Polk County Democratic Party Weekly Digest: February 4th - February 10th, 2024
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FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
The overarching theme in 2024 is "African Americans and the Arts". Various national organizations are sponsoring events throughout the month that center around the arts.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Museum of Florida History
Local communities and organizations will also be hosting events throughout the month to celebrate the achievements, honor the resilience and acknowledge the struggles faced by blacks and African Americans in Florida and the United States. We will highlight events throughout the month as they are announced!
Tuesday, February 6th, 5:30pm- Winter Haven Public Library- The Destruction of Rosewood
Tuesday, February 13th, 7:30pm- Florida Southern College, Lakeland- Celebration of Black Jazz Composers Concert
Saturday, February 17th, 10am- Black History Festival, Jackson Park, Lakeland
Saturday, February 17th, 10:30am- First Baptist Missionary Church of Winter Haven- Heritage Day Festival
Saturday, February 24th- Eatonville Chamber of Commerce- Black History Speaks
Tuesday, February 27th, 11:30am- AAUW Lake Wales Commemoration of Black History Month
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FEBRUARY 2024 GENERAL DEC MEETING
Monday, February 12th, 6:30pm
Hybrid: In person at coHatch Lakeland and also on Zoom
We invite you to attend our February general monthly meeting of the Polk DEC.
February's meeting will be our first hybrid event of 2024! We will meet at coHatch Lakeland, located at 211 E Main Street and also on Zoom. This month we welcome Kristellys Estanga, Director of Voter Registration for the Florida Democratic Party, as our guest speaker. Kris will update us on the latest developments to close the gap in party registration and provide more information regarding our newest resource for voter contact, the Reach app!
 
The Zoom Room will open at 6:15pm. Join the meeting anytime between 6:15pm - 6:30pm to be sure you are able to sign in & that your video & microphone work.
To sign via Mobilize, click this LINK
In Solidarity,
The Polk Democratic Executive Committee
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APRIL 2024 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
Our next round of municipal elections are just around the corner in
BARTOW
DAVENPORT
EAGLE LAKE
FROSTPROOF
HAINES CITY
LAKE HAMILTON
LAKE WALES
POLK CITY
Candidates have begun to emerge in a few of the races and we will keep our readers updated on who is running and what they stand for as office seekers.
The DEC will be texting voters to remind them to vote in the municipal elections and to also sign up for Vote by Mail ballots. If you would like to help with texting campaigns, please let Barbara Harris (vicechair1@polkdemocrats.net) or Kathy Sites (secpolkdec@gmail.com) know.
YOUR VOTE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE! KNOW WHO IS SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY!
The next meeting of the Campaign and Candidate Recruitment Committee will be Wednesday, February 14th at 3pm via Zoom.
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The 2024 Florida Legislative Session began Tuesday, January 9th and true to form, has been an assault on citizens across our state. We will provide updates on the progress of both good and bad legislation. Here is a sampling of heinous bills that have been filed and where they currently sit in the legislative process:
HB 49: Employment and Curfew of Minors- removes restrictions from 16 and 17 year olds working 40 hours per week
02/01/2024- passed the House with a vote of 80 to 35
HB 599: Gender Identity Employment Practices- being touted as "Don't Say Gay or Trans in the Workplace 3.0"
No movement
HB 1223: Minimum Age for Firearm Purchase or Transfer- drops the minimum age from 21 to 18
01/30/2024- Criminal Justice Subcommittee meeting, Passed with a vote of 11 to 5
HB 1233: Biological Sex- Bans any Floridian from having any government identification that lists their sex as different from their live birth certificate and forces individuals who are transgender to be identified by their birth sex on all identification
No movement
HB 1519: Termination of Pregnancies- Bans all abortions from the moment of conception unless the mother is in danger of imminent death and makes criminal prescribing, selling or shipping medication used in the abortion process to anyone in Florida
No movement
SB 1752: Elections- will narrow Vote by Mail ability to a certain few groups and require signing up before every individual election that occurs
No movement
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The Polk County Democrats next monthly general meeting will be at 6:30pm, Monday, February 12th, 2024 at coHatch in Lakeland and also on Zoom. coHatch is located at 211 E Main Street, Lakeland, FL 33801.
Club, Caucus and Committee Meetings
February 4th- February 10th, 2024
DEC Steering Committee Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 6:30pm
Masquerade Ball Committee
Friday, February 9th, 2:30pm
To attend, email Barbara Harris at bharrispublicitychair@gmail.com
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Civic Activities around the Area
February 4th- February 10th, 2024
Auburndale City Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 7pm
Bartow City Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 6pm
Davenport City Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 7pm
Eagle Lake Town Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 7pm
Frostproof Town Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 6pm
Lakeland City Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 9am
Lake Alfred City Commission Meeting
Monday, February 5th, 7pm
Lake Hamilton Town Council Meeting
Tuesday, February 6th, 6pm
Lake Wales City Commission Meeting
Tuesday, February 6th, 6pm
Polk County Commission Meeting
Tuesday, February 6th, 9am
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Democratic Party of Polk County, Club & Caucus Links
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If you would like to know more about a caucus or club which does not have a hyperlink, please email PolkCountyDemocrats@gmail.com
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Paid Political Advertisement for the Democratic Party of Polk County
6039 Cypress Gardens, PMB 328, Winter Haven, FL 33884
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