Dave asked the question: “I found the State By-Laws. Does each county committee also have a separate set of By-Laws?”

Here’s how Joe Barbuto, WDP Chair, answered the question.

Erin asked the question: “How does our Wyoming Constitution protect a woman’s right to abortion care?”

Here’s how Rep. Ken Chestek, HD13 answered that question:

https://app.repd.us/wyoming?aId=4229

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting Agenda
April 4, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

6:00pm Call to order

6:03pm Minutes (Greg) & Money (Dudley)

6:06pm Chair announcements/reports (Greg)

Welcome to New Officers

NTR

Round Table

Golf for Knowledge

6:11pm Old Business

William D. McIntyre Scholarship

Johnson/Sheridan Event

6:21pm New Business

State Committeeman

6:28pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Next Monthly CCC Meeting – May 2, 2023 at 6:00pm

County Officer Round-table – Zoom – TBD

Nellie Tayloe Ross – April 15, 2023

State Central Committee – April 16, 2023

Other?

6:37 Adjourn

Electioneering club following the meeting

Johnson County Democratic Party Central Committee Meeting
March 7, 2023
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Room 108

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.

Attendance :

Kim McCoy, Suzi Black, Dudley Case, Sharon Case, Mary Van Auken, Lois Petersen, Kelli Roadifer, Linda Wilson, Greg Haas

Agenda:

Linda asked that JC-FFF report be added to Old Business.

Dudley made motion to accept agenda as amended. Suzi seconded motion. Motion passed.

Credentials:

Greg explained that, under the Bylaws and WY statute, precinct committee men and women are the only people who can vote in the election of officers.  Officers cannot vote unless they are also precinct committeemen or women.  All registered Democrats can make officer and state committeeman and woman nominations.

Voting members present are Greg Haas, Mary Van Auken, Dudley Case, Suzi Black, Lois Petersen and Linda Wilson. Mitch Black and Vikki Chenette are also voting members but are not present at the meeting.

Secretary Report:

The minutes were approved as written with one correction that Greg made online.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi reported that the amount of funds in the Scholarship account and the JC Dems general account.

Chair Announcements:

Nellie Tayloe Ross Event was postponed until April 15 and will be held in Cheyenne.

Hot Springs Mardi Gras was held in Thermopolis on February 19 at 4:00 pm.  There was potluck Cajun food and Mayor Adam Estenson was the keynote speaker.  The event was non-partisan and open to everyone.  Greg said there was a really good positive atmosphere to the whole event.  Kim Bartlett also spoke at the event.  Only local issues were addressed at the event.  The following week the GOP hosted a very negative event.

Legislative Update:

Greg said the 2023 legislative session is finally over. Voter registration deadlines will be earlier next year.

Kim said we should be proactive as far as legislative bills go rather than be reactive.

Old Business:

William D. McIntyre Scholarship Committee report – Dudley

Lois got almost a full-page ad into The Mini about the scholarship.  And Vikki created a quilt flyer which will be displayed below her quilt in the library.  The library staff will sell the raffle tickets and collect the money.  The Quilt Show will run the entire month of March.  Lois has already picked up $160 from the quilt raffle sales.

The committee has received two applications by mail. One from a student in Kaycee and one from a student in Buffalo.

The next committee meeting will be March 15 at 1:00 pm in the library. The application deadline is March 31 and the scholarship awards will be made on May 1.

JC-FFF report – Linda

Food will be distributed from JCFFF warehouse by JC Dems to mini Food Bank Box #5 at the Cornerstone Pharmacy. Sponsor signs will be put on each box.

JCDems is committed indefinitely to helping JC-FFF with food distribution to this box. This is a 1 to 2 times per week commitment.

New Business:

Officer Elections – Nominations and Votes:

Chair

Suzi nominated Greg and Greg accepted. He was voted in by acclimation.

Vice Chair

Lois nominated Mary and Mary accepted. She was voted in by acclimation.

Secretary

Lois nominated Vikki and Greg said Vikki told Lois that she would accept the nomination. Vikki was voted in by acclimation.

Treasurer

Lois nominated Dudley and he accepted. He was voted in by acclimation.

State Committeewoman

Suzi nominated Lois and Lois accepted. She was voted in by acclimation.

