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Voting Begins Monday, October 20th

Sunday, 19 October 2008 14:59 John

Early Voting Begins Monday, October 20^th

Many people have already received their mail-in ballots, and early-voting begins this Monday. I was recently asked if there has been any “official” guidance or endorsement from the state GLBT caucus in regard to our choices: That answer is no and I have not requested one. Our Democratic system of Election does not work if we do not first honor the individual voices of the people.

I strongly feel that creating a population of well-informed citizens is the best plan for bringing about change. It is time for our elected officials to more accurately represent the will of the people in our cities, counties, states and nation. It is under that goal that I have worked so hard this year to give anyone who wanted a chance to meet and speak with the various individuals who are running for public office.

I urge everyone to vote, and vote early if possible. We are expecting record breaking numbers of people on November 4^th and have a lot of new voters as well as a new voting system. Please check the website below for dates, times and locations of the early voting offices:

http://www.leecountydems.org/earlyvote.html

Florida House of Representatives

Stephen Gray-Blancett

Betty Gissendanner

Judy “JJ” Juliano

Maria Jimenez

Florida State Senate

Senator Dave Aronberg

United States Congress

Robert Neeld

Lee Property Appraiser

John Glaser

President of the United States

Barack Obama, President - Joe Biden, Vice-President

I look forward to celebrating an amazing win for both Democrats and our Democracy. I hope to see all of you at Tubby’s, 7:00pm this November 4^th as we watch the change happen live!

http://www.tubbysbar.com

Sincerely,

John Hawkins, President

Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida

Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 October 2008 16:07 )

Help your Candidates WIN!

Monday, 15 September 2008 23:49 John

Help your Candidates WIN!

Our last meeting had to have been our most diverse yet. Fresh back from the convention in Denver Lydia and Steve set up a slideshow of the many photos they took. Although several valiant technical attempts were made, it was Luke Kosar from Dave Aronberg’s campaign that finally got the projector working.

The Delegate Round Table was a huge success. Each of the panel members took away their own unique tale of the events. All were willing to share their experiences, opinions and suggestions for the next election. Apparently CNN had mentioned that 6% of the National Delegation was GLBT, the highest percentage ever recorded, but our local group assured the members that was not the case for Florida. While the official count for Florida was 10%, it was mentioned that the 10% number only involved those delegates who were added to our delegation specifically as representatives for the GLBT community and that many more GLBT delegates had actually won their spots in the various local caucus elections without deference to their orientation status.

The second half of the meeting was all about November. Aaron Myers with the Obama Campaign gave an impassioned speech about the socio-political changes that this country has made in the last 150 years and that a vote for the Republicans would be setting that clock back 40 years (prior to Stonewall). He urged everyone to help create change and offered several methods (stuffing envelopes, sign waving, phone calls, and more) to help ensure a Democratic victory. Similar sentiments were shared during the presentations for Senator Dave Aronberg and John Glaser (Our candidate for Property Appraiser). I ended the meeting with a call to action. I asked everyone to sign up for at least one volunteering event with one of the local campaigns - one hour, one afternoon, or more - we only have 20 days before early voting begins. If we don't start to get involved in our own lives and create the change we so desperately need in this country . . . we will have no one but ourselves to blame if we fail. Please contact the campaign of your choice below and be your own force of destiny.

Florida House of Representatives

Stephen Gray-Blancett yourvoiceforchange.com

Betty Gissendanner bettygcampaign.org

Judy “JJ” Juliano julianoforstaterep.org

Florida State Senate

Senator Dave Aronberg senatordave.com

United States Congress

Robert Neeld neeldforcongress.com

Lee Property Appraiser

John Glaser realvalue4lee.com

President of the United States

Barack Obama my.barackobama.com

Of course, anyone can contact me directly for information at: John(@)swflglbtdems.org

Sincerely,

John Hawkins, President

Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 September 2008 01:10 )

September 14th Meeting

Friday, 05 September 2008 08:02 John

Open Meeting September 14th

I'm please to announced the details of our next open membership meeting below. We will again be the guests of The New Metropolitan Restaurant (which is now under new ownership).

With this being our last meeting before the November elections, I have decided to focus on our National ambitions. I have arranged for a keynote presentation from the Barack Obama Campaign for Change of Lee County. They have been doing excellent work in our area and I am very proud that they have taken a sincere interest in reaching out to our caucus.

Next up will be a lively review of the events from the National Democratic Convention as revealed by the local Floridians who actually attended as our delegates. I've heard some wild stories, I've read a few intriguing emails, but I'm expecting this will be a very revealing look into what CNN didn't want to tell us about what really happened behind the closed doors! And then... I open the conversation to your questions. What are you dying to ask?

