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New Officers and Precinct Leaders Elected at 1/13 Biennial Reorganization Meeting

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Simple (childish) clipart drawing of a blonde angel hovering with 2 pairs of wings and wearing a blue skirt, top, and shoes.The “changing of the guard” election day for Cville Dems on Jan. 13 was a great social gathering. The good cheer of the registration hour led nicely into the elections of:

Co-Chairs: Josh Throneburg and Nancy Damon
Vice-Chair: Dashad Cooper
Treasurer: Jason Vandever
Secretaries: Ruth Goldeen and Will Evans

Four appointed positions are on the Executive Committee:

Communications: Mary Jane Gore
Voter Registration: Suzanne Michels
Voter Protection:  Jeremy Jones
Fundraising:  Still seeking candidate(s) — Please contact Nancy Damon if you might be interested in helping out (e.g. brainstorming fundraising ideas)

Some new and familiar faces are taking posts as precinct officers for 2024:

Buford: Co-Chair Dashad Cooper, Co-Chair Steven Johnson
Carver: Co-Chair Lucy Pola, Co-Chair Leonard Schoppa
CHS: Co-Chair Mike Cameron, Co-Chair Ned Michie, Vice Chair Kristine Montamat
Clark: Chair Laura Shea,
Jackson-Via: Co-Chair Noemi Paz, Co-Chair Carrie Schaffer
Johnson:  Co-Chair Ivy Hinton, Co-Chair John Shepherd
Key Rec: Co-Chair Cyndy Chapman, Co-Chair Dave Chapman
Venable: Chair Lyle Solla-Yates
Walker: Co-Chair Hugh Colvin, Co-Chair James Quillen, Vice Chair Erica Goldfarb

Election Results and Meeting Report: 1/13/24 Biennial Reorganization

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Cville Dems C-Ville Weekly display ad for Rescheduled bienniel Reorganization meeting. Under the header "What Do We Want?" are stylized images for environment, economic opportunity, diversity, equity and education. Under the second header "How Will We Get It?" are photos of Donald Trump, and Bob Good with red diagonal slashmarks through their faces and a photo of a ballot box. Below is text describing when and where the Cville Dems' January 6, 2024 Reorganizational Meeting is being held and how it works, and the Dems logo is given at the bottom with the note saying that this ad was paid for by the Charlottesville Democratic Committee.We had a wonderful gathering Saturday afternoon for our the biennnial Reorganization Meeting.
Election results (please congratulate and thank these good people when you see them next!):
  • Co-Chairs: Josh Throneberg and Nancy Damon
  • Vice Chair: Dashad Cooper
  • Treasurer: Jason Vandever
  • Co-Secretaries: Ruth Goldeen and Will Evans
Turnout was good with many, many new faces. Outgoing chair John McLaren asked which attendees had never been to a Dems meeting and a forest of hands went up.
Thanks to everyone who signed up Saturday to volunteer for a role in the 2024 campaign; please invite your friends to join you, we’ll need even more people to get involved if we’re going to save our democracy by winning in the November election!!

Thanks also to all of the former leadership team for their hard work in organizing the event, especially John and Nancy Damon and Mary Ann Harris (stepping down from Secretary but taking on the important role of Vice-Chair of Records). Thanks also to Josh Throneburg and his wife Minhee who brought scones and drinks, Nancy Damon who brought cookies and other snacks, and Kevin Lynch who brought cider and arranged for musicians to play during the sign-in hour. Ann Goedde and John Shepherd helped with setup and cleanup, Llezelle Dugger helped with dues collection, and Dashad Cooper, Carrie Schaffer, and Abdulla Al Kaisi helped check people in.

POSTPONED to Saturday Jan. 13: Reorganization Meeting (with music and food!)

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Cville Dems C-Ville Weekly display ad for Rescheduled bienniel Reorganization meeting. Under the header "What Do We Want?" are stylized images for environment, economic opportunity, diversity, equity and education. Under the second header "How Will We Get It?" are photos of Donald Trump, and Bob Good with red diagonal slashmarks through their faces and a photo of a ballot box. Below is text describing when and where the Cville Dems' January 6, 2024 Reorganizational Meeting is being held and how it works, and the Dems logo is given at the bottom with the note saying that this ad was paid for by the Charlottesville Democratic Committee.Rescheduled Date/Time: NEXT Saturday January 13 BUT start time moved to 2pm (you will need to arrive before 3pm to vote!). The City closed Carver Rec, we had no choice but to cancel.

Location: Carver Recreation Center, 233 4th Street, NW

Pushed back one week, still a great opportunity for new people with new ideas to get involved!!

Schedule:

  • During the 2-3pm registration hour we’ll be chatting with attendees and signing up volunteers. We’ll have light food (fresh apple juice, coffee, and homemade scones) and probably some live acoustic music. Current precinct committee members should arrive early to greet attendees, especially those new to us, and help them find the volunteer signup table(s) that match their interest(s) such as GOTV, event planning, helping with petitions, media, etc.
  • At 3pm sharp, the doors close (no one arriving after 3pm will be allowed in) and we switch over to election business (should only take about an hour):
  1. Attendees who we’ve signed in by 3pm will elect Precinct Representatives, who then choose either a chair or two co-chairs for each precinct. Anyone who lives in and is registered to vote in Charlottesville is eligible to stand for election to become a member of our committee and have a voice in shaping our local party’s actions and positions on issues.
  2. The Precinct Representatives and ex officio members, who together make up the Charlottesville Democratic Committee (“The Full Committee”), will then elect candidates for the following offices (listed with all candidates who have so far generously offered to run for them):

Co-Chairs: Josh Throneburg and Nancy Damon
Vice-Chair: still seeking candidate(s)
Treasurer: Jason Vandever is willing to stay on
Secretary: still seeking candidate(s)

Note that we have four other positions on the Executive Committee that are appointed, not elected:

Communications: Mary Jane Gore has volunteered to serve.
Voter Registration: Suzanne Michels is willing to stay on,
Voter Protection: Jeremy Jones is willing to stay on.
Fundraising: still seeking candidate(s).

Layperson descriptions of these various offices are on our website; full descriptions of the precinct roles (and officer roles) are in our bylaws.

These “changing of the guard” elections are critically important for every organization, including ours; it’s always important to have fresh faces and new ideas in the leadership mix.

To put it bluntly, we need you! We all know that the 2024 election will be a struggle for the future of this country. If we don’t grow the party (bring in new people with new energy and ideas), we’ll have to live with a re-elected President Trump and more MAGA extremists in all branches of government. If that’s not an acceptable future to you, then please rise to the challenge and play a part!

  • If you’re on our mailing list but haven’t ever gotten formally involved, this pivotal election year would be a really good time to give engagement a small try! Two of the ways you might do this (neither a big time commitment):
  • become a precinct representative, which gives you a voice in shaping the party, and plugs you into our volunteer network and all the practical ways you can work for good.
  • join one of our teams (Communications, Voter Registration, Voter Protection, etc.).
  • If you’re already a little bit involved, contribute just a bit more by joining a precinct committee or taking on one of our open leadership positions.
  • If you know people who you think could make good contributions to the Cville Dems, encourage them to come check us out (all of our meetings are public, including January 6).

If you’d like more information or have a question about a role you might consider taking, please contact John McLaren as soon as possible at cvilledemschair@gmail.com, and he’ll be happy to explain all.

CALL TO CAUCUS TO REORGANIZE THE CHARLOTTESVILLE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE 2024-2025

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Cville Dems blue and white round logo reading C'Ville DemsCALL TO CAUCUS
TO REORGANIZE THE
CHARLOTTESVILLE DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
2024-2025

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee (“Cville Dems”) will hold an assembled caucus on Saturday, January 6, 2024, from 2:00pm-4:00pm at the Carver Recreation Center, 233 4th Street, NW, Charlottesville, VA 22902, for the sole purpose of electing precinct representatives and alternates to the 2024-2025 Charlottesville Democratic Committee, as authorized by the Charlottesville Democratic Committee Bylaws and the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan. The doors at Carver will open at 1:00pm and close at 2:00pm sharp so the caucus can begin (see below).

Please take a moment to go to this Facebook Event listing to indicate that you’ll be attending; we want to get a big turnout from both currently active members and newcomers, so the more RSVPs the better!!Cville Dems C-Ville Weekly display ad. Under the header "What Do We Want?" are stylized images for environment, economic opportunity, diversity, equity and education. Under the second header "How Will We Get It?" are photos of Donald Trump, and Bob Good with red diagonal slashmarks through their faces and a photo of a ballot box. Below is text describing when and where the Cville Dems' January 6, 2024 Reorganizational Meeting is being held and how it works, and the Dems logo is given at the bottom with the note saying that this ad was paid for by the Charlottesville Democratic Committee.

Notice Requirements

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee shall cause to be published the time, date and location of the caucus at least seven (7) days prior to the caucus. All notices shall be published on the Democratic Party of Virginia’s website (www.vademocrats.org) as well as the website of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee (www.cvilledems.org), and a related press release shall be provided to all relevant newspapers of general circulation in the locality of Charlottesville.

Eligibility

Every Democrat who is a registered voter in the City of Charlottesville is urged to attend and participate. If an individual does not appear on the Registered Voter List, they will not be allowed to participate. Participants will also be required to sign a Caucus Participation Form stating that they:

  1. Are a Democrat;
  2. Are a registered voter within the City of Charlottesville, and indicating their voting precinct;
  3. Believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and
  4. Do not intend to support any candidates opposed to a Democratic nominee in the next ensuing election.

Membership allocation

The elected membership of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee is allocated among the City’s voting precincts, and the caucus participants from each precinct will elect their precinct’s representatives.  The number of positions within each precinct shall be as follows: Key Recreation, 16;  Clark, 13;  Carver, 8; Venable, 6; Jackson-Via, 13; Johnson, 9; Buford, 8; Charlottesville High School, 17; Walker, 10.

Conduct of the caucus

The doors to the caucus will open at 1:00pm and close at 2:00pm sharp.  Upon the closing of the doors, only those participants who have registered, or are in line to register, will be permitted to participate.

The Chair of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee or his designee shall be the Temporary Chair of the Caucus and shall appoint a Temporary Secretary and such other Temporary Officers of the Caucus as is deemed appropriate. Until the adoption of Caucus Rules, the order of the caucus shall be determined by the Chair of the Caucus, subject to the approval of the caucus participants, Robert’s Rules of Order, and the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan.

There is no charge to participate in the caucus.  Annual dues are expected from those who are elected as precinct representatives or alternates (Bylaws Section 3.07). If payment of dues would cause hardship to a precinct representative or alternate, s/he may request a waiver from the Chair or Co-Chairs, once elected.

Determination of winners

In the event that fewer people stand as candidates for a precinct than the number of positions in that precinct, those candidates shall be declared the winners.  If there are more candidates than positions within a precinct, the candidates will be elected by a plurality of the votes of the Democrats from that precinct who are present at the assembled caucus.  Vacancies may be filled by the new committee at the first meeting following the election of Officers.

Commitment to diversity

It shall be the duty and goal of all members of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee to seek out and encourage the broadest possible participation within the committee, and in its membership, of all duly qualified citizens without regard to race, sex, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic identity, disability, or economic status.

Officer Elections

Immediately following the adjournment of the assembled caucus, the newly formed Charlottesville Democratic Committee will meet for the sole purpose of electing the officers of the committee.  All nominations will be made from the floor of the meeting (Bylaws Section 3.06).

Those interested in participating can contact the party for more information at cvilledemschair@gmail.com.

___________________________________

John McLaren, Chair
Charlottesville Democratic Committee