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Important

Next Regular Meeting
August 16, 2018 7 - PM
(Third Thursday)
342 River Street - Manistee
Headquarters on River Street
Program: Susan Spencer,
Administrator
Manistee Conservation District
Invasive Species

2018
It’s going to be a
very big year!!

Mark your calendar, grab your hat, bring a    friend…….Here we go!!

Jul: 19t Manistee Dems Meeting
Aug: 7th  Primary Election
16th Manistee Dems Meeting
Sep: 8th Don Jennings Dinner @ Man. National Golf & Resort
20th Manistee Dems Meeting
Oct: ?? Country Picnic at the Joseph’s
(date to be determined)
18th Manistee Dems Meeting
Nov: 6th General Election
Victory Party
15th Manistee Dems Meeting
Dec: 7th Holiday Pot Luck @ Manistee Inn &
  Marina

Indivisible

Donald Trump is the biggest popular-vote loser in history to ever call himself President. In spite of the fact that he has no mandate, he will attempt to use his congressional majority to reshape America in his own racist, authoritarian, and corrupt image. If progressives are going to stop this, we must stand indivisibly opposed to Trump and the Members of Congress (MoCs) who would do his bidding. Together, we have the power to resist — and we have the power to win.

We know this because we’ve seen it before. The authors of this guide are former congressional staffers who witnessed the rise of the Tea Party. We saw these activists take on a popular president with a mandate for change and a supermajority in Congress. We saw them organize locally and convince their own MoCs to reject President Obama’s agenda. Their ideas were wrong, cruel, and tinged with racism— and they won.

We believe that protecting our values, our neighbors, and ourselves will require mounting a similar resistance to the Trump agenda — but a resistance built on the values of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness. Trump is not popular. He does not have a mandate. He does not have large congressional majorities. If a small minority in the Tea Party could stop President Obama, then we the majority can stop a petty tyrant named Trump.

To this end, the following chapters offer a step-by-step guide for individuals, groups, and organizations looking to replicate the Tea Party’s success in getting Congress to listen to a small, vocal, dedicated group of constituents. The guide is intended to be equally useful for stiffening Democratic spines and weakening pro-Trump Republican resolve.

We believe that the next four years depend on Americans across the country standing indivisible against the Trump agenda. We believe that buying into false promises or accepting partial concessions will only further empower Trump to victimize us and our neighbors. We hope that this guide will provide those who share that belief with useful tools to make Congress listen.

Breaking News

Amended Bylaws presented for approval 8/16/18
Amended Bylaws

Wiejaczka, Taillard, Morgan Move On

Kathy Wiejaczka, Matt Morgan and Mike Taillard move on to the general election in November. Kathy Wiejaczka bested Ed Hoogterp for the 101st District. Matt Morgan mounted a vigorous write in campaign and was successful in gaining the nomination for the 1 Congressional District. Mike Taillard was unopposed so was able to save resources for the difficult 35th State Senate District.

This strong slate joins Gretchen Whitmer in the quest to return the governor and the legislature to the Blue Team.

2018 Headquarters
342 River Street - Manistee

Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated. There are many task from canvassing for candidates to talking to visitors. Everybody has something that can be contributed.

Mike Taillard

Nestlé water deal is bad economics – and bad policy – for Michigan. Click

Kathy Wiejaczka
Candidate
101st District

My advocacy for people began 39 years ago. That’s when I became a registered nurse. My evolution as a professional nurse progressed through many specialty areas such as pediatrics, obstetrics, home care, hospital supervisor, mental health nurse, school nurse, and nursing instructor. The bottom line is I care about people. I care about our environment. I care about children and their education; our future lies in the well-rounded education of our youth. I know that I can offer much to the 101st constituency by way of transparent, honest, ethical problem solving. Throughout my entire career, my focus incorporates my energetic, passionate, commitment to people and their needs.

After attending the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2017, my desire to run for the 101st seat solidified. Marching with my beautiful 33-year old daughter, Adele, surrounded by incredibly loving and diverse people brought such clarity to my next role. This role involves running for office, not waiting for someone else, but to gather my courage and strength and use it for a different kind of good for humanity, for the 101st District.

My Dad, as a WWII veteran on the front lines in Germany and France, infused in me the importance of faith, family, country, and our fellow human beings. He was a union steward, and strong Catholic, and many times while growing up I heard his words, “If someone needs your help, you help them”. Paramount to my work as a nurse involves patient/family advocacy. Always putting their needs before my own, tirelessly under stressful times, helping them to achieve independence or health. This is what I do. So, now I look forward to advocating on a different level, on a legislative level for this district in Lansing.

Whatever the challenges, I am ready to meet them head on with total commitment. It is with love for my fellow man, woman, and child that I go forth. A quote by Representative Cummings exemplifies my focus: “I have my own definition of successful and that is lifting up the lives of ALL American people. In other words making their lives better.”

