How can we maximize the Hispanic Vote in 2020? Special Guest–Professor Eduardo Gamarra, PHD, Full tenured professor of Political Science Florida International University’s Department of Politics and International Relations will fill us in on the results of his extensive research and polling of Hispanic demographics and voting.
In addition to his wide ranging consulting work in Latin America and the Caribbean, (which includes testifying before Congress) on such diverse areas as Drug Trafficking, violence and revolution, and authoritarianism, Dr Gamarra also focuses on political culture, campaign and elections.
Emerald Hills Country Club, 4100 North Hills Drive, Please RSVP to Muriel Kirschner 954-963-6891 $18 per person The caterer really insists on k nowing how many to prepare for
Good evening, everybody! Donald Trump wants to build a wall on our border with Mexico. Congress disagrees and refuses to give him the money to build that wall. So he exceeds his constitutional authority and declares a national emergency in order to try to redirect money designated for other projects to pay for that wall. Then the House of Representatives passes a resolution disapproving of this attempt to divert funds. And now, the Republican-controlled Senate has also voted to overturn Trump's declaration of a national emergency, with 12 Republicans siding with Senate Democrats! I am so encouraged by the passage of this resolution, that I am going to suggest something I don't believe I have ever suggested before: Praise Marco Rubio! Yes, I am going to call Marco Rubio's Office to thank him for his courageous vote and for putting the Constitution ahead of his allegiance to Donald Trump. If enough people contact Rubio to thank him, maybe in future votes, he'll again put the country first. Marco Rubio: 202-224-3041 (DC); 305-418-8553 (Miami) And if you live in any of the following states where a Republican Senator supported the resolution of disapproval, call up and give them a shout-out: Kansas (Jerry Moran); Tennessee (Lamar Alexander); Missouri (Roy Blunt); Maine (Susan Collins); Utah (Mike Lee and Mitt Romney); Alaska (Lisa Murkowski); Pennsylvania (Patrick Toomey); Ohio (Rob Portman); Kentucky (Rand Paul); and Mississippi (Roger Wicker). This has been another good week for voter registration and petition collection. With the help of Lonnie Supnick, Marsha Eisenberg, Michael Goldfarb, Lauren Tate, and Debra Longberg, we registered 7 voters (including 2 felons!) and collected 129 Medicaid Expension petitions. We will be out at the West Regional Courthouse again next Monday and Wednesday, March 18th and 20th, from 10 AM to 2 PM. As always, we will have our canopy to protect is from the sun, a table and chairs for people to use while registering, and all the voter registration and petition forms we need. The only additional thing we need is for you to come out and join us (even for 2 hours). Please let me know when you can help out! One last thing: If you believe that arming teachers in Florida schools is a terrible idea, please sign the following petition (Thank you, Kathryn Reeve) and forward the link to your contacts:
Hello, everybody! It was another good week at the West Regional Courthouse. Along with our wonderful volunteers Lonnie Supnick, Beth Mumby, Marsha Eisenberg, Michael Goldfarb, Lauren Tate, and Debra Longberg, we registered 13 voters (including 3 felons!) and collected 114 Medicaid Expansion petitions. We will be back at the Courthouse on Monday and Wednesday, March 11th & 13th, from 10 AM to 2 PM, and we can sure use your help. Let me know. And for all members of the Plantation Democratic Club, Tuesday night starting at 7 PM, we will be electing officers and Board members. Come out and vote! As always, we meet at the Deicke Auditorium, 5701 Cypress Road in Plantation. Alan
The West Broward Democratic Club, (WBDC), will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, at 07:00 PM. The meeting will be at the Sunrise Soccer Club, 10200 Sunset Strip, in Sunrise.
This month’s guest speakers include City of Sunrise Police Chief, Anthony Rosa, and the Broward County Property Appraisor, Marty Kiar. Club Vice President Patti Lynn will be speaking about the Community Rally on April 7th.
Please be sure to attend this very important meeting.
Quick story about why I will vote for Scott J. Brook to be the next mayor of Coral Springs, in the special election following the death of Skip Campbell.
My wife and I first met Scott at a Democratic organizing event when John Kerry was running for president. During a lull in the proceedings, when other attendees had broken off into caucuses we weren’t involved in, we struck up a conversation with Scott and he said one thing that always stuck with me: that the chance for Democratic victory would be stronger if “our side” spent more time saying positive things about John Kerry, rather than negative things about George W. Bush.