Of course, as "Tip" O'Neill said: "All politics is local" and I couldn't agree more. We have several very important local races this year which can help shape our counties, our state and our country. Expect several local candidates and their campaigns to make their case for your VOTE. Then stay and grill the candidates in person, let them hear your concerns, and if they gain your support - offer to help them WIN.

Of course, anyone can contact me directly for information at: John(@)swflglbtdems.org

Sincerely,

John Hawkins, President
Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida

More classic "Tip" O'Neill: "I have been in politics all my life. I am proud to be a politician. No other career affords as much opportunity to help people. Let us not concern ourselves with what we have tried and failed, but with what it is still possible to do. Let us spare no energy that the nation and the world may be better for our efforts."

Dave Aronberg Rocks Stonewall

Tuesday, 29 July 2008 16:58 John

Dave Aronberg Rocks at Stonewall

An SRO Classic Act

July 27^th marked a momentous event for the newly re-formed Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida. Not only did we have a record SRO crowd (Standing Room Only), the good news and great speakers that had been filtering our way since March broke loose.

1. The Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida are confirmed to be the host club for the next Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus in Fort Myers. The final dates are February 6, 7 & 8^th 2009. More details and pre-registration to follow online or by mail.

2. John Hawkins, the current President of Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida has been elected to be the Regional Director (Male) for the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus. His region covers the greater Western coastal counties from Tampa down through Naples.

3. Larry Byrnes has chosen to officially withdraw from the race in Congressional District 14, but another equally GLBT-friendly candidate, Robert M. Neeld is gaining ground against the split Republican ticket (Connie Mack IV vs. Burt Saunders). This could lead to a pick-up seat for the Democrats in the U.S. Congress.

4. Ellis Robinson, our Lee County Democratic State Committeewoman, gave us a great explanation of how she is our liaison between the various clubs and carries our voice to Tallahassee. She also explained how important it is to vote in the Primary and help James Middlebrooks and Jane Kuckel win their bid for the Lee County School Board. Ellis also used this race as an example of WHY the Republican machine keeps maneuvering to hold a Primary while preventing a Democratic one. Of course she closed with an informative conversation on what it takes to be a Poll Worker and how important the position is to fair and honest elections here. Interested parties who wish to work the polls (FYI: It’s a Paid position) can get information on the Lee Elections website: http://www.leeelections.com/pollwork

5. The room took a serious, hard shot at the races when the well-spoken and very intense John Glaser (Candidate for Lee County Property Appraiser) towered over the crowd reiterating Ellis’ call to vote in the Primary for School Board. He also provided a very knowledgeable, detailed and informative discussion on how the Property Appraiser’s office works and how it had not been run correctly for the past 15 years resulting in several of the Real Estate and Taxation issues we are facing today.

6. Daring to publish my notes a bit out of order, because we had so many new faces at this meeting who had not yet had a chance to hear from him, I coerced the ever-charming, amazingly talented Stephen Gray-Blancett (House District 73) to briefly introduce himself. To my knowledge he is only one of two openly GLBT candidates running for the Florida House of Representatives (Mark LaFontaine of Oakland Park - House District 92 is the other). Stephen’s partner James took the queue and quickly flooded the room with informational brochures. If you did not get one, just visit his website http://www.yourvoiceforchange.com

7. Senator Dave Aronberg! I know some of you were waiting; in fact the entire banquet room of The New Metropolitan was packed SRO as my guest of honor was introduced. A true and honest class act, Dave explained what actually happened to his co-sponsored Senate Bill S572 which would have added sexual orientation and familial status to Florida's anti-discrimination laws. He proceeded to charm the crowd with his singular outlook on his job responsibilities and rapier wit regarding the eclectic demographics of Senate District 27 (crossing the state through five counties: Palm Beach, Glades, Hendry, Charlotte, and Lee). Dave was very forthright in his hopes that this will not be his last caucus with our local group and he looks forward to speaking to, and hearing from us again. An enthusiastic Standing Ovation ended the presentation.

So what’s next you might be thinking…

Our next meeting is currently planned for September 14^th, 3:00pm. While final details are still being hammered down, you can expect a lively review of the events of the National Democratic Convention told by local people who attended the events. More elected officials and candidates for office, even an official representative for Barack Obama himself is possible:

YES WE CAN!

Of course, anyone can contact me directly for information at: John(@)swflglbtdems.org

Sincerely,

John Hawkins, President
Stonewall Democrats of SW Florida

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 July 2008 18:51 )