Labor Day Picnic

Thanks to all who stopped out for our Labor Day picnic at Kestner Waterfront Park. We had a bit of wind but the temperature was perfect for getting together with like-minded folks to celebrate the end of an eventful summer and the beginning of the fall campaign.

Several local elected officials and candidates spoke to us, including Brian Irizarry, Mayor of Houghton; Brendan Leddy, candidate for Houghton City Council; Tom Wright, Candidate for County Mine Inspector; Gretchen Janssen, Houghton County Commissioner; and Kim Corcoran, Ironwood Mayor and candidate for Representative in Michigan House District 110.

Kim let us know that a debate between her and her opponent Greg Markkanen is being organized for September 30th at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood. She is expecting the debate to be broadcast and livestreamed. Once she has further details confirmed she’ll let us know and we’ll be sure to pass that information on here in the newsletter.

On the Campaign Trail This Week

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK

Campaign updates for the Presidential campaigns -

VP HARRIS, GOV WALZ, AND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM TOUR

• The “first interview” by CNN with VP Harris and Gov. Walz was generally well received and considered a success, though there were many who critiqued the questioning of interviewer Dana Bash.

• Tim Walz made his first visit to the Minnesota State Fair as the Democratic nominee for Vice President on Sunday, and was in Milwaukee yesterday delivering remarks at the Milwaukee Area Labor Council’s Laborfest 2024.

• Gov. Walz is expected to hold solo rallies in Pennsylvania this week.

• VP Kamala Harris spent Labor Day campaigning, with a visit to Detroit followed by a joint appearance with President Biden in Pittsburgh. (Off the campaign trail and behind the scenes the White House and State Department are said to be redoubling efforts to try to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas after the President condemned Hamas for the confirmed deaths of six hostages, whose bodies were found over the weekend.)

• Harris is expected to appear in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

• The Harris campaign is also kicking off its “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour today in Donald Trump’s hometown of Palm Beach, Florida. The tour features Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and others and is expected to make 50 stops in battleground states over the next two months.

TRUMP BEING TRUMP, CAMPAIGN IN WISCONSIN LATER THIS WEEK

• Meanwhile Donald Trump is coming off his rally in Potterville MI last Thursday, where he falsely claimed that “thousands” lined the streets “as far as the eye can see” as his motorcade pulled through town (there were likely a couple hundred people). The Potterville stop was billed as another talk on the economy but once again it turned into an overlong, marathon speech railing against VP Harris. The speech at Alro Steel had an audience of hundreds, many of them employees of Alro.

• Trump is also coming into this week with media reports that he violated federal law when he filmed at Arlington National Cemetery last Monday - the footage appearing in a political ad shared on his social media site shortly afterwards.

• The Trump campaign is expected to make two stops in Wisconsin this week, in Milwaukee on Thursday and in Mosinee - west of Green Bay - on Saturday.

We’ve Started Doing Something! (But We Need to Do More)

THERE ARE ONLY 23 DAYS UNTIL ABSENTEE VOTING BEGINS…

As Chair William Keith said at our Picnic on Sunday afternoon we’ve already begun to answer Michelle Obama’s call to DO SOMETHING!

We had our first phone bank last week, we’ve organized our first door knocking, and we have postcards available for folks who’d like to participate in a postcard campaign. This is just the start - there’s still more to do! And as we said last week - we all need to do our part!

Thank you to everyone who’s taken part already, and thank you to everyone who’s already put your name on our volunteer list. If you haven’t volunteered already but feel the need to DO SOMETHING, by all means fill out the form on our Volunteer webpage.

And, as Chair Keith emphasized, the best political persuasion is personal. If you can’t attend our Debate Watch Party (see the item below) consider inviting friends over and holding your own!

Below, we’re repeating some of our suggestions from last week for ways that you can get involved and make a direct impact.

SUPPORT KAMALA HARRIS AND TIM WALZ:

• VOLUNTEER FOR THE HARRIS WALZ CAMPAIGN: You can sign up at the Take Action for Harris Walz webpage. Indicate your interest in attending an event, hosting an event, becoming a social media messenger or content creator, knocking on doors, making phone calls and more. If you’re a social media maven (or maybe even an influencer) who wants to sharpen your Harris Walz posting skills consider attending this Online Engagement training course, which is available at multiple times from now until Election Day.

• DONATE TO THE HARRIS WALZ CAMPAIGN: Every donation helps, from $5 to $1000 or more. Your donation will help pay for the campaign staff in battleground states and across the country to get out the word and get out the vote. It will help pay for advertising on television and social media. Donate to the official campaign donation page here.

SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS FOR STATE & LOCAL DEMOCRATS

• VOLUNTEER LOCALLY: Sign up on our Volunteer webpage! Thanks again to those who phone banked with us last week.

  • DOOR KNOCKING: This is our top priority currently, so expect a call on this count for a run later this week if you indicated a willingness to do so. 

  • POSTCARDS: For something to do on your own time, many people on the volunteer list noted that they would be willing to write postcards. We now have these in stock and will be calling those who indicated this. We will give you a list of 20-30 addresses in a target area, and an equal number of postcards and stamps for you to write a personal message in your own words. You can pick these up at the office during office hours, then work on them at home over the next few days.

• DONATE LOCALLY: Donate to the Houghton County Dems to help us get out the vote for our local candidates.

• GET INFORMED: Our Houghton County Democratic Slate can be found here. The Slate can be printed and brought with you to your polling place. We are also preparing a bio webpage for local candidates which should be available within the next week.

Debate Watch Party Next Tuesday

FOOD, DRINKS AND POLITICS

Join us next Tuesday, September 10th for a Debate Watch Party at our HCDP headquarters at 323 Quincy Street in Hancock. As with our previous Watch Party we’ll be taking donations to support our local candidates. Suggested donation - $10. Coffee and snacks provided. BYOB.

STOP BY EARLY AND JOIN THE FUN - WE’RE HAVING A MAKE YOUR OWN HARRIS WALZ SIGN EVENT! WE’LL HAVE THE TOOLS & MATERIALS READY TO GO.

Virtual Town Hall with Elissa Slotkin

STATE WIDE INDIVISIBLE MICHIGAN HOSTS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL

State Wide Indivisible Michigan is hosting a Virtual Town Hall style conversation with US Senate Candidate Rep Elissa Slotkin next Monday at 7:30 PM.

This is a great opportunity to learn about Rep. Slotkin's positions on the issues that matter to you. There will also be time for a moderated Q&A from the floor. Find out more and sign up to attend the Virtual Town Hall 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: September 4th

Governmental & Community Meetings

THUR SEP 05

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

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