Thanks to all who came to our General Membership meeting this past Monday! Lots of Democrats and lots of discussion. Big thanks you to our special guests Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Eileen Higgins! ICYMI you can read on for a quick recap or watch the replay on YouTube. And a special shout out to our first-time attendees!

The meeting was held in the wonderful Marseilles Hotel with many folks also joining on Zoom. President David Geller started off the night by asking first-time attendees to introduce themselves, then moved on to our guest speakers.

County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava started off with a call to action - VOTE and get others to do the same! She went on to speak about the local economy and about a Miami-Dade County plan to build more affordable housing (the "DLC Homes Plan"). She then took questions from the audience, and encouraged everyone to attend the first public hearing on the housing plan happening on September 8th.

Next up was our County Commissioner Eileen Higgins. She spoke about the DLC Homes Plan, providing details and giving it her strong support. She then went on to give an overview of Miami Beach Referendum question #5 and why she supports it. She wrapped it up with a rousting call to get-out-the-vote for the Primary Election, as this will drive up turnout for the big General Election in November. She then took numerous questions about Referendum 5 which led to a spirited debate on the matter.

Then it was on to our Board and Committee reports. President David Geller spoke about our teaming up with BlueShift Florida, and how there are now 3 paid organizers covering South Florida. We are canvassing with them every Wednesday and Saturday. He then gave a recap of our rather astounding fundraiser that was held the previous night at The Sandbox Theatre in North Beach, which was a reading of The Code - a sold out production. He thanked David Sexton and the owners of The Sandbar and reported that we netted more than $1400 for our club! Next was Communications Chair Steve Hawes who spoke about our current GOTV activities and upcoming events (see below). Next up was Organizing Chair Aaron Bos-Lun who spoke about our "Neighborhood Conversations" series, with the next ones planned for September 6, 18 and 20, with another one in October. David then announced that Natalie Kaufman has stepped up to become our Voter Registration Chair, while thanking Tim Johnson for having fulfilled that role so ably. Natalie spoke passionately about the need to register voters non-stop for the remainder of the election cycle, focusing on young people especially.

Next up, as is our practice, we recognized any Democratic electeds, candidates or surrogates in attendance and gave them the opportunity to say a few words to the group. First up was Michael Gongora, candidate for Miami Beach Mayor - and a stalwart MBDC member to boot! Next was Kevin Harris, candidate for U.S. Congress in FL-24. And finally, we had Marina Braynon-Moore, aide to Senator Shevrin Jones.

Our next General Meeting will be on Monday, September 19 at 7 PM, held at The Marseilles Hotel (1741 Collins Ave) and available virtually via Zoom. Click here to register for the Zoom.

Upcoming Events / Important Dates

• Ongoing:
  • GOTV Text Bank daily through 8/22
  • GOTV Phone Bank daily through 8/22
  • Canvassing with BlueShift Florida every Wednesday and Saturday
• Thursday, 8/18, 6 to 9 PM, Action Happy Hour @ Whitman’s
• Tuesday, 8/23, 6 PM, Primary Election watch party @ Whitman’s
• Monday, 9/19, 7 PM, September General Meeting @ The Marseilles Hotel
• Thursday, 10/27, Halloween Party / Fundraiser @ The Marseilles Hotel

See all of our events on our Events page.