First Meeting of 2024 Will Be Tomorrow

First Meeting of 2024 Will Be Tomorrow

Our next General Meeting will be tomorrow at 7 PM. Our potluck dinner begins at 6 PM. Bring a dish to share - whether homemade or store bought - and enjoy some quality time with your fellow Dems before we settle down to business at 7. And don’t worry, if you’re not a good cook and don’t have time to shop, we’d still love for you to stop in and enjoy some food and conversation.

And don’t forget the presentation by Valorie Troesch on what 2022’s passage of Prop 2 means to our voting rights this election year. More on that in the item below.

You do not need to be a member to attend our monthly meetings, and we would welcome your attendance.

IN PERSON: The meeting will be held in-person at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton.

REMOTE ATTENDANCE: Remote attendance is via Zoom. Email readers can click the button below at 7 PM on Wednesday to be connected to the Zoom session.

Presentation at January’s Monthly Meeting: Proposal 22-2: What Michigan Voters Need to Know in 2024

Our January meeting is coming up on the 17th, and we want to make sure you are aware of an informative and important presentation that will be shared at the meeting.

Valorie Troesch will be presenting on behalf of Voters Not Politicians - the group that worked hard to get 2022’s Proposition 2 on the ballot, and to get out the vote for it’s passage.

We encourage all HCDP members and supporters to attend, and invite your friends to attend too. Attendance is either in person at the Super 8 in Houghton, or you can attend the meeting remotely by Zoom.

Training for Those Thinking of a Run for Office

Local offices from school boards, to city council seats, to county commissioners will be on the ballot in November. Deadlines to file for many of these offices are in April - only a few months away.

If you have an interest in running for local office and you haven’t heard from our recruiting committee, or you haven’t yet reached out to us then we invite you to connect - drop us an email at [email protected]. We can offer support and advice on how to get your campaign up and running.

We recommend those interested in a run for local office consider two training courses offered through the Great Lakes Political Academy.

The first course is Becoming a Leader. This is a “Campaign 101” style training that will give you the tools you need to run a successful campaign.

The second course is Taking the Lead. This is a more advanced course, after which you may opt to complete a campaign plan and be connected with a campaign staffer or former candidate to provide feedback.

Both courses have virtual and in-person options, and both focus on progressive candidates running at the local level for city council, township trustee, school board, county commission, or county-wide office, or at the state level running for state House or state Senate.

Find more information about the timing and location of these courses here:

• Becoming a Leader

• Taking the Lead

Competing for Every Local Office - Our Meme of the Week

Sticking with our theme of voting and having good candidates to vote for, we’re highlighting the Michigan Democratic Party’s statewide campaign to recruit thousands of Democrats to run for local office. This is part of a national campaign by Contest Every Race to help ensure that no Republican goes unchallenged up or down the ballot.

In their press release announcing the campaign the MI Dems talk about what this effort means for voter turn out this year:

This is your year. If you’ve ever thought of running for elected office, no matter which office - now is the time.

At the Capital / Around the State

The Michigan state House and Senate are back in action, with midweek sessions last week kicking off the winter / spring calendar. The Democrats in the state House are two seats down from the fall session because two Representatives won their local mayoral races and have left to serve their cities. This means the House is evenly split until the special elections to replace those Reps are held on April 16th.

• Vox.com has put together an amazing little (18 minute) video that makes the case for “how Michigan explains American politics”. Expect a lot of attention on our state as the 2024 election season progresses. View the video at the link that follows. MORE: Vox.com 

• A poll conducted by a Lansing based polling firm was released last Friday and shows President Biden leading against Trump by 45 to 41, slightly edging above the poll’s margin of error. A competing poll by Detroit TV station WDIV shows the opposite result. Well, let’s keep in mind that it’s January, and the only poll that will really matter is still several months away. MORE: Deadline Detroit

• State party disfunction on the GOP side is not just confined to Michigan. Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, Florida - the list goes on. MORE: Michigan Advance

• Michigan economic experts say our state’s economy is “strong and stable” and they project a moderate state government surplus for both the current fiscal year and the next. MORE: Bridge Michigan

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: JANUARY 17TH

Community Events

TUE JAN 16

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

The Calumet Village Council meets tonight at 6:00 PM in the Village Council Chambers. More information on the Council, it's committees, and minutes of past meetings can be found on the Village’s News web page.

WED JAN 17

The Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting originally scheduled for January 9th was rescheduled to this Wednesday, January 17th and is now listed as an “organizational meeting”.

Hancock City Council meets at 6 PM in the Hancock City Hall Council Chambers.