In this Email

FEB 07 2023

• Party News

  • NEW: Welcome New Finance Co-Chair

  • NEW: New Primary Calendar for 2024?

  • NEW: Wisconsin Supreme Court Vote a Referendum on Reproductive Rights

• Upcoming Events

  • MDP Spring 2023 Convention February 11

  • NEW: Campaign & Community Events

Party News

We welcome Mick Sheridan to the role of HCDP Finance Committee Chair!

At the February meeting last week Chair William Keith and outgoing Finance Co-Chair Brian Hoduski introduced HCDP member Mick Sheridan as a candidate to fill the role of Co-Chair for the Finance Committee.

William then motioned to reaffirm those Committee Chairs named at the Post Election Convention in November, and to add Mick's name to lead the Finance Committee. The motion was approved by the County Committee members present.

We are still looking to fill the roles of Treasurer, and Vice-Chair, and William indicated at the meeting that he is now discussing those roles with potential recruits.

The list of Committee Co-Chairs motioned and approved are as follows:

Committee Chairs

Events - Horst Schmidt

Political Organizing - Audrey Gerard

Candidate Recruitment - Brian Hoduski

Rules - Valorie Toresch

Policy & Procedure - Patricia Tikkanen

Communications - Steve Blackburn

Membership - Steph Tubman

Last week the Michigan legislature finalized a bill to move the date of the state's presidential primary to the fourth Tuesday in February. The bill was then signed by Governor Whitmer.On Saturday the Democratic National Committee approved a reconfigured presidential primary calendar for 2024, with South Carolina holding the first primary, and Michigan going fifth, on the fourth Tuesday in February.You would think that the combined effect of these two actions should mean that Michigan's presidential primary in 2024 will take place on the early date called for in the bill the Governor signed - the fourth Tuesday of February, the 27th.However, because of Republican opposition to the new date, the bill was passed through the state legislature "without immediate effect". That means that the bill does not become law until 90 days after the current legislative session. As things currently stand that means either the legislature ends its session early (in November) or the new law won't impact a Michigan presidential primary until 2028.There is still plenty of time left before presidential primary season, but even given the events of the last week its looks like its too soon to say for sure if we'll have a new early date for Michigan in 2024 or not.

We in Michigan are now enjoying Democratic leadership in all three branches of our state government. But in Wisconsin there is still a battle going on to decide the balance of power in the state Supreme Court. The February 21st primary for Wisconsin Supreme Court is being considered by many as a de facto referendum on reproductive rights in the state.Two liberals and two conservatives are running in the primary. The top two vote getters from the primary will move on to the general election on April 4th. You can learn more about the importance of this election from this excellent article in The 19th.If you'd like to help out, there is still time to participate by sending post cards or making phone calls to Democratic voters in Wisconsin. Turn out will be key to winning this primary.There are a couple of volunteer opportunities you can do at home highlighted below. If you are interested (and willing to travel), even more opportunities can be found on the Mobilize website. Help make a difference for your friends or family in Wisconsin:Postcards: Help Elect a Pro-Democracy Majority to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Phone Bank: Take Back Democracy with Swing Blue Alliance

Upcoming Events

The Michigan Democratic Party 2023 Spring Convention takes place THIS Saturday, February 11 in Detroit. All members of the Michigan Democratic Party are encouraged to attend. For those unable to travel, an online stream of the proceedings of the convention floor will be available at michigandems.com.

Further information, including the full Call to Convention and the Convention Schedule can be found on the Michigan Dems website.

Wed. 2/8:

• 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.

Tue. 2/14

• Next Tuesday is Valentine's Day. It is also the birth day of Frederick Douglass. Given all the rhetoric (and unfortunate action) coming out of Florida to limit the teaching of Black History, it's worthwhile for all of us to contemplate Douglass' speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”. The speech was delivered on July 5, 1852, almost 10 years before the start of the Civil War. The National Endowment for the Humanities hosts an educational webpage that includes context around the speech, a partial text of the speech, and an audio recording of Ossie Davis reciting the words of Douglass. If you are pressed for time, listen instead to this recording from James Earl Jones reading from the speech.