See you at Rachel's again this Friday!
March DWC Breakfast Meeting - Vote for Endorsement:
DWC members will receive a ballot, listing all candidates who applied for endorsement and indicating which candidates are recommended for endorsement by the Endorsement Committee (see details below). Members who paid during or before Feb. 6 meeting may vote on which candidates will receive endorsement.
There will be a special email on Wednesday with Endorsement Committee recommendations.
Help support your progressive, pro-choice women candidates!
IN THIS ISSUE
Friday Breakfast
The Endorsement Process
Upcoming Events of Interest
Membership Report
Action Item
FRIDAY BREAKFAST – Municipal Women Candidates and a Start to Women’s History Month!
On Friday, March 6th, we’ll be hearing a recommendation report from the Endorsement Committee, and each candidate who has applied for an endorsement will have a chance to speak and answer a few questions. Details and balloting instructions (including an email-in ballot for those who can’t attend) will follow in a special WEDNESDAY newsletter dedicated to this important activity.
While ballots are being counted on Friday morning, we’ll be kicking off Women’s History Month with Glenda Murray, a local historian. Glenda has done extensive research in history, especially local history and will be telling us of the history of women in the political world in Monroe County…. starting with the early suffragists that invited Susan B Anthony to come to Bloomington to persuade men to allow women the right to vote! Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to hear about the women who shaped Bloomington BEFORE the wonderful women on the cover of this month’s Bloom Magazine!
THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS
It's a great achievement that the DWC has grown into such a vibrant organization in Monroe County over the past decade. Our mission is to fund, inspire, recruit, support and train progressive, pro-choice Democratic women to run for office. Women need to have a seat at the table in local government, to ensure there is a platform for women's voices in our community. From the beginning, we knew that one of the things we need to do is to raise money to help women win. To determine the candidates worthy of support, we developed an endorsement process. As Julia Carson said at our very first Equality Day Dinner, "Not just any woman will do."
The endorsement process is a rigorous one. It uses a committee to vet and interview candidates in person. They make a recommendation for endorsement to the DWC membership. But the committee is just one important step in the process. The final decision on endorsement rests in the hands of our members. We currently have 120 members whose votes (and voices) count in this process.
The DWC also serves to inspire women to run for office. We make the effort to ask active, community-minded Democratic women "have you considered running for office?" and helping them with that consideration. We recognize that our efforts to inspire women to run for office may result in a contested primary. Primaries provide a platform for each candidate to share their values, ideas and ideals with the voters. And in May, it is up to the voters in the community to have their votes (and voices) counted.
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 3 Women’s Leadership Development Event starting at 5:00 at City Hall
Reception and Networking will precede the presentation of the Emerging Leader Award to Alycin Bektesh. The theme for the event is “Lead with a Story,” and includes presentations from Dr. Audrey T. McClluskey, Caroline Dowd-Higgins and Jessica Levandoski. For more information see: https://www.facebook.com/events/1374949316146173
March 5 Democracy for Monroe County’s Link-Up will be at Bobby’s Colorado Steakhouse 6-7:30 p.m. The topic will be local public transportation a panel of Kerry Conway (Director of Area 10 Agency on Aging, the provider of Rural Transit), Lew May (General Manager of Bloomington Transportation), and Kent McDaniel (executive director of the Indiana Transportation Association and chair of the Bloomington MPO). They will discuss existing services, possible expansion plans and statewide funding issues related to public transportation.
March 7 League of Women Voters Legislative Update, 9:30 am at City Hall Council Chambers. Legislators who serve Monroe County are invited to share information regarding the State Legislative activities, and answer questions from citizens.
March 10 Democratic Club hosts two mayoral candidates. The monthly meeting for March will be Tuesday, March 10th at the American Legion hall on W 3rd Street. The luncheon will begin at 11:30. The cost is $8. You do not have to buy lunch in order to attend the meeting. This month's meeting is a week earlier because of Spring Break. Speakers will be two candidates for mayor, John Hamilton and Darryl Neher. Please RSVP to Marcia Harlow at [email protected] so that they can plan for food.
March 13, March 14 The Indiana Federation of Democratic Women will hold their Spring Conference in conjunction with the National Federation of Democratic Women. Jennie Blackton, Democratic Media Consultant, and Vergie Rollins, the DNC Black Caucus Chair and NFDW PAC Chair will speak along with Beth White, Ali Zuidervliet, Annie Mansfield and State Representative Melanie Wright.
More information about cost, program and accommodations can be found at Indiana Democratic Federation of Women at their website: www.ifdw.org
March 25 Women's History Month Lunch, 11:30 am, Convention Center. Tickets are $20 and are on sale now. They are available in the Community and Family Resources Department at City Hall. Keynote Speaker will be Jennie Vaughan, the Chancellor of Ivy Tech in Bloomington. A highlight of the luncheon each year is the presentations of the Woman of the Year Award and the Lifetime Contribution Award. This year Valeri Haughton-Motley and Dana Watters will receive these awards. For more information about the Lunch or the Commission on the Status of Women, please contact Sue Owens at 812.349.3468 or [email protected].
Membership Report
Currently the DWC is over 120 paid members strong! Support from dues and donations and fundraisers help us fund our endorsed candidates, and allow the DWC to hold trainings, seminars, special events to encourage and hopefully inspire women to become involved in the political process.
Yes, you can join any time in the year, although in order to vote in Friday's endorsement process, one should have already become a member. We are still taking membership dues for 2015 ($20 for one year’s membership). 22 members have already joined using our new, easy online method.
We value you, and appreciate your participation and membership and support of our mission
– THANK YOU Lu Cregar, Treasurer
NOTE: Nation Builder database has problems with some email addresses. If you have an Indiana University account, please provide us an alternate email such as gmail, yahoo, hot mail, att or other.
Action Item!
From weareultraviolet.org
The U.S. Senate is going to vote on legislation that could help significantly reduce sexual assault and intimate partner violence in schools across America. The Teach Safe Relationships Act will insure that age-appropriate, comprehensive information is presented to students in their high school health classes. Sign the petition here:
Take Action +
And here's a sample email you can send to your friends:
This is HUGE: the U.S. Senate is going to vote on legislation that could help significantly reduce sexual assault and intimate partner violence in schools across America.
Women aged 16-24 are most likely to survive sexual assault and intimate partner violence, and yet their high school sex ed curriculum fails to teach consent or cover information about safe relationships. That's why I signed a petition in support of the Teach Safe Relationships Act. Will you join me to make sure it passes the Senate?
http://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/teach_consent/
Do you have news items?
Send your items of interest to us at [email protected].
Deadline for MMN is noon on Sunday.
Democratic Women's Caucus
http://www.democraticwomenscaucus.org/