Johnson County Democratic Party
Guest Speaker/Business Meeting
August 3, 2021
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Greg Haas, Chair.
Attendance in person: Linda Wilson, Jim Shell, Dudley Case, Sharon Case, Bill McIntyre, Suzi Black, Greg Haas, Vikki Chenette
Secretary Report:
The June 1, 2021 minutes were adopted without any changes.
Treasurer Report:
Greg Haas reported that he hasn’t gotten the income and expense numbers on the Kearney Hall event yet, so he will call the Sheridan County Democratic Party. There were more than 100 people at the event. The JC Dems did get a thank you card from the Sheridan County Dems for our $200 donation towards the event expenses.
Suzi Black reported that there is $1,971.67 in the bank account.
Chair Announcements:
Greg Haas reported that he attended the Wyoming Democratic State Central Committee meeting. A number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting. First, there was a discussion about creating a resolution to enable the Wind River Reservation to have county rights. They would need to form their own caucus, if they chose to do that instead. Second, there was discussion about voter registration and the need to help high school seniors and people released from prison to register to vote. Third, there was an offer to help people become Notary Publics. There is now a test to become a Notary Public. Fourth, there was discussion about helping county Democrats with goal setting. Fifth, there was discussion about having listening sessions to which state senators and representatives would be invited. Sixth, there was discussion about finding candidates for future elections. Seventh, there was discussion about getting Democratic precinct committee people onto the primary ballots. Eighth, there was discussion about changing the Democratic State Party Bylaws’ language away from gender binary language. Ninth, there was an announcement that Democratic Party staffers are now unionized with the International Association of Electrical Worker (IAEW). Tenth, there was recognition that this year’s budget exceeds projected revenues. Eleventh, there was an announcement that Wyoming met all the criteria for a red state such that the Wyoming Democratic Party could receive extra election monies.
Greg Haas will work on finding out the filing date for precinct committee people to get on the primary ballot.
Dudley Case reported that tomorrow, August 4th, there will be election judge training in the County Courthouse at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Suzi Black and Dudley Case will be attending the 9:00 am session.
Old Business:
The Kearney Hall event was previously discussed under the Chair Announcements.
New Business:
The special election will be held on August 17th. According to a new law that went into effect on July 1, 2021, all voters will need to present a photo ID. Voters can vote between now and August 17th by absentee ballot or by voting in person at the courthouse.
Greg Haas asked for a volunteer to be present at the testing of the voting equipment on Friday, August 6th at 9:30 am at the courthouse. Dudley Case volunteered.
Greg Haas led a discussion of the special election sales tax increase, including where members heard about and read about the election issue. It was the general opinion of the group that the JC Dems should not take a position on this election issue.
Jim Shell announced that he and his wife would hold a potluck dinner at their house on Friday, August 27th from 5 to 8 pm. Their address is 224 S. Lobban Avenue, which is near the movie theater.
Bill McIntyre said that the next JC Dems luncheon would probably be held in October.
Adjournment:
Linda Wilson made a motion to adjourn, and Suzi Black seconded the motion. Motion passed and meeting was adjourned at 8:12 pm.