Special Guest for January Meeting Tomorrow Evening

Memorial Services for Former President Carter Are Underway

The state funeral services for President Carter officially began on Saturday. Pictured above on Saturday are current and former Secret Service agents assigned to the Carter detail, as they move the President’s flag-draped casket into an awaiting vehicle at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga. The vehicle then joined a motorcade, along with the President’s family, through their hometown of Plains, Georgia.

The motorcade proceeded to Carter’s boyhood home for a brief pause in front of the family’s farm. During the pause, the National Park Service honored the late president with a salute and ringing of the historic farm bell 39 times.

From there the motorcade proceeded to the Georgia state capital, and then on to the Carter Center in Atlanta where the President lay in repose with public viewings through the weekend and until today.

By the time you read this the former President’s remains will have been transported to the Naval Academy in Maryland, and then on to Washington DC. Congress will pay their respects during a service in the Rotunda at 3 PM this afternoon. Mr. Carter will lie in state in the Capital Rotunda with public viewings this evening and tomorrow.

The National Funeral Service will begin at 10 AM Thursday.

The Carter family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Carter Center, 453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307. Donations, and online condolences, can also be left at the Tribute Page hosted by the Carter Center. You can find that page here: https://www.jimmycartertribute.org

Potluck and Monthly Meeting Tomorrow

Special Guest (via Zoom) - Candidate for Chair of the MDP Curtis Hertel

Our next Monthly Meeting will be tomorrow night at 7 PM.

The potluck dinner begins at 6 PM.

POTLUCK AT 6PM

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.

MONTHLY MEETING AT 7PM

You do not need to be a member to attend our monthly meetings, and we would welcome your attendance. Monthly meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month unless otherwise communicated.

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

REMOTE ATTENDANCE: Remote attendance is via Zoom. Newsletter subscribers receive the Zoom link in their email. If you’d like to be included in future emails, hit the Subscribe button at the top of this page now!

Registration for the Rural Summit will open February 1.

The 3rd annual MDP Rural Caucus Summit will be held next April 10th through the 12th. The Kewadin Casino and Resort in Sault Ste Marie will once again be the venue. Top keynote speakers are expected again next year, along with training sessions on running for rural office, rural party building, messaging, and much more.

Click here to learn more about the Michigan Democratic Party’s Rural Caucus.

Michigan Democratic Party Spring Convention February 22

The Michigan Democratic Party’s Spring 2025 Convention will take place Saturday, February 22 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

At the 2025 Spring State Convention, Michigan Democrats will gather by congressional district to elect district officers and members to the State Central Committee. On the Convention floor, Democrats will vote by congressional district to elect a Chair and two (2) Vice-Chairs of the State Central Committee.

All members of the Michigan Democratic Party are encouraged to attend the 2025 Spring State Convention.

The MDP Spring 2025 Call to Convention can be found here.

Number of Candidates for Chair of the Democratic National Committee Expands

Since we highlighted websites for candidates for DNC Chair a couple of weeks ago more folks have thrown their hats in the ring. Former Obama campaign chair and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, and perennial Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson have announced, and rumors flew over the weekend that Jesse Jackson’s son is taking a hard look at running.

Without a Democrat in the White House for the next election cycle, the Chair of the DNC will be more visible and likely have higher expectations thrown at them than would have been the case otherwise. The Chair will be expected to take the lead on fundraising, communications and party organizing at the national level. So the press is paying attention.

One thing to remember is that the Chair will be decided by a vote of the 448 people who make up the Democratic National Committee - the bulk of whom are the chairs and vice chairs of each state Democratic Party and more than 200 elected members from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories.

The other thing to remember is that while anyone can run for Chair, it takes at least 40 votes from among those 448 people to nominate someone for election to the Chair.

Ben Wikler, the state Party Chair from Wisconsin, is likely one of those who will get 40 votes for nomination. Over the weekend he received the endorsement of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. And Mark Brewer, former MDP Chair (1995 - 2013) said on his podcast this weekend that he felt Wikler and Minnesota state Party Chair Ken Martin are the two leading contenders.

Governmental & Community Meetings

WED JAN 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.

THUR JAN 9

The South Range Village Council meets Thursday at 6 PM in the South Range Community Building. For more information contact the Village at [email protected] or (906) 482-8833