UPCOMING EVENTS COVERED IN THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER
DATE & TIME | EVENT & LOCATION |
|---|---|
October 28 @ 6 PM | Writer-Activists Monthly LTE Workshop by Voters Not Politicians (Online training event) |
November 2 @ 7 PM | Meet & Greet with Callie Barr, primary candidate for the US House, at the Houghton Super 8 |
November 4 @ 4 PM | Rush Hour Resistance visibility event by Lake Superior Region Indivisible in the Marquette area. |
November 5 @ 6 PM | HCDP Potluck and Monthly Meeting @ Super 8 Houghton |
November 6 @ 7 PM | So You Want to Run for Office? - Online Training by the NDTC |
November 8 @ 1 PM | Meet & Greet with Kyle Blomquist, primary candidate for the US House, at the Houghton Super 8 |
November 18 @ 4 PM | Rush Hour Resistance visibility event by Lake Superior Region Indivisible in the Marquette area. |
November 19 @ 7 PM | What is a Democratic Precinct Chair? - Virtual Training by the NDTC |
Events featured in our newsletter can also be found on the Events Calendar on the main page of our website. (Click our logo at the top of this newsletter to be taken to our website.)
Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie stopped for a brief visit Sunday with some of the HCDP leadership. Edevbie, a 2026 Democratic primary candidate for Secretary of State is an election protection lawyer by trade, who was named to his current post after his work helping lead the fight to pass Proposal 2 in 2022. You can find out more about Aghogho Edevbie here: https://www.aghogho.com.
TWO PRIMARY CANDIDATES FOR US HOUSE TO APPEAR IN HOUGHTON
Join the Houghton County Democrats as we host a Meet & Greet with Callie Barr, primary candidate for the US House. Stop by the Conference Room at the Super 8 Houghton at 7 PM on Sunday, November 2nd to meet Callie.
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT SUNDAY EVENING, perhaps you can make it down to L’anse that afternoon? Callie will be hosted by the Baraga County Dems at 1 PM for a similar Meet & Greet at the Zeba Hall of the Keewenaw Bay Indian Community. The Hall is at 16142 Zeba Road in L’anse.
For more info on the Baraga Dems event, email [email protected].
Join the Houghton County Democrats as we host a Meet & Greet with Kyle Blomquist, Democratic primary candidate for the US House. Stop by the Conference Room at the Super 8 Houghton at 1 PM on Saturday, November 8th to meet Kyle.
NOVEMBER POTLUCK AND MONTHLY MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY
The Houghton County Democratic Party welcomes Kelli van Ginhoven, candidate for the Michigan Senate (38th Dist.), to our monthly meeting. Stop by to meet the candidate and hear from her yourself!
Join us for our November monthly meeting at 7 PM, next Wednesday November 5th at the Super 8 in Houghton.
Potluck starts at 6 PM. Bring a dish to share if you can, or just stop in and enjoy some quality time with your fellow Dems before we settle down to business at 7.
Remote attendance is available by Zoom. Click here at 7 PM Wednesday to attend by Zoom.
Membership in the Houghton County Democratic Party is encouraged, but not required, to attend meetings. We welcome all Houghton County residents who support progressive Democratic government to attend our meetings and events and also to become involved.
WHAT’S IN YOUR BALLOT?
ELECTION DAY IS FAST APPROACHING...
Can you believe that Election Day 2025 is next week? Yes, one day before our monthly meeting on November 4th. Please be aware that there will be NO Early Voting Center for this election, so all in-person voting will take place Election Day.
If you vote in the village of Copper City, the townships of Franklin, Hancock, Portage, and Quincy, or the Cities of Hancock and Houghton than you have ballot proposals to consider and vote on. The rest of the county has no ballots to vote this election.
For voters in one of the areas mentioned above, you can find the specifics of the ballot proposals you’ll be voting on in the Notice of Election from the County Clerk’s Office.
The HCDP urges everyone in these areas of our county to get out and vote on Election Day.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL NOTICE OF ELECTION PROVIDED BY THE COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE.
TWO TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FROM THE NDTC
Join the National Democratic Training Committee for two online training opportunities aimed at people interested in running for office.
On Thursday, November 6th from 7-8 PM the NDTC holds a free virtual live training on So You Want to Run for Office. Join us to learn the following:
Understand the steps necessary to run for office
Explain best practices for choosing which office to run for
Identify what support you'll need from your team
Prepare for sharing your decision to run with friends and family
This training is right for you if you're considering a run for elected office but haven't yet made the commitment to run or filed your candidacy.
THIS IS AN ONLINE TRAINING SESSION. For more information and to enroll CLICK HERE.
On Wednesday, November 19th from 1-2 PM the NDTCholds a free virtual live training on What is a Democratic Precinct Chair?. Join us to learn the following:
Describe the structure and purpose of local Democratic Parties
Review common positions people hold in local Democratic Parties
Identify key responsibilities of Democratic precinct chairs
Introduce tactics used by local leaders to grow and engage Democratic Party membership
This training is right for you if you aren't currently involved with your local Democratic party but are exploring ways to get involved in Democratic power-building in your community.
THIS IS AN ONLINE TRAINING SESSION. For more information and to enroll CLICK HERE.
THEY JUST DON’T CARE
REPUBLICANS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GOVERNING
The destruction at the White House is the perfect metaphor for the current Republican control of our federal government.
The federal government shutdown is now on Day 28. The longest government shutdown ever was in 2018. That one lasted 35 days. Like the current shutdown, that one happened on Trump’s watch — it started when the Republicans last controlled both the Congress and the White House.
Last Friday Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House would not be in session again this week — for a fifth week. He has virtually guaranteed that this will now become the longest government shutdown in history.
Not to be outdone by the lack of action or even attention to the shutdown from the House Speaker, the President has left the country.
In the entirety of the current shutdown there has been virtually no effort from the White House to broker a deal. This from a President who claims superb negotiating skills and who talks of “the art of the deal”. He’ll negotiate (poorly it seems) with Putin. He’ll talk with Zelenskyy, and with Netanyahu, even with Hamas terrorists. But not with Democrats.
And don’t think of looking to the Republicans in the Senate for any leadership on the shutdown. The only solution they can come up with is to engage in the Groundhog’s Day exercise of re-introducing the same failed House continuing resolution over and over. As of last Friday that bill, unchanged, went down to defeat for the 12th time.
The Republicans control the White House, and both Houses of Congress as well as the Supreme Court. They have the power to make their vision of America a reality. And this is what they’ve delivered, a government shutdown that not one of them seems to know how to fix or even to care about.
The conclusion is clear. The Republicans are not interested in governing.
What they are clearly more interested in is breaking things. Like your healthcare. And America’s farmers. And as many functions of the federal government as they can. And as many federal jobs as they can end. And peace in the Americas. And the East Wing of the White House.
In normal times a government shutdown would end by negotiation over the issues that caused the shutdown. But Republicans are hellbent on their agenda of destruction, which during the election last year we came to know as Project 2025. They aren’t giving Democrats even a chance to meet, not a chance to discuss righting the destructive course they’ve put our country on.
Republicans control our federal government. The ball is in their court. This shutdown ends one of two ways. The Republicans actually decide they want to pick up the ball and play, and negotiate with Democrats on ending at least some of their destruction. Or Democratic leaders cave. Realistically Democrats have no incentive to do so and every incentive that matters to you and me not to.
So what should you and I do? Well, especially in times like these, we need to make our voices heard. We need to make clear to our Democratic Senators that we expect them to stay strong. And we need to make clear to our Republican House member that we expect him and his party to negotiate — to actually govern.
Contact info for Senator Peters can be found here.
Contact info for Senator Slotkin can be found here.
Contact info for Representative Bergman can be found here.
Writer-Activists Monthly LTE Workshop by Voters Not Politicians
PUT YOUR WRITING SKILLS TO WORK TO MAKE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN MICHIGAN!
Tonight, October 28th at 6:00 PM Voters Not Politicians volunteers will meet to share tips and strategies for writing compelling Letters to the Editors, Op-Eds, and Blog posts about policies affecting Michigan's democracy. Join them to share your voice with fellow pro-democracy activists and with your wider community.
Each volunteer-led meeting will include training on how to write Letters to the Editor, tips shared from volunteers from different regions, and a policy discussion on current VNP policy priorities. We will also be sharing helpful curated talking points on each policy topic.
THIS IS AN ONLINE EVENT. For more information and the register to attend CLICK HERE.
MARQUETTE COUNTY RUSH HOUR RESISTANCE
The group Lake Superior Region Indivisible (https://lsrindivisible.org/) is continuing their “visibility events”, which they call “Rush Hour Resistance”.
The events take place across three locations: in Marquette at the Iron Ore Heritage Trail Overpass; in Negaunee at Miner's Park; and in Ishpeming on the US41/Lakeshore Drive Roundabout.
If you’re willing to travel, or know someone in the greater Marquette area who’d like to participate, you can get more information and RSVP by clicking the button below.
WHEN: Tuesday November 4th and Tuesday November 18th, 4 PM
WHERE: Across three different locations in Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming
Governmental & Community Meetings
There are no County Board, or City or Village Council meetings scheduled this week. Happy Halloween!!!
SUBMIT A RESOLUTION
This newsletter is paid for with regulated funds by the Houghton County Democratic Party, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.
Contact us by email at [email protected] or by text or voicemail at 906-523-1233