Platte Dems
Newsletter of the Platte County Democratic
 Central Committee
    Volume 11 No. 10                                                                                                                                 October  2019
 
 
In This Issue
Women's Club
Platte County Govt
Women's Club 0 6th District
PCDCC
The Year Ahead
2020 Election Calendar
Letters to the Editor
Quick Links
  
  
Calendar   
 
November 5 - Kansas City Special Election - Platte Co. Sample Ballot   
 
November 8, 9, 10 - 1st Annual MODEMS Annual Summit - Info 
 
November 11 - Platte County Federated Women's Democratic Club - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO. 5:30 pm.    
 
November 13 - Northland Galloway for Governor reception - Info 
 
November 19 - Northland Democratic Club - Sherwood Estates Office, 4120 NE Vivion Road (across from Penguin Park) starting at 6:30 p.m. Program starts at 7:00 p.m.  
 
November 20 - Democratic Presidental Debate - MSNBC - 7-9 pm 
 
November 21 - Platte County Democratic Central Committee - Platte County Resource Center, 11724 NW Plaza Circle, KCMO.  7:00 pm.   
 
 
 
Other Events:
 
Jackson County Democrats - click here.  
Indivisible Kansas City - click here.
Greater KC Women's Caucus - click here.
Heartland Alliance for Progress - click here.  
Northland Progress - click here.
ResistHate KC - click here.
Buchanan County Democrats - click here.         
Platte County Federated Women's Democratic Club   
At the Women's Club meeting October 14th at the Platte County Resource Center, President Mel Nicolaisen reminded us that the 6th District Clubs will host the MFWDC Annual Convention in June 2020 in Jefferson City (all annual conventions are to be in held Jefferson City, a change that started last year). Volunteers will be needed to plan and coordinate the convention.  
 
Our guest speakers were Clarissa Hollander and Cara Kent who gave a tag team presentation on Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety and the Mom's Program known as Be SMART: Secure all guns in your home and vehicles, Model responsible behavior around guns, Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes, Recognize the role of guns in suicide and Tell your peers to be SMART. For more information on what you can do to keep kids safe go to  http://besmartforkids.org . For more information about Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America go to www.momsdemandaction.org  or like MomsDemandAction on Facebook.
Views on Platte County Government by David Park  
THE PLATTE COUNTY SALES TAX STRUCTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE 
 
The Platte County Sales Tax Structure Advisory Committee (PCSTSAC) was officially established by the Platte County Commission on Monday, October 7, 2019. As stated in the resolution adopted by the commission, the purpose of the committee is "To make a tax structure recommendation concerning dedicated funding for long term predictable financial stability that prioritizes law enforcement operations and supports parks and stormwater operations and maintenance " emphasis added.
 
Note that it does not include providing for new parks and recreation or stormwater projects to serve a rapidly growing population. During my testimony on the resolution, I pointed out that the population of Platte County is projected to increase over the next 10 years by more than the current total combined populations of Parkville, Platte City, Riverside, Weatherby Lake and Weston. My point was that our already crowded facilities will be overcrowded if we do not add facilities to accommodate the growth.
 
I asked if the PCSTSAC would have the flexibility to recommend a tax structure that accommodates additional parks or capital improvements within existing parks and was given a nebulous answer. The committee is to recommend a tax structure based upon 10-year budgets. The current 10-year budget for parks and stormwater does not include any funding for new parks or stormwater projects.
 
The recommendation of the committee is to be the basis for ballot items in 2020. There are three possible election dates: April 7, August 4, or November 3. The commission said they do not yet know on which date the ballot measures will appear.
 
I also asked if committee meetings and agendas will be posted online. There is apparently no established procedure for announcing meetings and posting agendas. The meetings, I was told, will probably appear on the commission calendar online because commissioners may be in attendance.
 
Former County Auditor Sandra Thomas will chair the committee and members include Shane Bartee, Gordon Cook, Rick Easley, Gina James, Dave Ketchmark, Jim Kunce, Jim McCall, Wes Minder, Angie Mutti, and Aaron Schmidt.
 
Stay tuned for further information.
Women's Democratic Clubs of the 6th Congressional District  
The Women's Democratic Clubs of the 6 th Congressional held the Fall meeting at the Blackwater Restaurant in Chillicothe, Mo on October 5th. Eight members of the Platte County Women's Club attended. The group was much larger than usual, an indication of how fired up people are as the 2020 election season approaches.  
 
Elad Gross, 2020 candidate for Missouri Attorney General was the guest speaker. He is a former Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Attorney, non-profit President and educator. He is running for Attorney General of Missouri to bring back accountability and transparency to Jefferson City and to combat the overwhelming influence of dark money in our politics. He believes that our children's futures and well-being should be at the center of every policy decision we make. And he knows that, together, we can take back Missouri government.  
 
Henry Martin, candidate for the 6th Congressional District was also on hand. He was not able to speak but he did take the opportunity to get acquainted with representatives from clubs across the 6th District.
 
Platte County Democratic Central Committee  
The Platte County Central Committee met briefly on October 17th at the Platte County Resource Center. Missy Green announced that Northland Progress will sponsor Kidmas again this year on December 5th at Chicken & Pickle in North Kansas City.  
 
The Spring Fling Committee announced that the spring event will be at Tiffany Springs Greens on Saturday April 4rh from 11:00 to 1:00.  
 
Stacey Webb agreed to represent the Platte County Democratic Central Committee at the Trunk or Treat event at the Parkville YMCA on October 25th. The Committee agreed to provide funds for candy.  
The Year Ahead - 2020 
"It was the  best of times, it was the worst of times , it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." Charles Dickens
 
With all that is happening on the world stage the words Charles Dickens chose for the opening of "Tale of Two Cities" has never been more apropos. The Washington Nationals have won the World Series! The House has passed Rules for an Impeachment Probe. Hope is beginning to replace the frustration and anger that has characterized the outrageous appointments and mean spirited policies of an administration that won via the Electoral College rather than the popular vote. Income inequality is the worst it's been since the Gilded Age.  
 
There are serious proposals afoot to fix our infrastructure, rework our warped tax code, repair our healthcare system and provide education and opportunity to all. Baghdadi is dead, the Kurds are homeless, the holidays and winter are in the air. We have work to do.
The Election Calendar for 2020  Democratic Delegates 
The schedule for national delegate selection is as follows:
 
March 10, 2020 - Missouri has an open Primary Election. Voters are asked which ballot they want at the time they vote. The results of the Primary will determine the number of delegates assigned to each candidate.
 
April 9, 2020 - County Mass Meeting - delegates to the Congressional District Meeting selected. The number of delegates per each candidate is proportional to the primary election vote. Delegates selected go to the State Convention.  
 
May 9, 2020 - State State Committee will chose 9 PELO delegates.  (party leaders and elected officials)  
   
June 20, 2020 - State Convention - delegates to the National Convention are selected. For more detailed information about delegate selection process see:
 
July 13-16 - Democratic National Convention - Milwaukee, WI. 
Letters to the Editor 
Don't forget to send your thoughts to local newspapers: The Kansas City Star -  Letters to the Editor | The Kansas City Star  ; Platte County Landmark - ivan@plattecountylandmark.com; Platte County Citizen - editor@plattecountycitizen.com