inspired to support this history-making presidency.

It’s time to #BuildBackBetter.”

Candidate News

Congratulation to Ms. Patricia Partlow for being sworn in as the new Greenwood City Council representative for Ward 2!

You can watch the swearing in ceremony below: