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):
- 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.
- 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.
