We are the Johnson County Democratic Women, North and South
We are sister organizations, working together to engage women in politics and help get Democrats in Johnson County elected.
North ZOOM Meeting
Thursday April 7, 2022
Come at 6:00 to socialize or at 6:30 to hear from our speaker.
Topic: Afghanistan History, Culture, and Crisis
Special Guest: Sina Baha
Join Johnson County Democratic Women North as SIna Baha comes to tell us about Afghanistan refugees. SIna is an Afghan American who has been in the US for almost 30 years. She is the mother of four children and is involved in volunteer efforts helping refugees with settlement and translation. She will give us a history of Afghanistan and some cultural information.
South ZOOM Meeting
Thursday April 21, 2022
Come at 6:00 to socialize or at 6:30 for the meeting.
Special Guest: Deann Mitchell, Chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party
Deann Mitchell was elected Chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party in November 2020. She ran for Olathe City Council in 2017 and House District 26 in 2018. Her husband, Greg Mitchell, was elected to the Board of Water One in 2019.
Professionally, Deann is a Wealth Manager with Frontier Wealth Management. She is a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst.
Deann holds a Bachelor of Art degree in Applied Organizational Leadership from MidAmerica Nazarene University and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Western Governors University.
Deann enjoys being involved in many civic and philanthropic pursuits. She is an active member in Central Exchange and is has been a board member of the Veterans Voices Writing Project for 10 years. Deann is a former member of the Kansas Credit Union Council and the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council.
She lives in Olathe, KS with her husband, Greg and has two adult daughters.
Stories From the Fight
By: Dawn Olney
Laying nearly forgotten among countless painful abortion stories is another insidious problem caused when Republicans fail to treat women as humans or give them the freedom to make their own medical decisions: complicated miscarriages. Last weekend, as I made phone calls for the Democratic Party regarding the abortion constitutional amendment, I had the chance to speak to a woman named Carrie, who shared troubling insights into how we’ve chosen to make an already painful situation even worse.
In Kansas, women suffering miscarriage cannot get the most effective treatment for a miscarriage unless they go to an abortion provider.
The best treatment for miscarriage is a two-drug combo: one that detaches the tissue administered alongside a second that contracts the uterus. If an ob/gyn prescribes both, they must register as an abortion provider, which sets them up to be targeted by protesters. Carrie took the contraction prescription drug for her miscarriage, but it was incomplete, forcing her to go back to the doctor. There she learned that it is not uncommon for women to have to repeat the one -drug dose because of incomplete passage. As she expressed frustration, her physician finally explained the real reason why she could not prescribe the more effective, two-drug regimen. At that point, her ob/gyn sent her to Planned Parenthood, where she had to run the protest gauntlet in order to receive appropriate medical treatment.
Carrie was no stranger to miscarriage. After the birth of her first child, she suffered four miscarriages, two of which required D&Cs costing (with insurance) $800 and $1200 respectively. A D&C is much more complicated than the simpler drug miscarriage, and involves sedation. She now believes these more invasive procedures were only necessary because she couldn’t get the two-drug option.
It’s hard for women who suffer miscarriage to talk about it and share their stories. It opens them up to insensitive comments, lack of emotional support, and outright dismissal. It is an emotional subject. It’s hard to go to a hearing or rally and tell this personal, painful story, made more painful by cruel abortion laws. So I’m telling it for her.
Now is not the time for silence. When we restrict women’s access to routine healthcare, we don’t value anyone. To help us win this fight, we need you do commit to two things:
1.) Vote NO on August 2nd.
2.) Volunteer to help us spread the word and get out the vote!
Become a Member of Johnson County Democratic Women!
JCDW North and South are PACs whose primary mission is to recruit, educate, and support candidates for state and local office. We’re also here to support, educate, and energize local Democrats, especially women, by providing top-quality programs and opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals.
In the past year, we’ve welcomed Vicki Hiatt (Chair of the Kansas Sate Democratic Party), Juliet Sinclair (to share stories from Wuhan, China), Senator Ethan Corson (District 7), Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, Rachel Sweet from Planned Parenthood, Sharon Rodriguez to share stories of local homelessness, Stacey Knoell (Executive Director of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission), and more! We like to bring in experts on current, relevant, and topical information such as combating misinformation and supporting schools, and elected officials (and supporting members) to help us stay current.
You can help us support these and other great programs by joining our organization. Joining either JCDW North or JCDW South makes you a full member of both, and you are always welcome to attend meetings on the first and third Thursday of the month! If you’re not sure which group to join, we refer you in very loose terms to 435; if you’re north of that loop, you’re more likely to want to join JCDW North. If you’re south of the loop, JCDW South might be your home. But this is only a guideline; if you’re unsure, try coming to both meetings to check them out.
Annual dues are $40. We use this money for facilities rental, website management, incidentals, and as our fundraising seed. If $40 seems like way too much money to you, we may be able to sponsor a membership; reach out to Cassie Woolworth with your (confidential) request.
Join or renew through the link below to help us keep these opportunities alive! (You will be asked which group you wish to join at the end, when you submit your payment.)
Speaking of great opportunities…
Banned Books Brunch
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Banned Books Brunch on March 5. We kicked off our discussion of the 1619 Project with the general consensus that this book is fact, not fiction. Then we dug deeper!
This book is so full of wonderful information that we did not get quite as far as we expected. So in April, we’ll be discussing chapters 3-7, and we encourage anyone and everyone to join us (even if you weren’t able to make the first chat).
Next meeting: April 2nd (first Saturday) from 11-1.
KFDW Convention
KFDW’s annual convention, HEAR US ROAR IN THE 20S, will be held April 22-24 at the Topeka Country Club. For more information, visit the kfdw.org.
Dates to Remember:
April 22-24: KFDW annual convention
July 9th: JCDW South’s annual Flip it Blue fundraiser from 4-8 PM at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park in Lenexa (family friendly).
August 2: VOTE NO to “Value Them Both” and vote in the primaries!
November 8: VOTE in the midterm elections!
November 12: JCDW North and South team up to host a Costume Party and fundraiser (adults only).
About Us
Johnson County Democratic Women North and South are part of the Kansas Federation of Democratic Women, which is part of the National Federation of Democratic Women.
Our mission is to empower women to run for office and to support the election of like-minded Democrats to state and local office. We do this through education and training, but especially through donations to qualified candidates. Your financial donation to either of our organizations will go directly to Democratic candidates running in Johnson County.
Donate Today!
Check out the Johnson County Democratic Party Event Calendar for more ways to get involved this month!