State Committeeman

There were no nominations. The position is vacant for now.

Greg said we need many more precinct committeemen and women for the County Central Committee.

Announcements from the Floor:

1. Lois talked to Danielle Arnoux (Chair, Sheridan) about a Sheridan Dems/JCDems event and she is agreeable to holding the event. Lois, Vikki and maybe Jim Shell have volunteered to help with the event. And Mary volunteered her daughter, Casey, to also help with the event.

   A date and location are still needed for the event. Maybe around Summer solstice or end of May. Vikki thinks they may be able to get the Fire Ants band.

2. Dudley said on April 6, 2022 JCDems had 372 members, but on March 4, 2023 we were down to 161 members. This is mainly due to JCDems switching parties to vote for Liz Cheney. Dudley suggested reaching out to these people and find out if they will rejoin JCDems. Kim suggested sending a letter to the people who changed parties asking them to reregister as Democrats. Greg is skeptical that spending much energy on those voters is wise at this juncture; they are less likely to become precinct committee people, for example.
3. Dudley said according to a Zoom meeting he attended, David Frum said Democrats had the best midterm election since the 1930s. The Dems held the Senate and also held all the state legislatures and governorships they did before the election. And Dems also picked up four state legislatures they didn’t have before the election.
4. Greg thinks we need to get more Dems on the election ballot, and we need to be more welcoming to people to get them to participate in JCDems.
5. Greg mentioned needing a club for electioneering and finding candidates in the next few months.
6. Kim thought that CCC meetings should be announced in the County Bounty. She will check on how much it costs to do an announcement.

Upcoming Meetings:

Next Monthly JCDems CCC Meeting – April 4, 2023 at 6:00 pm in Room 108.

All County Officer Round Table – Zoom – March 23, 2023 at 6:00 pm.

State Central Committee (SCC) Meeting on April 16, 2023 in person in Cheyenne

Nellie Tayloe Ross Banquet & Trainings – April 15, 2023 in person in Cheyenne

Suzi mentioned a Friends of the Library book sale March 23 thru March 25, 2023

SCC meetings will be at the end of May and early in September

Adjourn:6:54 pm

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting Agenda
March 7, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

6:00pm Call to order

6:01pm Credentials (Greg & Dudley)

6:03pm Minutes (Dudley) & Money (Suzi)

6:06pm Chair announcements/reports (Greg)

NTR

Hot Springs

Legislative Update

6:11pm Old Business

William D. McIntyre Scholarship

6:21pm New Business

Officer Elections. Nominations and Votes.

1. Chair
2. Vice Chair
3. Secretary
4. Treasurer
5. State Committeewoman
6. State Committeeman

6:41pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Next Monthly CCC Meeting – April 4, 2023 at 6:00pm

County Officer Round-table – Zoom – March 23, 2023 at 6:00pm

State Central Committee – Zoom – Unknown date/time

Nellie Tayloe Ross – April 1, 2023

Other?

6:52 Adjourn

…And let them play!

Monday, February 27, 2023 at 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Wyoming State Capitol

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm.

Agenda:

Vikki asked that a Scholarship Committee Report be added to the agenda, and Greg did this.

Attendance :

Kim McCoy, Jim Shell, Vikki Chenette, Lois Petersen, Suzi Black, Dudley Case, Sharon Case, Lorajane Kessler, Mary Van Auken, Greg Haas 

Secretary Report: 

Greg mentioned one correction that he would make to the minutes online about the Blue Bison Event. Other than this change, the minutes were approved as written.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi reported that the amounts in the Scholarship account the JC Dems general account.

Chair Announcements:

1. There has been a changeover in WDP staff. Ryan Greene is the new Executive Director, Erin O’Doherty is still the Data Director, Rachel Leger is the new Deputy Director, and Greg Haas is the new Organizing Director.
2. Artemis Langford is now sending out legislative update newsletters by email to keep Wyoming Democrats apprised of what is going on in Cheyenne.
3. JCDems should also be checking Slack for legislative updates. Greg has started a “county-party-leadership” site on Slack.
4. Better Wyoming has a training session on how to navigate and find information on the Wyoming Legislature’s website.
5. Greg is hosting legislative update meetings on Zoom. The next meeting is tomorrow, February 8 at 3:00 pm. Greg will send out an email with the Zoom link. Also check Slack for meeting Zoom links.