I think there was some truth to that. The Kerry campaign was the first one where we actively volunteered and had our heats broken, after W. was reelected despite lying us into war in Iraq. There were plenty of bad things you could say about George W. Bush, but perhaps we should have shown more enthusiasm for Kerry (an imperfect candidate, but aren’t they all?).
The reason I tell you that story about Scott is that it reflects his relentless positivity. For a cynic like me, it’s sometimes hard to take the way his biggest fans gush about him. But he is a fundamentally decent person, with the experience to lead as mayor because he has done it before.
After we ran into him at the Obama-Roosevelt Dinner, my wife Beth Anne went around the room telling anyone who would listen how she appreciated the way he had stayed involved in the community even when not in office through things like youth leadership programs. He also worked with the Parkland youth organizers following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
The other candidate I’ve heard the most about from other Democrats is Nancy Metayer, who has a strong record as an organizer and activist. I just don’t think mayor is the right office for her to pursue. When the mayor election is over, I would rather see her pivot to run for an open city commission seat that will also be the subject of a special election. That one opened up with Dan Daley’s uncontested election to the State House, after Jared Moskowitz became director of the state Division of Emergency Management. Not only would Metayer be more likely to win a Commission seat, but that would be the right way for her to build experience if she wants to be mayor.
The Sun-Sentinel just gave its endorsement to Scott Brook, which I’ve excerpted below with a link to the full article (a very detailed analysis). Coral Springs voters can also view the video of a League of Women Voters Forum (debate).
Sun Sentinel
With Coral Springs in transition, Scott Brook best choice for mayor
With Coral Springs in transition, Scott Brook best choice for mayor
On March 12, Coral Springs voters will decide which of four candidates is best prepared to fill the big shoes left by the passing of former Mayor Skip Campbell.
Two of the candidates — Scott Brook, 54, and Vincent Boccard, 63 — have previously served as mayor. Both did a good job, though their terms were not drama-free.
The other two candidates — Nancy Metayer, 31, and Kurt Gardner, 36 — are well-meaning newcomers, but both lack the experience needed to lead the city through this time of change.
The mayor’s post is not the only seat in flux on the city’s five-member commission. Commissioner Dan Daley’s election to the Florida House of Representatives will soon open a second seat. And when you consider that a third seat was just filled by newcomer Joshua Simmons in November, you see the transformation taking place at City Hall.
The question is, who’s best suited to soundly lead the commission during this transition?
In weighing their choices, voters should be guided by the legacy of Campbell, who, before his sudden death in October, was known as a bridge builder and leader among peers. He spoke out against constructing a Taj Mahal-like city hall, spoke up for school resource officers in every school, and stepped up to lead a statewide initiative to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons.
Campbell’s stature is hard to match, but attorney Scott Brook comes closest. We endorse Brook for mayor.
Brook served on the commission, including a term as mayor, between 2003 and 2010. He says the top issue facing the city is what “residents consider to be high property taxes.” He wants to bridge the divide that erupted in late 2017, when the commission ignored a citizen’s outcry in raising property taxes 23 percent. Six months later, and without Campbell’s support, commissioners asked voters to raise taxes again via three bond referendums. All three were shot down, suggesting the commission was out of touch with its constituents.
“I would have held town hall meetings before making that decision. I doubt I would have put it on the ballot,” Brook said during a joint candidate interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board. That said, though, “I trust that our government did the right thing.”
