Reorg 2024

The Clarke County Democratic Committee (aka, Clarke Dems) will hold an assembled caucus on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 7 p.m. for the purpose of welcoming new membership pursuant to the Democratic Party of Virginia Party Plan. Immediately following the online caucus we will elect new officers.

The meeting place for the assembled caucus (reorg) and January meeting scheduled afterwards will be the Sanctuary Wellness Center, 208 N. Buckmarsh St., Berryville, VA 22611,  

Please fill out a New Member Application by 6 PM. Friday December 31st, 2023. Even if you are a current member of CCDC you must reapply for membership for the next 2-year session. If you don’t fill it out in advance, you may fill out a form at the meeting. 

Here is the online membership application form:

2024 Membership application

We invite all Democrats residing in Clarke County to attend this reorg meeting, pay your voluntary annual dues, and join the Clarke Dems. $35 individual, $50 family, $25 senior rate, $10 student. Pay online via Act Blue or mail a check to CCDC PO Box 535 Berryville VA 22611: Note, you are not required to pay dues to become a member.

pay dues with act blue


Regarding Candidates for Committee Officers (Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary):

The Pre-Filing Form, which all candidates must sign (digital signature acceptable), includes the following written declaration: “I declare myself to be a candidate for executive membership on the Clarke County Democratic Committee. I also declare that I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party and that I will not support any candidate opposed to any Democratic nominee as long as I am a member of the Committee.”

Form is here online as a Google Doc (you can also just cut and paste the text into an email sent to David Pratt, Chair) 

Google doc

Participation

Every Democrat who is a registered voter in Clarke County is urged to attend and participate. If an individual does not appear on the Registered Voter List, they will not be allowed to participate. 

Affirmative Action

It shall be the duty and goal of all members of the Clarke County Democratic Committee to seek out and encourage the broadest possible participation within the committee, and in its membership, of all duly qualified citizens without regard to race, sex, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic identity, disability, or economic status.

New Member Elections

The names of applicants for membership will be shared and then voted on starting promptly at 7:10 p.m.  

Officer Elections Then FollowImmediately following the adjournment of the assembled caucus, the newly formed committee will then elect the officers of the committee. The newly elected officers (Executive Board) will then proceed to run the January 2024 monthly business meeting. 

The Corrupted Judiciary

Time to Impeach Justice Thomas

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/13/clarence-thomas-real-estate-deal-ethics-harlan-crow/

Correct Congressional Representation

Urgent need

Climate Strike Earth Day Week

All over the country, young people and adults have already begun organizing for the biggest climate strike yet. From Wednesday, April 22 to Friday, April 24 we will join together and use our collective voice to demand climate action.Time is not on our side — this must be the decade of climate action, and it has to begin in this critical election year. From April 22-24, young people are once again asking adults to back us up as we take our movement to the next level.Here’s a quick rundown of what organizers are planning for each day:

DAY 1: Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22The 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, is a day of mass mobilization. We will kick-off the three days with a demonstration of our collective power and unity with millions of young people and adults participating in thousands of strikes and Earth Day events across the country. On this historic day of climate action, we are centering Indigenous people and people of color, reflecting on our personal connections to the Earth, and recommitting ourselves to the movement.  

DAY 2: Stop The Money Pipeline Day of Action; Thursday, April 23On Thursday, April 23, we will target financial institutions across the country. Many students have given their universities until Earth Day to divest from fossil fuels and many campuses will be having a day of accountability to demand their schools comply. Adults across the country will also be organizing actions at branches of JP Morgan Chase, Black Rock, and Liberty Mutual to demand they take money out of fossil fuels and stop the funding of the destruction of our planet. This day of action will bring urgent public attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis, and that stopping this money pipeline is one of the most important ways we can address the climate emergency.

DAY 3: Day of Political Action, Friday, April 24On Friday, April 24, we focus on the urgency of political change. We need leaders who will address this existential threat, and for this to happen, we need people to show up at the polls this year. On Friday we will be conducting a massive, targeted voter registration effort across the country as we ask people to commit to using their voice and vote to bring about a safe and just future. Nationwide, strike actions will focus on elected officials and government leaders to demand bold and immediate climate action.There will be millions of concerned young people and adult allies participating in thousands of climate actions across the country, including rallies, marches, teach-ins, protests, and strikes.We need everyone on board to show the momentum of this movement. Can you forward this message to a friend who you hope to take action with from April 22-24?