Old Business:

1. Adopt-a-Highway – Lois

   The location of this site has been changed from I-90 to Highway 16 West near the Veteran’s Home property and covers a two mile stretch of the highway on both sides of the highway.

   Two pickups per year are required. One is the Spring and one in the Fall.

   A social event after the cleanup will take place, such as a picnic.

2. Lunch

   JCDems will continue to explore the possibility of luncheons from the late Spring to early Fall.

New Business:

1. Legislative Actions – Greg

   Greg proposed that a few people from JCDems should follow our State Rep. Barry Crago and our State Senator Dave Kinskey’s day-to-day involvement with current legislation being considered in the Wyoming House and Senate. Basically, to track their committee work, floor work and voting records on various bills of concern to Democrats. Suzi volunteered to help with this.

Announcements from the Floor

Outreach

Vikki said we should start an outreach to the Sheridan County Democrats about holding a joint social event with them this year. Lois said she would contact the Sheridan Dems.

Scholarship Committee Report

Dudley mentioned that the committee decided that it would like to give two five hundred-dollar scholarships this year. Vikki volunteered to talk to Michelle Dahlberg, a high school counselor, about the scholarships. Lois and Lorajane were going to talk to Greg about some small changes to the Scholarship website.

Vikki then explained that the library director was willing to display Vikki’s sunflower quilt at the upcoming quilt display at the library and the librarians would sell raffle tickets and collect money for the quilt during the quilt display.

The next Scholarship Committee meeting will be on Wednesday, February 15 at 11:00 am at the library in Study Room C.3.

Sergio Maldonado

Suzi read the thank you card that JCDems received from Sergio Maldonado for our donation to his campaign. Greg mentioned that Sergio is writing a book about his experiences running for office.

Abortion Bill

Lois said the abortion bill will probably pass in the legislature, so it would be a good idea for people to write the Governor about their opposition to the bill.

Upcoming Meetings

1. Legislative updates meetings will be held on Mondays at 6:00pm and Wednesdays at 3:00 pm on Zoom. Greg will host meetings. See Chair Announcements above.
2. Hot Springs Mardi Gras Celebration – February 19,2023

   This event will be held from 4 to 6 pm at the Community Federated Church Community Hall in Thermopolis. No alcohol will. be allowed.

3. Nellie Tayloe Ross – February 25, 2023

   This event is being held in Cheyenne and Lois and Frank will be attending the event.Lois also mentioned that the event coordinators are looking for auction items. So please consider donating auction items. Lois will take any auction items to Cheyenne when she and Frank go.

4. JCDems Reorganization & Monthly Meeting – March 7, 2023

   The elections will be held at 6:00 pm followed by the monthly meeting.  Dudley will handle Credentials Committee duties.

   Greg mentioned that Suzi is stepping down as Treasurer and that Dudley is interested in stepping down as Secretary and running for Treasurer. So, the Secretary’s position will be open and so will the State Committeeman position which had previously been held by Bill McIntyre. Greg said he will run again for the Chair position, and Vikki said she would be interested in the Secretary position.

5. Reversing Roe

   Empower Sheridan will be holding a free screening of Reversing Roe, a 2018 American documentary film, on Saturday, February 25 at 2:00 pm in the Thorne-Rider Campus Center at Sheridan College. There will also be a moderated post-film discussion. This event is open to everyone.

6. JCDems Clubs

   Greg talked about the possibility of starting a couple of JCDems Club such as a lunch club, book club, candidate search club, etc. with the goals of building community among Democrats, raising money and helping get people elected. Greg will hold a post-meeting discussion about this topic.

Adjourn

Greg adjourned the meeting at 6:59 pm.

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting Agenda
Feb 7, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

6:00pm Call to order

6:03pm Minutes (Dudley) & Money (Suzi)

Chair announcements/reports (Greg):

• WDP activities

6:09pm Old Business

Adopt-a-Highway

JC-FFF

Lunch

6:17pm New Business

Legislative Actions

6:34pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Legislative Watch Zoom – Mon 6pm & Wed 3pm

Hot Springs Mardi Gras Celebration – Feb 19, 2023

Nellie Tayloe Ross – Feb 25, 2023

Reorg & Monthly Meeting – March 7, 2023

Other?

