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Highlights
TICKETS GOING FAST!
Monroe County Democratic Party

Roosevelt Reception
Feat. Indiana Secretary of State Candidate Destiny Wells
US Senate Candidate Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott


Thursday April 7, 2022
6:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Candidates' Social Hour/Hors d'Oeuvres: 6:00 PM
Program: 7:00 PM

Monroe Convention Center 302 S College Ave, Bloomington, IN 47403

Individual Tickets - $35
Sponsorship starts at $150
Click Here for Registration

Your Monroe County Democratic Party is back in person for our newly re-imagined "Roosevelt Reception" annual spring event. Join MCDP and guest speakers for an evening exploring Bloomington's voice in international affairs. We welcome Dr. Elizabeth Dunn with Bloomington Refugee Support Network to share how our community has come together in support of refugees, and we welcome local voices tied to Ukraine and who volunteered to provide relief to Afghan refugees at Camp Atterbury.

In 1950, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to Bloomington to present on US-Soviet relations at IU. We honor her time here in establishing the "Eleanor Roosevelt Keynote," with inaugural speaker Destiny Wells, a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserve, attorney, Truman National Security Project alumna, and our next Indiana Secretary of State. Our next US Senator, Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott, will also deliver the Four Freedoms Remarks.
 
Prior to the program, attendees will have a chance to "speed date" the local candidates and compete for a chance to win door prizes! And follow us on social media as "Eleanor" continues "tour" around Bloomington! #whereiseleanor
 
MCDP Central Committee
First Quarterly Meeting
Saturday April 23, 2022
11:30AM
Monroe County Courthouse Nat U Hill Room
As part of the Chair's commitment to bring transparency and reform to party practices, the MCDP Central Committee, composed of precinct committeepersons and vice precinct committeepersons, will meet in caucus to conduct business. The agenda and business packet will be sent to the PCPs in separate communications. The party will vote on procedural policy for the MCDP and also entertain resolutions to be distributed for consideration. If you have any questions or a submission of a resolution for consideration, email information@monroedems.org
Contact Herald Times About Letters to the Editor Policy Changes.

MCDP Chair Calls On All Democrats for Action to Restore Community Voices in the Primary Election


The Herald Times Editorial Board announced this week a new policy that will batch all political letters to the editor (LTE) to one day a month.

This practice means that our candidates, campaigns, and supporters will have only one day in the last 40 days of the election cycle to speak out in this traditional forum for our candidates. This policy impacts every campaign, and further erodes our community voice in our local paper.
  • Candidates who find an unfavorable letter may not be able to even see a response published for a month.
  • Candidates who have supporters planning a traditional campaign of daily LTEs to the paper in the weeks before the election will lose out.
  • We may only have one day before the Primary to see another round of support letters in our local paper.
Please call and email Jill Bond to reconsider her decision to limit LTEs on political candidates to once a month, and return to the practice of one letter per author per month, published first come, first served. And more importantly, start writing your LTEs now, before April 1. The Herald Times has indicated that a lack of LTEs led to this change. A surge in LTEs could restore the long-standing policy that assures our First Amendment speech in our local journal of record.

Jill Bond is news director for The Herald-Times. She can be reached at 812-331-4364 or jbond@heraldt.com.
 
Opportunities


Poll Inspectors, Clerks, Sheriffs, and Judges Needed

The primary election is almost here! Orion Saft is back as our Election Day Poll Recruiter to coordinate polling place staff at the nearly 30 polling locations for Election Day in May. Democrats always step up and we need you to dig in.

If you are interested, please contact Orion at mcdempollrecruiter@gmail.com as soon as possible.

City of Bloomington Redistricting Commission

The Bloomington Common Council is still accepting applications for the newly created Citizens Redistricting Advisory Commission, an independent, politically-balanced body whose purpose is to recommend new boundaries that divide the city into six council districts following the 2020 Census. This Commission has a specialized application which can be found here.

