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
Declaration of Inclusion
At the June 14, 2021 Rutland County Democratic Committee, we voted to pass a Declaration of Inclusion:
The Rutland County Democratic Committee condemns racism and discrimination of any type and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability, and will protect these classes to the fullest extent of the law.
As a committee, we formally condemn discrimination in all its forms and commit to fair and equal treatment of everyone in our community.
As a committee, we formally condemn discrimination in all its forms and commit to fair and equal treatment of everyone in our community.
The Rutland County Democratic Committee is committed to providing a space where the most marginalized can feel safe.
This declaration has been modeled on the declaration that’s already been passed in several towns in Rutland County, an event that’s making national news!
We encourage every town in Rutland County to pass a declaration. To read more about the declaration and to find talking points, you can go here.
If you would like to work on a Declaration of Inclusion in your town, but you aren’t sure how to get started, email us and we’ll put you in touch with people who can help: rutlandcountydemocratsvt@gmail.com
We can do this!
Democracy needs you!
Extremist Republicans are right here in Vermont and they are organized. Rutland County officeholders voted against state and local resolutions to condemn the January 6th assault on the US Capitol. Some repeated false claims about what happened that day and questioned the validity of the November election. We Democrats must be organized and prepared to fight back. We must restore honesty, decency and justice to move Rutland County forward.
Donate online: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/rutland
Or send a check to Rutland County Democratic Committee, PO Box 933, Rutland, VT 05702
Town Meeting Day municipal elections showed what we can do. We pulled out all the stops by supporting candidates in key races across the county. We need to push even harder to win local seats so that we can build the bench of candidates and ensure that our town officials reflect our values.
Republicans take corporate, out-of-town money but Democratic officials work for us, so they need grassroots funding from local Democrats like you. With your support we can win with strong candidates and effective campaigns. Every dollar stays in Rutland County and every cent helps.
Donate online: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/rutland
Or send a check to Rutland County Democratic Committee, PO Box 933, Rutland, VT 05702
Thank you for your support!
Heather Juliussen-Stevenson, Chair
Your Executive Committee out & about in 2020:
Your Executive Committee: Elizabeth Filskov, Kathy Hall, Scott Garren, Eugenia Cooke, Mary Droege, Carol Wright, and Heather Juliussen-Stevenson
Join the Rutland County Democrats in supporting inclusion!
| Please join us for our next meeting on June 14th as we discuss our work to elect candidates who represent our values and to build the kind of future that we want to live in. Part of this effort includes standing up for our most vulnerable neighbors. That’s why we’re so excited by the work that’s being done to pass a Declaration of Inclusion in every town in Rutland County. You’ve probably already heard about this, an effort that’s already making national news! We encourage every town to adopt their own resolution. To read more about the declaration and to find talking points, you can go here. If you would like to work on this in your town, but you aren’t sure how to get started, email us and we’ll put you in touch with people who can help. Join us in passing our own Declaration of Inclusion! We will be voting on the passage of a Rutland County Democratic Committee Declaration of Inclusion at our June meeting. When: Monday June 14th at 7 pm Where: Join the Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/99369836255?pwd=MnQvcTFrZXZ1dGUvVmVaUGxQenpwdz09 Meeting ID: 993 6983 6255 Passcode: 236786 Or call 646-558-8656 Read the draft meeting minutes from our last meeting: https://rutland-democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/RCDC-Meeting-Minutes-Apr-2021.docx.pdf And let us know what you think of our draft Declaration of Inclusion, modeled on the declaration that’s being passed across Rutland County: The Rutland County Democratic Committee condemns racism and discrimination of any type and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability, and will protect these classes to the fullest extent of the law. As a committee, we formally condemn discrimination in all its forms and commit to fair and equal treatment of everyone in our community. The Rutland County Democratic Committee is committed to providing a space where the most marginalized can feel safe. |
| Hope to “see” you on June 14! |