Hi, everybody! Did you see any of Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress today? Much of it was a very revealing look inside the ego and character of our 45th President. I can't decide whether my favorite anecdote was Cohen's revelation of the threats Trump had his lawyer make against all of the colleges that Trump attended to prevent any of them from releasing his grades, or the fact that Trump had his people purchase the painting of himself for the highest price paid for the items auctioned off in that sale (to make it seem like his portrait was the most valuable item sold that day!) It has been a very productive week for voter registration and petition collection. On Saturday, at the Community Block Party in Sunrise, organized by Ellen Moltz, our wonderful team of volunteers including Janet Thompson, Robin Adell, Michael Goldfarb, Tina Kaplan, Ruby Foster, Ronnie Heller, and Ruby Foster helped to collect 6 voter registration forms, 115 Medicaid Expansion petitions, 22 Assault Weapons Ban petitions, and 6 Minimum Wage Increase petitions! And our new Area Leader, Cheryl Levin, collected more voter registration forms and petitions at the Block Party. Then, on Monday, Lonnie Supnick, Norman Levy, and Marsha Eisenberg helped to register 7 voters (including one felon) and collect 1 vote-by-mail request, and 64 Medicaid petitions. And yesterday, Lauren Tate, Debra Longberg, and Marsha Eisenberg joined me to collect 4 voter registration forms and 76 Medicaid petitions. New volunteers are needed to come out and help with these efforts! So don't hesitate. Let us know when you can help out. On Saturdays, you can work with John Ziegler at the West Regional Library from 10 AM to 4 OM in three 2-hour shifts. To volunteer for one of those shifts, please contact John at 954-232-3918 or johnjoeziegler@aol.com. And on Monday and Wednesday, March 4th and 6th, I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse from 10 AM to 2 PM. We can really use your help, so please let me know when you can join me. Alan
Hi, friends! Today at the West Regional Courthouse was the kind of voter registration day I always hope for. We registered 4 new voters, and 3 of them were felons. All of them registered as Democrats! So on Monday and Wednesday, we collected 7 voter registration forms and 123 Medicaid Expansion petitions. Many thanks to Lonnie Supnick, Norman Levy, Penny Cukier, Lauren Tate, and Marsha Eisenberg for coming out and doing such a great job! For those of you who promised to come out and help register our neighbors and colleagues who have felony convictions in their past, now is the time to put your money where your mouth is. Come out and volunteer with me on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 10 AM to 2 PM. I will be at the West Regional Courthouse next Monday and Wednesday, February 25th and 27th. Can you join me on either or both days? And for those who would like to be trained by the Broward Democratic Party, the upcoming dates can be found at http://browarddemocrats.org/trainings/ Alan
Good afternoon, everybody! On Saturday, February 23rd, from 11 AM to 2 PM, the Sunrise Police Department in partnership with Sam's Club will have its annual Community Block Party. This is a free afternoon of entertainment and education. There will be children's activities, games, live music, public safety demonstrations, free refreshments, and giveaways. Ellen Moltz has reserved a table for us to do voter registration and petition collection. We will have a canopy to protect us from the elements and all the forms. All we need are volunteers to help out for 3 hours. The location is at the Sam's Club Parking Lot, 13559 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise (opposite the Sawgrass Mills Mall.) There will be food and drinks and live music. Please let me or Ellen Moltz, e.moltz@yahoo.com, know of you'll be able to help out. Alan 954-472-6211
Hi, everybody! What can you say? Another week, another embarrassment from our infant president. This time, he is declaring a national emergency where there isn't one. But what the heck; why shouldn't he violate our Constitution? We got rained out at the West Regional Courthouse on Wednesday. But on Monday, Lonnie Supnick, Vicky Taylor, and Marsha Eisenberg helped to collect 5 voter registration forms, 2 vote-by-mail requests, and 76 petitions for the proposed amendment for medicaid expansion in Florida! The West Regional Courthouse is not closed for President's Day, so we will be out there again on Monday and Wednesday, February 18th and 20th, between 10 AM and 2 PM. Can you come out and join us? Please let me know which days you can help. And onSaturdays, John Ziegler's team is at the West Regional Library from 10 AM to 4 PM in three 2-hour shifts. If you can volunteer for one of those shifts, please contact John Ziegler at 954-232-3918 or johnjoeziegler@aol.com. On Saturday, February 23rd, we will be registering voters and collecting petitions at the Sunrise Community Block Party from 11 AM to 2 PM. The location is at the Sam's Club Parking Lot, 13559 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise (opposite the Sawgrass Mills Mall.) There will be foos and drinks and live music. Please let me know of you'll be able to help out. And finally, if you have not yet seen this wonderful video (Thanks, Marcia!) about the child in the White House, please enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57jRBt4h6ks Alan
I hope that no member of our community lets February 14 pass without remembering the 17 deaths that followed when a maladjusted young man with an assault rifle invaded the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
If you are lucky to have someone to love, I would not wish to deprive you of Valentine’s Day — we need more love in the world, and we should not allow anyone to steal it from us if we can help it.
Yet in honor of those who lost friends and family a year ago and will never experience February 14 the same way again, this is a good time to do something large or small to make a difference. The students and parents who turned to activism have made a real difference, even as much more remains to be done.