6:45 Adjourn

Post-meeting discussion about JC Dems Clubs

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting

January 4, 2023

Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Room 108

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 6:14 pm.

Attendance :

Greg Haas, Mary Van Auken, Vikki Chenette, Suzi Black, Dudley Case, Sharon Case, Lois Petersen, Linda Wilson 

Secretary Report: 

No changes to the minutes were suggested and minutes from December 6, 2022 were approved.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi reported the amounts in the Scholarship account and the JC Dems General account.

Chair Announcements – Greg

WDP Activities:

David Martin is no longer an employee of WDP.

WDP Secretary (Mandy) will take on social media job.

Greg has interviewed for the WDP Executive Director position. A second round of interviews will be held next week.

Greg will be helping with organizing 2 of the 3 dark counties in Wyoming – Sublette and Weston Counties.

Erin O’Doherty got the new state voter list today.

The Democratic voter registration went down before the primary election but has gone back up since the election. 

Nellie Tayloe Ross Dinner Event will be held on February 25 and 26 in Cheyenne.

Blue Bison Event will be held on May 27 and 28 in Riverton.

End of Summer Event will be held September 9 and 10 in Newcastle.

Women’s Caucus Meeting will be held tonight at 7:30 pm.

Old Business:

1. Newsletter – Lois

Eleven newsletters were returned as undeliverable.

$120 was spent on stamps and $26 on copying.

Everyone thanked Lois for all her work on the newsletter.

2. Adopt-a-Highway – Lois

Lois has the safety vests and trash bags.

The location will most likely be just north of Buffalo on I-90 around the Lake DeSmet area.

JC Dems will get a sign after 2 cleanups are done.

3. Precinct Committee People – Greg

We still need to sign up more people.

4. JC Dems Lunch – Greg

Jim Shell is apparently interested in organizing lunches like we had last year.  Previous lunches were held at the golf course and Bozeman restaurants. 

New Business:

1.  JC-FFF (Johnson County Friends Feeding Friends) – Linda

This organization bags food every Wednesday.

The group decided to sign up to help on September 20 at 5:30pm in the basement of the dentist’s office.

JC-FFF also holds a 0.5K race in June.

2. JC Dems Office Elections – Greg

County party elections are held in March and state party elections are held in April.

It was decided to hold our next election on Tuesday, March 7 at 6:00 pm.  The regular March meeting will be held at 7:00 pm.

Greg is throwing his hat into the ring for County Chair again and Suzi has indicated she would like to step down as Treasurer.

3. Phone banking for Weston and Sublette Counties – Greg

Greg needs help calling Democrats in those counties to help set up a Democratic Party in each county.

4. Appreciation for Meeting Space – Greg

Vikki made a motion to donate $100 to Sheridan College’s Golf for Knowledge to show our appreciation for the college letting us use a room for our JC Dems monthly meetings.  Lois seconded the motion.  Motion passes.

Announcements from the Floor:

None

Upcoming Meetings:

Suzi made a motion to hold the JC Dems monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm rather than 7:00 pm.  Mary seconded the motion.  Motion passed.

WDP is selling tables at the Nellie Tayloe Ross Dinner at a discounted price.  And there will be on online auction and buyers will pay for shipping if they do not attend the event or Greg can picking up winning bids for any of our members who do not attend the event.

The Scholarship Committee has decided to meet on Wednesday, January 18 at 11:00 am in the Johnson County Library.

For other meetings see Chair Announcements above.

Adjourn:

 Greg adjourned meeting at 7:30 pm.

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting Agenda
Jan 4, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108 104

Agenda

6:00pm Call to order

6:03pm Minutes (Dudley) & Money (Suzi)

Chair announcements/reports (Greg):

• WDP activities

6:09pm Old Business

Newsletter

Adopt-a-Highway

Precinct Committee People

Lunch

6:17pm New Business

JC-FFF

County Officer Elections

Phonebanking for Weston and Sublette

Appreciation for Meeting Space

6:34pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Monthly Meeting – Feb 7, 2023

Nellie Tayloe Ross – Feb 25, 2023

William D. McIntyre Scholarship Committee?

Other?

6:45 Adjourn

Post-meeting discussion about guest speakers.