First Lady Jill Biden in Marquette

First Lady Jill Biden in Marquette

THE FIRST LADY WAS JOINED BY THE SECOND GENTLEMAN

Three of our Houghton Democrats made the journey to Marquette last Thursday to watch the First Lady kick off the ‘Women for Biden’ tour of Michigan. Dr. Biden was accompanied by our first First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

“Women”, the First Lady said in her speech, “put Joe Biden in the White House four years ago, and women are going to do it again.” She listed several reasons why she was proud of her husband placing women at the center of his agenda, including his selection of the first woman VP; fighting for a national law restoring Roe; protecting IVF and access to contraception; lowering the cost of prescription drugs; expanding access to child care; and nominating the first Black female Justice to the Supreme Court.

“Joe has spent his entire career lifting women up. But Donald Trump? He has spent a lifetime tearing us down, and devaluing our existence, “ the First Lady said. She went on to enumerate a large number of Donald Trump’s anti-woman and anti-abortion stances, including supporting “states being able to monitor women’s pregnancies to enforce extreme abortion bans he’s unleashed. Donald Trump is dangerous - to women and to our families. We simply cannot let him win.”

The First Lady finished by urging Michigan women to work hard to re-elect President Biden and Vice President Harris - “When our bodies are on the line, when our daughters futures are at stake, and when our country and our freedom hang in the balance, we women are immovable and unstoppable!”

The news coverage by UP Matters includes a full video of the Marquette event (from which the screen capture at the top of this item was taken). At just under a half hour, and including both the speeches by the First Lady and the Second Gentleman, the video is well worth a view.

After this event the Women for Biden tour continued with stops in Chippewa County, the Bay Mills Indian Community, St. Ignace, and Midland before wrapping up at the Michigan Women’s Democratic Caucus outside of Detroit on Saturday.

On Sunday evening President Biden himself was in Detroit delivering the keynote address to the NAACP Detroit Branch's Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. He arrived in Detroit after having given a commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta earlier in the day.

Highway Clean Up A Success

OUR FIRST HIGHWAY CLEAN UP OF 2024 IS DONE! 

Thanks to those who volunteered last Wednesday for providing a great spring cleaning to our stretch of M-26!

If you missed this opportunity to lend a hand to our annual beautification efforts keep your eyes on the newsletter as we’ll soon announce of our next 2024 clean up effort.

Mark Your Calendars (and Volunteer!)

We’ve got a number of activities and events coming up and we’d love to have you join us. Below is the list of our annual summer activities. Mark your calendars and volunteer:

• June 1 - KEWEENAW PRIDEFEST: The second annual Keweenaw Pridefest will be held at Hancock Beach this year. The Houghton County Democrats are a proud sponsor of the Fest this year. We will have a table from which to distribute literature and engage with the Fest-goers.

• June 13 thru 16 - BRIDGEFEST: Just as we’ve done in previous years we will again be staffing a booth at the Festival and walking in the Parade. This is a great opportunity to interact with the public and share our message of freedom and democracy.

• July 4 - INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADES: We’re still finalizing which parade(s) we’ll be marching in this year. If you have a particular parade you’d like to join in and march with us, let us know.

• July 12 and 13 - STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL: Strawberry Fest is a favorite every year. We’ll be marching in the Festival Parade - come join us!

• August 22 thru 25 - HOUGHTON COUNTY FAIR: We staff a table every year to engage with the public and distribute literature. We’ll have our button maker and materials ready for the kids to create their own button designs, while we chat with the adults.

• Labor Day Weekend - LABOR DAY PICNIC: Each year we gather over Labor Day Weekend to picnic and connect as we get ready for the fall campaign season.

If you’d like to volunteer for any of these activities let us know. Just leave a message at (906) 523-1233 or email us at [email protected]

At the Capital and On the Campaign Trail

A SMALL SAMPLING OF WHAT’S HAPPENING IN MICHIGAN AND ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL.

• Republican Senate Nominating Petition Fraud Alleged: Here we go again? On Friday the Elias Law Group filed a complaint before the Michigan Board of State Canvassers alleging that four Republican Senate candidates’ petitions contain “the presence of potential forgery and other fraudulent signature gathering tactics.” The complaint was filed on behalf of the MDP, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and a single Michigan voter. If the allegations are true this would be a repeat of Republican nominating petition fraud seen in the 2022 state gubernatorial campaign. MORE: The Detroit News

• Senate Filibuster On the Ballot: Along with reproductive freedom and the continuation of our democracy, the Senate filibuster is on the ballot this year. If President Joe Biden is re-elected and Democrats control the Senate, they would likely have the votes to change the filibuster. This would potentially eliminate the need to gain 60 votes on important legislation like codifying Roe and implementing the failed Voting Rights Act renewal. MORE: NBC News

• Republican State Parties Urge Absentee Voting: Despite the misinformation from Donald Trump and the RNC dissuading Republicans from trusting absentee voting, state Republican parties in Wisconsin, Michigan and other states are urging their voters to take advantage of all voting methods. MORE: Bridge Michigan (see the May 13th headline), USA Today, Detroit News

• Escanaba Gets MI Clean Water Grant: The city of Escanaba has received a $20 million dollar grant from the state’s Clean Water Plan. The grant will fund a project that includes water main replacement, lead service line replacement, and water tank upgrades in the city. The state grant program is itself funded in part through the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act. MORE: Daily Press

• MI 2025 Budget Progress and Republican Cruelty: The state legislature continues its work on next year’s budgets. In the Senate the appropriations bills approved so far have passed along party lines - 20 to 16, with two Republicans including Ed McBroom recorded as “not present, but excused”. Of the many amendments to the bills offered by Republicans but voted down, one in particular stands out. Republican Sen. Lana Theis of Brighton offered an amendment (that was defeated) to strike language from the Health and Human Services bill. The language she tried to strike provides that health care providers cannot provide medical information in response to supoenas from outside the state. This is in line with a new rule from the Biden administration which would shield the medical records of women from states where abortion is illegal. Republicans continue to be laser focused on taking away our reproductive freedoms. MORE: Michigan Advance

The Northlander

The May - June edition of The Northlander, the newsletter for Democrats in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, is now available. This edition is chock full of info on campaign and county party events throughout the UP and Northern Lower Michigan. Click the image below to view.

The Michigan Democratic Party is seeking experienced Field Organizers to organize communities across Michigan in 2024. For more information please refer to this flyer from the MDP.

This is one of several positions the MI Dems currently have open. See the complete list of job openings or submit your resume to their resume bank here.

Our Next Monthly Meeting

HCDP Monthly Meetings: Unless otherwise communicated our monthly meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month. Potluck at 6 PM, Meeting at 7 PM. In the conference room at the Houghton Super 8, and by Zoom (starting at 7 PM).

NEXT MEETING: June 5th

Governmental Meetings

TUE MAY 21

The Laurium Village Council meets tonight at 6 PM in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall. More info can be found on the Village's website. 

WED MAY 22

The Houghton City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Meeting Agenda can be found in the Searchable Document Center of the Council's website.

Governmental meetings are scheduled throughout the month by bodies from the County Commission to City, Village and Township boards, committees and commissions; as well as local School Boards and the Copper Country Intermediate School District.

Check by phone or on the particular governmental website for meeting notices in your community. Your participation in local government meetings lets your elected and appointed officials know you are interested in their work, and can provide you with the opportunity to speak about your concerns during public comment periods