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, March 4, 2021
Come at 6:00 to socialize or at 6:30 for the meeting!
A Conversation with Rural Kansans
This month, we welcome special guests from western Kansas.
The Democratic chair of the second district, Alana Cloutier, will talk to us about issues and opportunities facing their district. The second district basically runs from Nebraska to Oklahoma, from Missouri to somewhat west of Topeka. Jake LaTurner represents them in the US House.
Mark Pringle will join us, from Kansas House District 13 in southeast Kansas. He ran for office in 2020 and has some insights to rural voters.
Also joining us is Kali Barnett, who ran for US House in Kansas District Big One, which is basically the western half of Kansas.
South ZOOM Meeting
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Come at 6:00 to socialize or at 6:30 for the meeting!
A Conversation About Running for Office
This month, we welcome former candidates and campaign managers to talk to us about what it’s like to run for office or work on a campaign. Guests include:
Stacey Knoell, candidate for Kansas Senate
Angela Schweller, candidate for Kansas House
Katie Dixon, candidate for Kansas House
Mike Shimeall, candidate for Kansas House
Carol Shimeall, treasurer of JCDWS and campaign manager
Deanne Mitchell, chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party
Greg Mitchell, former member of the water board
Nikki McDonald, community leader and campaign organizer
Game Night Fundraiser Brings in $2,700
Thanks to our members and donors, Game Night was a huge success. Through ticket sales and individual contributions, we brought in $1,350. This money was DOUBLED thanks to an anonymous donor, so we now have $2,700 to give to local campaigns. That money, along with our endorsements, will go out in August, after the primary.
A million thank yous to everyone who helped make Game Night a success.
North February Meeting Recap
We want to thank Jane Kleeb for coming to our JCDW meeting February 4. She had a lot of information and ideas, and was very encouraging. Here are some take-aways:
Continue to show up and continue to engage rural people, not just during election cycles.
Listen to them.
Develop actions to do together by finding common goals, working through differences, and setting aside issues like guns and abortion. Be authentic about abortion and gun rights.
Never ridicule anti choice people.
Commit to help deal with problems, such as natural disasters.
Create paths.
Find unifying themes such as roads, water, or sewers. Get specific. The Ogalalla Aquifer was suggested as a possible commonality.
Concerning green energy, we need an outreach to find ways for rural wealth creation and placement of wind and solar farms. Bringing broadband with green energy would create something for the community. Green energy companies should not behave the same way Trans Canada (Keystone pipeline) has behaved, when they intimidated farmers, ranchers, and indigenous Americans, and abused eminent domain.
Implement block captains who will commit to staying in contact with 50 voters 3 times a year.
Local papers and radio stations are a good way to communicate with rural voters. Write letters and be a guest on conservative radio.
Rural areas are getting more racially diverse. Ask community leaders and activists of those groups to run for office, ie Hispanic meat packers.
Send welcome post cards to new Democrats.
Jane will send a block captain manual.
We may need legislative action against lies, such as a Fairness Doctrine.
She encouraged county parties to tell state parties and the DNC what they need.
South February Meeting Recap
Let’s get our rears in gear and find good candidates, educate them, assist and fund them, and then ELECT THEM so we can keep pushing for equality.
Bring a Friend
Don’t forget to bring a friend to the JCDW South Third Thursday Meeting for your chance to win a $10 gift card to a small, local, progressive busines.
Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31st is the International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate transgender individuals, raise awareness of discrimination, and celebrate transgender contributions to society.
Right now, it seems to be open season on transgender rights in Topeka.
A Kansas Senator has proposed a bill that would block transgender girls from participating in youth sports.
Earlier this session, a proposed House bill would have made it illegal for a doctor to perform gender reassignment surgery or hormone replacement therapy on minors. This, thankfully, died in committee, but discrimination against transgender youth is still alive and well.
From a recent article in the Kansas Reflector:
Why I will do anything to counter the Kansas Legislature’s poisonous narrative about transgender kids
Help me understand how some legislators get from openly defying science, rejecting our governor’s order for masks and gathering restrictions in the name of “individual liberties” and “we know what’s best for our family” to: “We know what’s best for Kansas transgender kids and their families”?
You can read the full article here.
About Us
Johnson County Democratic Women North and South are pat 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!
March Events
Check out the Johnson County Democratic Party Event Calendar for more ways to get involved this month!