Serve on a County Board or Commission

Monroe County Board of Commissioners are looking for county residents to serve on Monroe County Boards and Commissions.  There are vacancies on the following:
 
Redevelopment Commission
Board of Zoning Appeals
Environmental Commission
Animal Management Board
Human Rights Commission
South Central Regional Sewer District
Affordable Housing Advisory Commission
Substance Use Disorder Advisory Commission
Women's Commission
Drainage Board
Licensing Board
 
If you are interested in applying, please complete the application at https://www.co.monroe.in.us/egov/documents/1578662413_72061.pdf

Resources
Get Trained: Ninth District DemU Classes Now through April
Monroe County Democrats will lead numerous 9th District-wide trainings over the next month. Join Cory Ray, Kaisa Goodman, Trent Deckard, Sarah Bauerle Danzman, and Will Smith among others to train up for this year's election cycle. Details here.
MCDP has posted the new precinct maps for 2022-2032 on our website. These files can be printed off for precinct committee person or candidate walks, or accessed via phone. Thank you to Ashley Pirani and Monroe County Government for working on this format and vital resource for our campaigns and committee work. 

Campaign and Candidate Info now on MonroeDems.org

MCDP will provide daily candidate filings on our website for the Month of January. In addition, under candidate info tab, you can find a list of seats up for election in 2022, listings for officially filed candidates (updated bi-weekly) and general candidate information including forms, state guidelines, campaign finance guides and state delegate information. Check out the additions to the website here.

State Delegate Planning

So you filed for State Delegate. Now what?

MCDP will hold a meeting for our eventual delegation after the May Primary. Delegates are reminded there is a modest fee of $35 to help defray the costs of the party convention after the primary. For financial hardship or questions on the fee structure, please contact chair@monroedems.org.

In the meantime, all Democrats are encouraged to review and comment on the State Party Platform, which will be voted upon by the State Convention in June.

Please check out the Platform on the IDP website, here.

MCDP VAN Office Hours

MCDP's Deputy Chair for Operations Cory Ray will hold office hours by appointment to review VAN, offer pro tips on setting up lists, and more. To schedule, reach out to deputychairops@monroedems.org.

MCDP VAN Access for PCPs and Candidates

Are you a Candidate needing VAN Access help? Have questions on costs? Send requests to deputychairops@monroedems.org.

Precinct Committeepersons can be added to our county committee upon training. Candidates will need to sign forms and make payments to the Indiana Democratic Party prior to sign off by the county chair.

Upcoming
Join the College Democrats at IU for some ice cream and a chance to chat with candidates! RSVP here.
Candidate, caucus, and campaign events can be found on our
community calendar. Click this button for access.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Have an event? Contact information@monroedems.org or fill out this form.
Donate

Thank you to our Four Freedoms Circle donors who contribute monthly to MCDP! In January 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt first spoke of the FOUR FREEDOMS in his state of the Union address.  He proposed four fundamental freedoms that people everywhere in the world should enjoy: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom From Want, and Freedom From Fear. Our belief in the Four Freedoms is fundamental to our identity as Democrats.  In much the same way, our sustaining donors – those who choose to support the Monroe County Democratic Party through ongoing, monthly gifts – are fundamental to the work we do every single day.  When you choose to make monthly gifts through ActBlue, our online giving portal, you provide critical support for the infrastructure, space, and staff on which we rely in all our work.

To make a donation and sign up for a recurring contribution, click here

DONATE NOW
Click this button to donate through ActBlue.

THANK YOU

“For the Millions” donors ($25/month)
Phil and Elaine Amerson
Ruth Aydt
Sarah Bauerle Danzman
Richard Bauman & Beverly Stoeltje
Nicole Browne
Sarah Bruner
Dan Combs
Jennifer Crossley
Trent & Kyla Cox Deckard
Penny Githens
Kaisa Goodman & Nico Sigler
David G. Henry
Don & Carol-Anne Hossler
Peter Iversen & Leah Sinn Iversen
Jeff & Kim Kehr
Jessica McClellan
J. Apple Muncy
Cheryl Munson
Ashley Pirani
Eric Schmitz
Sue Sgambelluri
William Smith
Brad & Amy Swain
Christine Talley Haseman
Julie Thomas
Sue Wanzer & Melanie Payne
John Zody
Dion Baker

"New Deal” donors ($50/month)
Ashley Cranor
Lorraine Merriman Farrell
Lee Jones
Angie Purdie
Judy Sharp
Jim & Doris Sims
Catherine Stafford
Mark Stoops
Shelli Yoder & Josh Perry

“Franklin and Eleanor” donors ($75/month)
Betsy Greene
Geoff McKim

*as of 2/1/2022

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Monroe County Democratic Party
116 S Madison St, Bloomington, IN 47404, United States

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