In solidarity with the US Youth Climate Strike Coalition strikewithus.org #strikewithus

Resolution calling for repeal of the so-called “right to work” law

WHEREAS Virginia has been rated the worst state for worker rights two years in a row by Oxfam; and

WHEREAS income inequality has been increasing dramatically in Virginia and nationwide; and

WHEREAS “right to work” makes it harder for workers to join together to improve their pay and working conditions; and

WHEREAS Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone;” and

WHEREAS unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and increase total compensation including benefits such as paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave, by about 28% while reducing the gender and racial pay gap; and

WHEREAS in “right to work” states, annual wages are $1,558 less on average than in

non “right to work” states, with lower health benefits and pensions and less safety on the job; and

WHEREAS the so-called “right to work” law does not give anyone the right to a job, but instead, in effect, reduces wages, health care, retirement security, and on-the-job safety for all workers; and

WHEREAS repealing the “right to work” from the Virginia Code would allow Virginia workers to organize for better working conditions and family-sustaining wages; and

WHEREAS one of the core values of the Democratic Party is to support worker rights, particularly the right to join and form unions;

WHEREAS repeal of the anti-worker “right to work” law is the best way to send the message that Democrats support economic justice for working people;

Therefore BE IT RESOLVED that: The Clarke County Democratic Committee asks the VA General Assembly to repeal the misnamed so-called “right to work” law in the 2020 legislative session.

Sources: https://policy-practice.oxfamamerica.org/work/poverty-in-the-us/best-states-to-work https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764654623/u-s-income-inequality-worsens-widening-to-a-new- gap
https://www.afscme.org/now/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work https://www.epi.org/blog/unions-help-narrow-the-gender-wage-gap/ https://www.epi.org/publication/martin_luther_king_on_right_to_work/ https://thinkprogress.org/how-union-membership-benefits-african-american-and-latino-workers- 440ce0b8215a

Adopted on February 4, 2020 by the Clarke County Democratic Committee.

Plastic Straws in Clarke

The Green Team successfully canvassed local restaurants and quick marts, asking them to join our opt out of plastic straws project.

Thank you Laura Bernstein and Candy Means for volunteering to walk Berryville’s Main street and a couple locations in Boyce to get the word out while also distributing our information flyer.

We learned that Boyd’s Nest restaurant has just switched from single-use plastics to compostable utensils and paper straws! That’s terrific.

Phasing Out Single-Use Plastics

The European Union will ban single use plastic within two years (by 2021). Single-use plastics include plastic straws, cup lids, plates, coffee stirrers, food containers, cutlery, and swab sticks. Such throw-away items not only fill landfills but end up in the world’s oceans, threatening marine life and breaking down into micro-plastics which is now entering the food-chain.

These plastic products are not recyclable and not biodegradable. Around the world, some of them end up in streams that flow into rivers and eventually the ocean.

According to the New York Times, “EU countries can choose their own methods of reducing the use of other single-use plastics such as takeout containers and cups for beverages. They will also have to collect and recycle at least 90 percent of beverage bottles by 2029.”

In the United States one study estimates that 500 million straws are used every single day. Another study estimated as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches. (National Geographic)

According to Fast Company: “If the current trends around plastic production and use hold steady, plastic may account for 20% of the world’s oil use by 2050. As of July 2018, U.N. Environment and WRI found that 127, or 66%, of the countries they surveyed have implemented some type of policy to regulate plastic bags.

States Taking the Lead

California recently became the first state to nix plastic straws from restaurant tables, and straw bans are starting to be implemented in cities across the country. Starting in 2019, customers in California will have to ask if they want a straw.

Hawaii is poised to also introduce a ban on single-use plastics. Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maryland may be next in line to implement such bans. State lawmakers have introduced at least 95 bills in 2019 limited single use plastic bags like those used in grocery stores. Most of these bills would ban or place a fee on plastic bags. Others would preempt local government action or improve bag recycling programs.

City & Towns and Voluntary Bans

Some major cities have implemented bans on single use plastic. Seattle last year banned plastic straws. Dozens of cities in California, Texas, Washington State and other states have banned or limited the use of single use plastic bags.

The Clarke County Democrats’ Green Team has discussed asking local businesses in Clarke County and Berryville to implement a voluntary ban on plastic straws and single-use, non compostable, non-recyclable plastic such as bags and cutlery. This is a topic we will do some further research on before making a recommendation.

Further Reading

EU Lawmakers Back Ban on Single-Use Plastics, Set Standard for Word (NYTimes, March 27, 2019)

EU Government Backs Ban on Single Use Plastics (greenbiz, april 2019)

Bottles, utensils and bags: Lawmakers are coming for your single-use plastics (Hawaii News Now, March 15, 2019)

State Plastic Bag Regulations

127 countries are now working to ban single-use plastic (Fast Company, Dec. 2018)

Seattle becomes the latest city to ban plastic straws and utensils (CNN)

A Brief History of How Plastic Straws took over the World (National Geographic)

Why is a fundraising important?

Steve Foreman, House of Delegates HD31 and Emily Scott State Senate, SD1 – Democrat candidates protecting your freedoms.

Campaigns are expensive. Please chip in!

Candidates need:

Staff, websites, social media platforms, post cards, yard signs, barn signs, calling cards, advertising, meet and greet opportunities….