June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month
Learn about the rescheduled Polk Pride events here.
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Polk County Democratic Party Weekly Digest: June 7-13, 2021
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Candidate and Campaign Staff Training
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Thinking of running for office or want to develop the skills to work on a campaign? Maybe you want to improve your skills before hitting the campaign trail. This training hosted by the Hillsborough County Democratic Party is for you!
To be held from 9 am to 4.30 pm on Saturday, June 19, the day of training will be conducted by Kevin Winchell, Executive Dir. of Democracy Strategies. You'll learn about fundraising, political campaign management best practices, campaign planning, and more!
Make sure to sign up early to reserve a spot.
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Juneteenth (June 19th) events are being organized at several locations in Polk County. Below are highlights from each location, followed by contact details for more information and how to get involved. The Polk County Democrats Florida Facebook page will provide further details about events in each town, in the lead-up to Juneteenth.
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Lakeland: 863-827-3934 Winter Haven: 863-291-5656
Haines City: 863-421-9963 Bartow: 863-221-4072
*Last week's digest inadvertently posted the wrong dates for events. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
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Have your say on Polk County neighborhoods and housing developments!
The Polk County Housing and Neighborhood Development Office will hold three forums to obtain feedback on how the county plans to utilize federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Home Investment Partnership (HOME) funds. These funds must primarily benefit low and moderate persons.
The first of the forums will be held from 5.30-6.30 pm on June 16, in Bartow. For more details, click here.
A copy of the draft 5-year consolidated plan can be found through this link.
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As we prepare for the 2022 mid-term elections, the Polk County DEC is seeking individuals to fill these critical volunteer positions. If you have any questions or interest, please contact the relevant person as listed.
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| Job Title |
Desirable Skillset |
Job Description |
Contact Person |
| Volunteer Coordinator |
Organized, moderate computer skill, good interpersonal communication, enjoys socializing and talking to people via text and phone |
Will take responsibility for communicating with new volunteers by text or phone, placing their data in a spreadsheet that will be used by the Office Committee. Will help new volunteers identify a job that they would like to do for the DEC and then connect them with the appropriate Club, Caucus or Committee Chair that is coordinating that job. |
Catherine Price, Chair
Polk County DEC
chairpolkdemfl@gmail.com |
| Voter Registration – Committee Chair |
Enjoys working with people, organized, moderate computer skill level, able to run trainings and communicate well with volunteers |
Will research events and locations for voter registration events throughout Polk County; work with the volunteer coordinator to build and train a team of people that work voter registration events throughout Polk County. Follow all voter registration rules and guidelines and train Voter Registration volunteers on such. |
Veysel Dokur
First Vice-Chair
Polk County DEC
vcpolkdec@gmail.com |
| Campaign & Candidate Recruitment – Committee Chair |
A connector, person that enjoys talking to people and searching various networks for possible Democratic candidates. Resourceful and a strategic, political thinker. |
Will build a team of that will search for Democratic candidates for federal, state and local elections in Polk County. Connect candidates with training and funding resources. Help develop strategies in collaboration with candidates to win campaigns. |
Karen Welzel
State Committeewoman
Polk County DEC
Kwelzel628@gmail.com |
| Legislative Liaison |
Enjoys research; detail oriented; issue driven. Good written and verbal communication skills. Able to utilize Mailchimp and other communication software. |
Will research various issues of interest to Polk County Democrats, understand the legislative process and become knowledgeable of legislation being proposed at the federal, state and local level. Provide education about important upcoming legislation through written media, programs and emails to Polk County Democrats. Encourage lobbying by Polk County Democrats. Possibly put on townhall forums to education Democrats and the community about specific issues. |
Catherine Price, Chair
Polk County DEC
chairpolkdemfl@gmail.com |
| Finance Committee Members |
Knowledgeable of financial management and fundraising process. Good computer skills. Likes to party. |
We need people to help with our financial oversight processes and by writing fundraising letters, calling donors and helping put on fundraising events. If you like to party you might be a good fit for this committee. |
Catherine Price, Chair
Polk County DEC
chairpolkdemfl@gmail.com |
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Desantis Budget Possible Thanks To Biden's American Rescue Plan
When Gov. DeSantis signed the state budget on June 2, he conveniently forgot to mention the nearly $10.2 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan that supports it. For more details and on what Florida Democrats say about this omission, click here.
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Human Rights Campaign To Sue Florida To Overturn Anti-Transgender Sports Ban
Governor DeSantis on June 1 signed a bill to ban transgender girls and women from participating in high school and secondary school sports. The signing took place on the first day of LGBTQ Pride Month and within 12 days of the anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, Florida.
Lawmakers across the country who support these bills have failed to provide examples of any issue in their states to attempt to justify these attacks on transgender youth, laying bare the reality that they are fueled by discriminatory intent and not supported by fact.
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Anti-mask group files lawsuit against Polk County schools, seeks damages
Last month, the district voted to keep its mask policy in place through the end of the school year, but to bring the matter up for discussion again at the June 8 School Board work session so the new superintendent, Frederick Heid, could participate in the discussion. For more, follow the link.
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Opinion: Demographics expected to push Florida left. Instead, they nudged it to the right.
Democrats are gaining ground in growing, urbanizing, racially diverse states. But there’s an important exception to this pattern: Florida. Check out the thoughts behind this view.
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Florida AFL-CIO launches campaign to save federal unemployment benefits
Florida is among roughly two dozen Republican-led states planning to terminate the program. In many instances, and including in Florida, Republican leaders blame the additional unemployment cash for widespread worker shortages.
Critics of that notion, however, note that Florida’s unemployment benefits are among the least generous in the nation. Click here, for more.
CALL TO ACTION > Sign The Petition To Tell Governor DeSantis: Don't Take Away Vital Relief For Working Floridians!
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Biden opposes a presidential commission for Jan. 6
President Biden has decided against appointing his own commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection and will instead increase pressure on Congress to establish a committee, White House officials tell Axios.
Some House Democrats suggested Biden create a presidential commission after Senate Republicans blocked the establishment of a bipartisan, independent panel. This decision signals his preference for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to take the lead.
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Important Dates and Meetings
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Steering Committee & Regular DEC Meetings
The next DEC Steering Committee meeting will be held on Monday, June 7th.
The next Regular DEC Meeting will be held on Monday, June 14th Click here to register.
(Regular DEC meetings are on 2nd Monday of the month)
Club & Caucus Meetings
Lake Wales Area Democratic Club - Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00 PM
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Events Calendar of Clubs and Caucuses
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Keep us up to date: If you would like to feature what your club or caucus is doing or introduce a new president, other office holder or person of interest, please send information to polkdemwd@gmail.com
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Democratic Party of Polk County, Club & Caucus Links
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Mailing Address:
Due to the pandemic the Democratic Party of Polk County has closed the office in Lakeland.
The mailing address is the following:
The Democratic Party of Polk County, 6039 Cypress Gardens Boulevard, Suite 328, Winter Haven, FL 33884
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