Saturday, January 20, 2018, I had the distinct honor of being one of the lead organizers and the emcee for the Women’s March 2.0 Tri-Cities. 2,500 people from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia overflowed Founders Park. It was truly a humbling and awe inspiring experience. Michelle Treece announced her candidacy for Johnson City School Board. Several other candidates voiced their concerns on the current political climate and how we can all work together to build the communities and government we want and need. But as you know, now the work begins. Now, we must organize.
I’m sure over the weekend everyone read the news regarding the federal government shut down due to Republican leaders and the President deciding to play politics with people’s lives. On top of that, Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell shut down a floor vote that would have ensured our service members would continue to be paid. The White House’s outgoing message blamed Democrats for the shutdown. The Vice President addressed the troops so he could also blame Democrats. The shutdown remained in effect until yesterday afternoon when 25 senators from both parties negotiated terms to re-open, terms that both the House and the Senate approved and the President signed.
But the real story here is that our government (controlled by Republicans) isn’t working for the people of our nation, and it especially isn’t working for those in Washington County, TN. Therefore, we have an opportunity to be part of the process in electing a government on November 6, 2018 that is by the people and for the people.
I know it’s scary, but we need to start having conversations with our neighbors, friends, and family about our values and how we can work together to collaborate and create the communities we want for ourselves and each other.
Find out if everyone you know is registered to vote. If not, send them this link. It’s that easy. As we’ve seen most recently in Virginia, quite literally, every vote does count. That is how we are going to flip seats– by registering everyone to vote and casting a ballot on election day.
Also, the Washington County Democratic Party’s website officially launched on January 19. There are still pages being added, but the most important resources live now. This includes our calendar. There, you will find not only Washington County Democratic Party events, but also events sponsored and organized by other local organizations. If you have an event you want to have posted on the calendar, please email us at wctndp@gmail.com.
We are in this together and I couldn’t have asked for a better set a teammates to be deep in the trenches and fighting for our democracy.
Sincerely,
Kate Craig
Chair
Washington County Democratic Party
