Baldwin County Democrats Newsletter February 4, 2025

Feb. 3, 2025

Looking for upcoming events? Scroll to bottom

Growing our Vine of Community Engagement

Tips and Talking Points to Survive TrumpWorld

1Voice publicly discontent with:

-inflation- keep talking about it

-billionaires influencing public policy and our tax dollars; support our merit based system, not entitlement of billionaires

-release of Jan 6 criminals onto our streets

2You can’t do it all yourself. Join Democratic organizations and fight together.

3Trump hates to be made fun of; laugh at him. Maintain your joy. Authoritarians win with fear; they cannot take over joyful, united communities.

4Identify the issue most important to you and focus your fight there. Get the facts out and fight the lies.

5Fight at state level; many groups are already formed and working the federal level issues.

6It’s fine to be upset, but stay emotionally and physically healthy. A healthy population is hard to control.

7Do two things to change the public conversation. We don’t have to live in Trump's world.

From Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of history at Boston College who has authored seven books on history and politics. In 2019, Richardson started publishing Letters from an American, a nightly newsletter that focuses on the health of American democracy.

V.I.N.E.

Visibility.

Influence.

Network.

Effectiveness.

That’s the agenda Eastern Shore Democrats put forward at the first meeting of 2025. ESD is leading the way as Baldwin County Democrats kickstart a year of showing up for local government and getting candidates on ballots for city councils and mayors.

“It’s all about local politics,” said Maurice Horsey, past President of ESD who also ran for Daphne City Council several years ago. “This is where things get done.”

The VINE initiative is a plan for face-to-face relationship building by recruiting volunteers to attend city council meetings, zoning meetings, Chamber of Commerce - and gatherings of other civic and governmental organizations.

It’s a way to raise our visibility and to assimilate as a part of the community, a way to claim our voice and speak up as players in shaping the dialogue about things that matter in Baldwin County lives - things like growing infrastructure along with development, protecting our treasured waterways, providing healthcare, saving our endangered hospitals, creating living-wage jobs for folks of all races and genders.

“We’re coming not out of anger, but to listen,” said ESD Co-President Katie Cooper-Lawton. “We’re not here to yell, but to connect with people. We want to be present as problem solvers.”

The 2025 priority goal of putting Democrats on municipal ballots got off to the ground last week as one Democrat stepped up with an intention to run for city council and several others expressed a strong inclination to seek local office. Watch this space for announcements soon.

2025 Municipal Elections in Fairhope, Daphne, Spanish Fort

Qualifying period: June 10 (8 am) – June 24 (5 pm)
Municipal Election Day: Tuesday, August 26
Run-off date (if needed): Tuesday, September 23

Local Government Meeting Days

Daphne City Council - 1st and 3rd Monday / 6 pm 1705 Main Street

Fairhope City Council - 2nd and 4th Monday/6 pm 161 N Section Street

Spanish Fort City Council - 1st and 3rd Monday / 6 pm 7361 Spanish Fort Blvd

Gulf Shores City Council - 2nd and 4th Monday/ 6pm

1905 W. 1st St., Gulf Shores

Elberta Town Council - 3rd Tuesday /5:45 pm

13052 Main St, Elberta

Foley City Council -1st and 3rd Tuesdays/ 5::30

Foley City Hall

Orange Beach City Council - 1st and 3rd Tuesday/5 p.m.

Orange Beach City Hall

Baldwin County Bd of Educ - 3rd Thursday/5:30 pm 2600 N Hand Ave, Bay Minette

Baldwin County Commission 1st and 3rd Tuesday/10 am 322 Courthouse Sq, Bay Min.

Watch the newsletter for more local meeting times and places as our Vine of community engagement grows.

Where Do We Go From Here? See Video here.

Donate to 2025 Candidates Here

Click Here to Inquire About Running for Office

ACTION ITEM OF THE MONTH:

Alabama League of Women Voters

Take Action Items

Click Here for Links to Take Action Now

Here's How You Can Help Shift

the Balance of Power in Congress

Click here for FemmSouth Podcasts

Baldwin County Dems and members of FemmSouth, a regional reproductive rights organization based in Fairhope, connected with Gay Valimont campaign leaders at the Women's March gathering at Graffiti Park in Pensacola Feb 1. About 75 turned out to demonstrate in support for Progressive values.

BCD will be working with the Valimont campaign to help win the Florida District 1 seat recently vacated by disgraced Congressman Matt Gaetz in a special election April 1.

Only about 15 percent of Republicans voted in the primary, which Trumper Jimmy Patronis won. Valimont organizers project that if at least a third of Democrats show up at polling places for the special election April 1, and Valimont can secure half of Independents, "this race is winnable," says Field Organizer Erin Begley.

Special elections are low turnout affairs, meaning that a well-executed voter turnout drive can dramatically shift the results.

"We're excited to partner with our friends from Baldwin County again for this race that may be even more important than the general election. Every Congressional seat we take is a Trump agenda blocker to fight Project 2025," she said.

Please see link below to Gay Valimont for Congress for all volunteer opportunities, which include at-home phone banking and post-card writing. Valimont campaign staff tells me they just got 5000 postcards with postage donated that are waiting for volunteers to write.

BCD members are planning Saturday Action Team trips to canvass for Gay Valimont in Pensacola. Please sign up to be part of our BCD Action Team for:

Feb. 22

March 8

March 22.

Click here to Canvass with BCD for Gay Valimont

Click here to visit Gay Valimont for Congress

Click here for details on Valimont Path to Win

UPCOMING EVENTS

Baldwin County Democrats Executive Committee Meeting

1 p.m. Sat., March 8

Foley Public Library Meeting Room

Join us for a special in-person meeting

All Baldwin County Dems Welcome; Only Committee Members can vote

The meeting will be followed by a training in using Constant Contact, our primary communication tool.

Medicaid Expansion Advocacy Day

Tuesday, February 25 | 9 am – 3 pm

Alabama State House, Room 200

11 S Union Street, Montgomery, AL 36130

The Baldwin County Democrats Newsletter...

Comes out the first Sunday of every month in your inbox.

We encourage reader submissions and suggestions for content. Deadline for submissions of articles and event listings is the last Wednesday of the month.

Please send submissions, suggestions and comments to bcdchair@baldwindemocrats.org

Baldwin County Democrats

P.O. Box 2942

Gulf Shores, AL 36542

(251) 284-3947

info@baldwindemocrats.org

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