Thanks to everyone who came to our General Membership Meeting with an extra big thank you to our special guests Karla Hernandez, Raquel Pacheco and Laura Dominguez! Keep reading for a quick recap, read the full minutes or watch the replay on YouTube. And a special shout out to our new members and first-time attendees!

We started off the night with a special drop-in appearance via Zoom from Lt. Governor candidate Karla Hernandez. She gave us a brief background on herself before launching into why we need to defeat Ron DeSantis this year, mentioning housing and insurance costs and climate change. She called on us to donate to the Charlie Crist campaign and to encourage people to vote like it is a presidential election.

Next up we had a special check presentation from David Sexton who spearheaded the successful "THE CODE" fundraiser for our club at The Sandbar last month. David mentioned that the show was standing-room only, surpassing our goal, and raising $1400. He told a personal story about how he was inspired to figure out how to use his talents (in the performing arts) to help the election effort, and stated that each of us has something we can give - we just have to find it.

Then we had our first featured guest Raquel Pacheco. Raquel is running for Florida Senate District 36, which covers the lower half of Miami Beach. She said that everything is on the line this year, that she believes that this election is about values, and called on the room to take action. She then answered questions about turnout, and the role of NPA and Republican women voters.

Next we had our second featured guest Laura Dominguez. Laura is running for Miami Beach City Commissioner. She mentioned public safety, resiliency/environment and high-impact weekends as important issues. She then took questions from the audience about affordable housing and community input for further development.

Next we had our club officer and committee reports. President David Geller urged members to take part in our club events and to register voters. Organizing Chair Aaron Bos-Lun spoke about upcoming Neighborhood Conversation events. Voter Registration Chair Natalie Kaufman impressed upon all that registering voters can be a daily practice. She explained how vote.org is a great tool for doing this and that you can get someone registered to vote using their smartphone in under 5 minutes. President David Geller then announced that we are seeking both a Fundraising Chairperson and a Data Chairperson.

Next, Commissioner David Richardson, who was in attendance, was given time to speak. He challenged everyone to engage in voter turnout, retelling his personal story about how he won his first election to the Florida Legislature in an upset by recruiting an army of volunteers to knock on doors.

Upcoming Events

• Tue, 27 Sep, 6 to 9 PM. Action Happy Hour at Whitmans.
• Wed, 28 or Thu, 29 Sep. Neighborhood conversation on Parkview Island with Laura Dominguez.
• Tue ,11 Oct, 6 to 9 PM.  Action Happy Hour at TBD.
• Wed, 19 Oct. Neighborhood conversation with Eileen Higgins.
• Thu, 20 Oct, 6 to 9 PM. Action Happy Hour at Barceloneta.
• Thu, 27 Oct, 7 to 9 PM. Halloween Party/Fundraiser at the Marseilles Hotel.
• Tue, 01 Nov, 6 to 9 PM. Action Happy Hour at Whitmans.
• Sun, 06 Nov. GOTV brunch at Whitmans.
• Tue, 08 Nov, 7 to 10 PM. Election Watch Party at Whitmans.
• Oct and Nov. Food drive for Miami Beach Community Church.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 17 at 7 PM at The Marseilles Hotel (1741 Collins Ave) and on Zoom.

Starting in November, all future meetings of the Miami Beach Democratic Club will be held on the second Monday of the month (versus the third Monday).  We are making this change due to holiday conflicts in the calendar which cause us to change meeting days frequently.