McDowell County Democratic Party Monthly Meeting June 27th, 2022 - Marion Community Building

𝗠𝗰𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗬

𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟳𝘁𝗵, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 -
𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴

Thanks to all who attended our monthly meeting. It was great to see some new faces and familiar faces returning.

Welcome and thank you to Hugh Franklin, our new MCDP Secretary! Hugh is a veteran of McDowell County politics and brings knowledge and experience to the team. We appreciate him being willing to fill the position.

Ron Sinclair gave a presentation on the book "Dirt Road Revival" that was engaging and very interesting.

The book stresses that we should be building relationships with our neighbors and breaking down the barriers that divide us.

Ron challenged attendees to avoid gutter politics and find common ground with Republicans and talk about Democratic goals such as better paying jobs, improving public education, a clean environment, better healthcare, diversity and inclusivity, and equal voting rights.

The next discussion was about what we have to do here in McDowell, to support our local candidates.

One good suggestion is a voting strategy called “undervoting.”

That’s when you vote for only one candidate, even though your ballot allows you to vote for 2 or more. Voting for a single candidate strengthens your vote for the candidate you strongly support. This would help Democratic candidates, Phillip Price who is running for County Commissioner, and Michelle Price, running for School Board.

Billy Martin addressed attendees briefly and reported that his “Campaign Kickoff” and “Fish Fry” had been overwhelming successes. He reminded us that he wouldn’t “tear down” his opponent but would not shy away from pointing out the extreme political ideas his opponent supports, such as arming teachers.

In Other Discussion: Newcomer, Ashley Carson, who heads up a group called McDowell NC Women’s Rights Group, is going to work on getting a Young Democrats Group going again and help with social media.

Jennifer Howerth gave the treasurer’s report.

Elizabeth Gibbs gave a report on the work of the Voter Registration and Engagement Team and our Volunteer Heroes who worked so hard and represented us so well at the WMCF Juneteenth Festival.

Susan Elliott reported on the impressive progress on the Crooked Creek Precinct Resolutions that were adopted at this year’s convention.
She also announced the formation of a “Letters” Committee that will write letters to the editor, legislators, and articles for our website.

Teri Stahara reported on a letter-writing campaign she had embarked on personally and noted that one of the recipients of an invitation she sent out was in attendance.
Great job, Teri!

Ron Sinclair agreed to head up several upcoming fundraising efforts and quite a few volunteers voiced their eagerness to help with those.

With that, a very productive meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm.

We would love to hear from you and hope to see you soon. Write us at mcdowelldems@gmail.com.

Don’t forget to check out our website www.mcdems.com for all sorts of beneficial information.

Thanks to all.
Happy Independence Day!

Next meeting - 6:30 pm, July 25th at the Marion Community Building