Thank you to all who attended our April meeting, our first to be held via Zoom! Here's a quick recap of what happened. You can also read the meeting minutes.
Please also join us for our May membership meeting on Monday, May 18, at 7 pm! This will also be held via Zoom conference.
Guest Speakers
We were honored to have State Senator Jason Pizzo and State Representative Michael Grieco give us an update on the recent Florida legislative session.
Senator Pizzo reported on the problems with the unemployment compensation system, with only about 6.5% of claims having been paid out. He also stressed the importance of social distancing and stay-at-home orders in controlling the spread of COVID, and provided members with a list of bills that passed during the recent session.
Rep. Grieco said the problems with unemployment are the result of a “system failure” built into the program's design. He also pointed to the passage of a bill requiring parental consent for minors seeking an abortion as evidence of the need to elect Democrats from flippable districts in West Miami.
Christopher Richmond, Digital and Development Director for the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, also spoke, describing the party's continuing work during the COVID emergency. He encouraged members to volunteer for phone and text banks to reach sporadic voters and those not registered to receive a mail ballot.
Reports
President Dan Royles discussed the club's remote and virtual organizing. Postcards encouraging vote-by-mail will soon be going out to 3,100 voters in House District 118, as well as to 2,500 new Democrats in County Commission District 5. Regular phone banks to push vote-by-mail are also taking place on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. All together, our volunteers will have reached out to well over 12,000 voters by the end of May. Dan thanked Victoria Villamil, whose fundraising efforts made this work possible.
Secretary Ileana Oroza said the club now has 159 members. Dues are just $25 for the year, and can be paid through our website!
Treasurer Patrick Breshike said the club has $12,780 in the bank. He said that the digital advertising campaign continues and that social media ads have elicited almost 4000 clicks. Money is mostly being spent on social media ads and stamps.
Campaign Chair Matthew Land reminded the members that the campaign committee meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The committee is planning a virtual candidate meet & greet around the third week of June.
NEXT MEETING
Our next membership meeting is on Monday, May 18, at 7 pm. This will also be held via Zoom conference. Sign up to attend on our Facebook page.