Thank you.

Kathy Wiejaczka RN, MSN

Revision of
Local Party ByLaws

Click HERE to see Local Party Bylaws.

Richard Bernstein
Keynote Speaker at the
Don Jennings Award Dinner

The Manistee County Democratic Party announces the Keynote Speaker for their 15th
Annual Don Jennings Award Dinner is Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard
Bernstein. The Award Dinner will be held Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the Manistee
National Golf and Resort.

Justice Richard Bernstein became the first blind justice elected to the Michigan Supreme
Court in November 2014. With a commitment to justice and fairness, Bernstein began his
8-year term in January 2015.

Prior to being elected to Michigan’s highest court, Justice Bernstein was known as a
tireless advocate for disabled rights as an attorney heading the public service division for
The Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Blind since birth, Justice
Bernstein is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his juris
doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law.

Committed to taking action to help clients who needed him, Justice Bernstein’s cases
often set national standards protecting the rights and safety of people with and without
disabilities.

Bernstein previously served an eight-year term on the Wayne State University Board of
Governors, elected by voters statewide, serving as its Chair from 2009-2010. He also
served as an adjunct professor in the political science department at the University of
Michigan.

Honors Justice Bernstein has received include: “Michiganian of the Year” by the Detroit
News, one of Crain’s Detroit Business’ “40 Under 40” and recognition on worldwide
television by CNN as a leader in keeping government honest. He was selected by The
Young Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Michigan as the 2003-2004 Regeana Myrick
Outstanding Young Lawyer Award recipient for outstanding commitment to public service
and is the recipient of the 2008 John W. Cummiskey Pro Bono Award from the State Bar of Michigan in recognition of his leadership as an advocate and activist.
Michigan Lawyers Weekly named Justice Bernstein a 2009 Leader in the Law, and the
University of Michigan presented him with the James T. Neubacher Award in 2011 for his
unwavering commitment to equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. Also
in 2011, L. Brooks Patterson, Michigan’s Oakland County Executive, selected Justice
Bernstein as one of the region’s Elite 40 Under 40. In 2013, Justice Bernstein was
inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

In his spare time, Justice Bernstein is an avid runner, completing 18 marathons.

For further information or to make reservations for the 15th Annual Don Jennings Award Dinner on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the Manistee National Golf and Resort, please contact Peggy Raddatz at 231-510-3726 or email DonJenningsDinner@gmail.com. There is a $5 discount for tickets reserved before August 24th.

Buy Don Jennings Tickets

Prospective Candidate Survey

Words from the County Chair

The recent mass shootings in Las Vegas, NV, Parkland, FL and, closer to home, at CMU, continue to remind us of how dangerous our country is becoming. In today’s America we are increasingly afraid to go to any outdoor or indoor activity where large numbers of people gather while many of our children are afraid to attend school. Today, in addition to children practicing fire drills, they also train for lockdown and active shooter situations. Yet we are told that the solution to all this is to arm everyone. Really! Will we really be safer with more guns on the streets?

Recently, I heard some statistics on TV that got me thinking a lot about gun control and safety. The reporter said that a recent survey found that only about 37% of Americans own a gun. He went on to say the only 3% of the 37% or just over 1% of our entire population, actually own more than 14 guns. This means that nearly two thirds of Americans don’t even own a gun let alone possess an arsenal of weapons. Most gun owners own just a few guns that they use for hunting or personal protections in their homes! So why have we adults allowed a very small minority of our citizenry to dictate government policy?

On the bright side of this national disgrace, young people who attend the high school involved in this latest mass shooting, have declared that they have had enough of this tragic failure of our political system to respond to a clear need for reform. They know what it feels like to cower in fear while their classmates and teachers are callously murdered. Many of them have met with local, state and national officials and appeared on TV to demand change. They have held vigils, staged demonstrations and vowed to continue to challenge the adult community in this county to do what most of us know is the right thing. Personally, I have been deeply moved and inspired by these young people. I can only pray that their inspiring behavior moves enough concerned citizens to accomplish real and substantial reform so that we can all live in a safer community and country.

I urge all adults who feel as I do to find ways to support these inspiring young people, not just in Florida, but also right here in Manistee. There has been a call for demonstrations on this critical issue across the country on March 24th. If joining our demonstration and waiving a sign is not for you, then write some letters or call your representatives and let them know how you feel. Talk to friends and neighbors, and especially young people, about this issue. Contact local merchants who sell guns and urge them to stop selling assault weapons and the ammunition they use. In other words –“make some waves” – and pay close attention to the positions politicians take this year and hold them accountable when you vote. If enough of us do these things we will be heard.

Gary Madden

Economic and Social Justice