April 1, 2022

PCDP Convention Wrap Up

If you attended the Party Convention at Harmon Field on Saturday March 26^th then I have no doubt you were inspired by the turnout which included many new faces, the candidate speeches, and the breakfast.  If you missed it, I'm sorry.  

Here are some highlights:

I have been asking for some relief from holding two jobs: that of Chair and 1^st Vice Chair. Both these positions require lots of time and effort.  No one was nominated as Chair, so I will continue to serve through next year. Jane Ollis stepped up to be 1^st Vice Chair.  I am grateful for her commitment and look forward to having her assistance.

Delegates to our 11^th District Convention on May 21 were selected: Susannah Hogan, Linda Knippa, Clayton Larrison, Margaret Parker, Lynne Perlmutter, and Pat Salomon.  They will travel to Haywood Community College for the day to represent you.

Sharon Goettert, our longtime member of the local Board of Elections, had to resign due to her husband, Ed's, ill health, and Libbie Johnson agreed to replace her.  Libbie is a hard worker. We are lucky to have her.

Preston White, Green Creek Precinct Chair, was awarded a gift certificate to The Iron Key Brewery by 6 members of our Victory Committee for having the biggest turnout at his precinct meeting in February. Congratulations, Preston.

Four Polk County candidates for office spoke in person:  Ray Gasperson and Andy Millard who are running for seats on the County Board of Commissioners, Stephanie Justice who is running for the NC Senate and Chrelle Booker who is running for the US Senate.  Rett Newton, running for the US Senate travelled from Beaufort NC to speak in person.  All received much appreciative applause for their speeches.

Other candidates who were unable to attend in person sent videos. Andy Millard, technical guru handled showing them on a TV screen as the log cabin has no Wi-Fi.

Many attendees made donations, and some signed up for volunteer jobs.

For those who attended, our spirits were lifted by being able to interact in person with each other.  The quality of our Democratic Party candidates gives us hope.  Let all of us be inspired by the resolve of the Ukrainian people and do all we can to elect Democrats in November and hold on to our Democracy.  

Pat Salomon, Chair

Polk County Democratic Party

864-384-5076

Contribute to Leah Justice Emergency Funds

Democrats Caring About Our Community

Leah was a longtime Tryon Daily Bulletin reporter and contributor to our Polk County community.

​Despite being fully vaccinated, Leah was infected with Covid.  Leah’s diabetes has impacted her course resulting in helicopter transport to a hospital in Charlotte, significant and ongoing medical complications, and a sizeable and growing financial burden.  She needs our help.  

See her full story and donate on Leah's GOFUNDME page.

• April 22 is the deadline for Primary Voter Registration although you can register the same day during one-stop, in-person voting
• April 28 - May 14 is one-stop, in-person voting at the Polk County Board of Elections in Columbus. We encourage you to vote early.
• May 17 is primary election day
• If you think you are already registered- BE SURE. Check Voter Search from the NC State Board of Elections to see your voter status ("ACTIVE" if you have an active registration) and Voter Registration Number.
• Need to vote with an ABSENTEE BALLOT? The steps are here. You can also check on our website. It is recommended to mail in early or drop it off at the BOE at the Womack Building in Columbus.
• BE INFORMED! Know your candidates. For the primary, registered Democrats will be voting for U.S. House of Representatives (District 11) and U.S. Senate. Here is a sample ballot.
• The rest of the Democratic Party candidates who are not in the primary election need your support now to best help their efforts in the November General election.
• Check out our website for all the information you need to know about voting. Be sure and check out the pull-down pages for "Register to Vote" and "How to Vote".
• Our website also has information on all of our Democratic Party candidates. See the pull-down pages for our local, state, and national candidates with links to their candidate pages when available.

The in-person (yay!) Democratic Women's Club monthly fundraising breakfasts are starting on Saturday May 7th from 8am-10am at the Headquarters. They occur on the first Saturday of the month through November 5th just before the General election. As always, men are welcome. Weather permitting, eating will also be set up outside. The Women's Club drives many of the important activities of our County party. This is a way to support their activities in addition to enjoying visiting with friends. This event (and others) are in our website calendar. Please put the breakfasts in yours!