Brandon Democrats Social – March 24!

Brandon Democrats Social – March 24!

You are invited!
March 24th from 4pm to 6pm
Red Clover Ale Company – 43 Center Street, Brandon
Bring an appetizer or snack to share.

Please drop by to meet your neighbors, hear updates on the legislative session, and talk about issues that concern Brandon and rural Vermont.

Feel free to invite a friend to join us!

Rutland County Reorganization Results

Thanks to all of you who attended the county reorganization meeting on October 11. The turnout and level of energy were truly inspiring. Here’s a recap of the officers and delegates elected at the meeting:

Co-Chairs:  Mary Droege (Castleton), Barbara Noyes Pulling (Rutland Town)

Vice Chair:  Scott Garren (Shrewsbury)

Treasurer:  Scott Garren (Shrewsbury)

Assistant Treas.:  Eugenia Cooke (Rutland City)

Recording Secretary:  Diane Alberts (Rutland City)

VDP Delegate #1:  Mary Droege

VDP Delegate #2:  Josh Ferguson (Fair Haven)

VDP Delegate #3:  Barbara Noyes Pulling

VDP Alternate #1:  Carol Wright (Rutland City)

VDP Alternate #2:  Annie Stratton (Brandon)

VDP Alternate #3:  Tom Fagan (West Rutland) 

If you’re interested in the open Vice Chair position, please contact Mary (MaryDroege4castleton@gmail.com) or Barbara (Barbaranoyespulling@gmail.com). 

RUTLAND COUNTY DEMS CAUCUS

Rutland County Democrats will hold their biennial caucus to reorganize the County Democratic Committee on Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 6:30pm. The meeting is in person at the Rutland Free Library Fox Room or by Zoom:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81031370723?pwd=osjjWt1UHknTjUyPl5vSb2vabtZLeF.1
Questions? Contact Mary Mellow at 802-773-4560 or mtmellow@comcast.net

TIME TO REORGANIZE RUTLAND COUNTY DEMOCRATS

Rutland County Democratic voters will be meeting across Rutland County from September 10th to 30th to reorganize Town committees. These caucuses will elect 2023-25 Town committees, officers, and delegates to the County Committee. Registered voters interested in Democratic Party activities are invited to attend. Questions? Call 802-773-4560 or e-mail mtmellow@comcast.net

The following is a list of scheduled caucus dates, times, and locations across the County:

Brandon, Stephen A. Douglas House, Sept. 28 @ 6:00 pm
Castleton, Seniors Wellness Center, Sept. 12 @ 5:00 pm
Chittenden, Mountain Top Inn, Sept. 10 @ 5:00 pm
Clarendon, Town Hall, Sept. 15 @ 6:30 pm

Danby, Blucher Home, Sept. 18 @ 6:30 pm
Ira, Town Hall, Sept. 13 @ 7:00 pm
Mendon, Town Offices, Sept. 27 @ 4:00 pm

Middletown Springs, Library, Sept. 13 @ 6:30 pm
Mount Holly, Library Community Room, Sept. 12 @ 6:00 pm
Mount Tabor, Town Offices, Sept. 19 @ 6:00 pm
Pawlet, Town Hall, Sept. 11 @ 11:00 am

Pittsford, Maclure library, Sept. 20 @ 7:30
Poultney, Library, Sept. 14 @ 6:00 pm
Rutland City, Rutland Free Library, Sept. 12 @ 6:30 pm
Rutland Town, Hunter Home, Sept. 18 @ 6:00 pm
Shrewsbury, Garren Home, Sept. 19 @ 6:00 pm

Tinmouth, Old Firehouse, Sept. 19 @ 7:00 pm
Wallingford, Gilbert Hart Library, Sept. 16 @ 10:00 am
West Rutland, Town Hall Conference Room, Sept. 13 @ 6:30 pm

SUMMER SOCIAL ON LAKE BOMOSEEN

Castleton Town Democratic Committee and Castleton Indivisible invite you to a Summer Social on Lake Bomoseen on Sunday, August 17, 2023, in the North Pavilion, Crystal Beach. Activities include yard games, lots of social time, and a discussion about the 2024 campaign season.

The public is welcome. Participants will need to pay the entrance fee to the park ($4 for adults; $2 for seniors and children).

Please come join us!

Happy July 4th!

Rutland County Democrats have been out this holiday marching in several parades around the county. Look for us in Brandon, Castleton, and Poultney. Go USA and go Democrats!

Vermont Young Democrats

The Vermont Young Democrats are back – looking for Vermonters under the age of 36 to run for office, support campaigns, and vote in every election – city, state, and federal!

Thanks to Giovanni Falco, a 20-year-old Northeastern University student born and raised in Rutland County, and Anna Tadio, the current Chair of the Rutland City Democrats, Vice Chair of the Rutland County Democrats and member of the Rutland City Board of Aldermen, the paperwork to be formally organized and recognized by the Young Democrats of America is underway.  

If you would like to join the group or learn more about it, please fill out the membership Google form here. Please share this with your friends and colleagues and encourage them to join.

Follow the Vermont Young Democrats @YoungDemsVT on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Photo: Members of VT Young Democrats with U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-VT) at the Curtis-Hoff Dinner on May 12, 2023. Pictured from left are Anna Tadio, Rep. Balint, Giovanni Falco, and Joshua Ferguson

Congratulations Cheryl Hooker!

Rutland’s own Cheryl Hooker is a 2023 Curtis-Hoff Award winner. At the annual Curtis-Hoff Dinner on May 12, Cheryl was honored with the award for her work carrying on the legacy of Democratic luminaries David Curtis and Philip Hoff. She is a former Rutland County State Senator and Rutland City State Representative and is now serving on the Rutland Board of Aldermen. We’re so proud of you, Cheryl.

Also receiving Curtis-Hoff awards this year were Ryan McLaren and Natalie Silver.

We have a new Chair!

Congratulations to the new Chair of the Rutland County Democrats, Mary Mellow!

Statement on CRT from the Rutland Co Democratic Executive Committee

Please read the Rutland County Democratic Executive Committee’s letter to the editor in today’s Rutland Herald:

The Rutland County Democratic Executive Committee supports our public schools in following best practices to increase representation in lesson plans and to integrate restorative, equitable procedures. We support the research on systemic racism that is needed to dismantle hate. Systemic racism exists. For proof, just look at the attacks on best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion in our schools.

That’s the real source of the recent outrage directed at Critical Race Theory (CRT). Complaints about CRT strike at the essential bonds of our shared humanity, fueling division and mocking our efforts to build a more inclusive, resilient community.

No K-12 program is teaching CRT, because this theory is taught only to law students and, perhaps, to graduate students in a few other disciplines like history or sociology. But all K-12 programs should be supported in teaching ideas that can be found in CRT but aren’t specific to it. This includes equity and inclusion, both of which are core democratic values and the source of the USA’s strength. K-12 programs should also be teaching the truth about the damage done by racism both in the past and present. Failing to do so harms students of color and ill-prepares white students for an increasingly diverse and rich world. These ideas can be found in CRT, but they aren’t unique to it. They’re the basis of fundamental human decency. Attacking these ideas through an assault on CRT ultimately erodes the bedrock of our common identity.

We can’t afford for Rutland County or Vermont to become one of the places where simple human decency is banned thanks to the unfounded fear of CRT. Please make your voices heard. There’s too much at stake. Let’s support diversity, equity and inclusion. Let’s support our schools and our kids.

In solidarity,

Heather Juliussen

Rutland County Democrats,
Chair