Polk County Democratic Party Weekly Digest: January 28th - February 3rd, 2024
May the groundhog's shadow be the biggest darkness we face this year!
All Vote By Mail requests expired after the 2022 General Election! Click here to request a VBM Ballot now.
|
|
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 13th- Florida Southern College, Lakeland- Celebration of Black Jazz Composers Concert
Saturday, February 17th- First Baptist Missionary Church of Winter Haven- Heritage Day Festival
Saturday, February 24th- Eatonville Chamber of Commerce- Black History Speaks
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
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- Special Order Calendar in House (2nd reading)
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
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
|
|
|
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
January 28th- February 3rd, 2024
Office Committee Meeting
Tuesday, January 30th, 1:30pm
To attend, email Kathy Sites at secpolkdec@gmail.com
Lake Ashton Democratic Club
Thursday, February 1st, 6:00pm
Speaker: Former Lake Wales City Commissioner Terrye Howell
Lakeland Democratic Club
Thursday, February 1st, 6:30pm
Location: coHatch Lakeland
211 E Main Street, Lakeland, FL 33801
Masquerade Ball Committee
Friday, February 2nd, 2:30pm
To attend, email Barbara Harris at bharrispublicitychair@gmail.com
|
|
Civic Activities around the Area
January 28th- February 3rd, 2024
Haines City Commission Meeting
Thursday, February 1st, 7pm
Lakeland First Friday
Friday, February 2nd, 6pm
|
|
|
Democratic Party of Polk County, Club & Caucus Links
|
|
|
If you would like to know more about a caucus or club which does not have a hyperlink, please email PolkCountyDemocrats@gmail.com
|
|
|
Paid Political Advertisement for the Democratic Party of Polk County
6039 Cypress Gardens, PMB 328, Winter Haven, FL 33884
|
|
|
|
|
