Johnson County Democratic Party
August 2, 2022 7:00PM
Bomber Mtn Civic Center, Rm 108

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.

Attendance:

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

Secretary Report:

Lois Petersen moved to approve the July 5, 20022 minutes. Mary Van Auken seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi Black reported the balances of the general account and the Scholarship account.

Greg is asking for reimbursement for one-half of his expenses for attending the Democratic State Central Committee meeting.  Lois Petersen made a motion to reimburse Greg Haas for one-half of his expenses. Linda Wilson seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Chair Announcements

1. Greg Haas sent out invitations to all WDP leadership (officers and precinct committeemen and women) asking them to start using Slack when sending out information.  Slack is a grass roots way to organize.  He is asking that information about the Democratic Tri County Event on Labor Day be sent out using Slack.
2. Greg next talked about Rep’d, which is a website where visitors can ask questions and video answers are provided to popular questions.  The website is:  https://repd.us/wyoming
3. Greg also mentioned that the texting program available to the WDP coordinated campaign candidates started today.
4. Linda Wilson handed out a sheet entitled Wyoming Democratic Party Platform – Talking Points 2022.  This sheet can be used as a guide on issues when talking to Democratic precinct members.  The five talking point areas are: Fairness & Equality, Good Government Practices, Fair Voting and Accurate Elections, Quality Healthcare, and Quality Education.

Committee Announcements:
Scholarship Committee – Dudley Case
The scholarship committee met last Friday, reviewed and made some changes to the Press Release which will be given to the Buffalo Bulletin and Mini. The committee also reviewed and made some changes to Information and Guidelines for School Counselors sheet, which will be used as a cover sheet for the Scholarship Application being given to the counselors. Finally, the committee reviewed and made some changes to the scholarship documents (Application, Scholarship Committee Guidelines and Rules, Roster of Scholarship Committee Members for School Year ending 2022, and Donation Form). Dudley reviewed these changes with the group and asked for a motion to approve these changes. Vikki Chenette moved to approve all the changes and Mary Van Auken seconded the motion. Motion passed.

It was mentioned that Kaycee H.S. does not yet have counselors for the 2022-23 school year.

Greg Haas had to leave the meeting to get to Riverton for a WDP event, and he turned over the running of the meeting to the Vice Chair, Mary Van Auken.

Old Business:

Tri-County Democratic Labor Day Picnic – September 5 – Lois Petersen

This event will include Democrats, family and friends from Johnson, Sheridan and Campbell Counties and will be held at the Cowboy Carousel in Buffalo from Noon to 3 pm. Donations of $10 per meal are being asked. The cost of the venue was shared.  Attendees are being asked to bring a salad or side dish. The meal will be a picnic buffet lunch and drinks. Democratic educational material will be available on tables.

An auction or raffle will be held so Lois is requesting that people donate items for this event. Lois would like to see any monies collected in excess of the event expenses donated to the JCDems William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship.

Volunteers are needed for set up, decorating, cleaning tables and chairs, kitchen duties, and clean up. Lois passed around a volunteer sign-up sheet. Plates and silverware (non-paper, eco-friendly) are also needed.

There will be activities and games for adults and children.  And there will also be voter registration. There will be no cash bar and probably no movies. There will be a JC Dems P.A. system available. And there may also be music if a few volunteers can be rounded up.

Suzi Black made a motion to approve $400 to be spent on this Tri County Democratic Labor Day Picnic. Linda Wilson seconded the motion. Motion passed.

New Business:

1. Johnson County VAN Precinct Lists – Dudley Case

   Yesterday Dudley ran the VAN Democratic voter lists for all 16 precincts in Johnson County. There are 324 registered Democrats in the County, 201 in the incorporated precincts and 123 in the unincorporated precincts. Suzi Black, Lois Petersen, Vikki Chenette, Jim Shell, Linda Wilson, and Mary Van Auken volunteered to take their precinct’s list and call members about the Labor Day event. Dudley gave the remaining precinct lists to Lois to be used in connection with the Tri County Labor Day Picnic.

2. JC Dems t-shirts – Vikki Chenette

   Vikki suggested that we may need to purchase 15 small, 15 medium, 15 large, 14 x-large and 2 2x-large t-shirts. Suzi Black suggested taking orders at the Tri County Labor Day Picnic for t-shirts if we run out of t-shirts. Everyone thought this was a good idea.

Announcements:

None

Next Meeting:

Suzi Black moved to skip the September meeting. Lois Petersen seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Adjournment:

Mary Van Auken adjourned the meeting at 8:30 pm.

Labor Day Picnic – “Working Toward Unity”
Monday, Sept. 5, 2022, from 12-3 pm
Cowboy Carousel Center – 59 N. Lobban, Buffalo, WY 82834

We’re having a party – and YOU are invited! Sheridan, Johnson, and Campbell County Democrats and friends are invited to picnic together and celebrate Labor Day’s importance to us all.

This is an opportunity to meet and have fun with kindred spirits, and to be empowered by learning all the great things local Democrats are doing to make our neighborhoods, counties and country better places to live. Be sure to save the date! Bring the whole family and all your left-leaning friends!

Enjoy outdoor games for kids and adults, raffles/silent auction, music, and more! Plus voter registration, candidate updates, and Dems news from around the state. Your $10 donation will help defray the cost of the venue, supplies, decorations, main dishes and beverages. But also feel free to bring a side dish or dessert to share – potluck style!

More information should be coming to you from your precinct chairs, but if you have questions, are ready to RSVP or you want to get more information, send a note!

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting
August 2, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

7:00pm Call to order

7:04pm Minutes & Money (Suzi) & Chair & Committee Announcements (Greg, Linda, Dudley)

7:08pm Old Business

Tri-County Event – Sept 5 – Lois

7:30pm New Business

Johnson County VAN Precinct Lists – Dudley

7:38pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Monthly Meeting – Sept 6???

Other?

7:48 Adjourn

Johnson County Democratic Party
Business Meeting
July 5, 2022

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 7:00pm.

Attendance:

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

Secretary Report:

Minutes from June 7, 2022 meeting were approved.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi Black reported the balances in the general and the Scholarship accounts.

Chair Announcements:

Greg Haas announced that the Wyoming Democratic Party has hired him as the new Rural Organizing and Voter Registration Director. Greg said much of his work helping campaigns will come after the primary election. Voter registration through the entire tenure.

Greg also announced that he and Myra Camino will be running as write-in candidates for the Buffalo City Council.

Old Business:

Greg Haas announced that he has finished setting up the online donation site for the James D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship using Stripe.com.

Greg also announced that after some research by him and Dudley Case is was determined that the Wyoming Democratic Party and JC Dems are special organizations under Wyoming law and that these two entities only need to file financial statements with the Wyoming Secretary of State.

Greg stated that there is nothing new happening with the position paper, and that instead of doing a position paper he will probably just use a shorter version of the new Democratic state platform. This will then be used to help recruit precinct committee men and women.

Lois Petersen volunteered to be on the JCDems Platform Committee.

New Business:

Guest Speaker:

Greg Haas introduced the guest speaker, Kim Bartlett, who is running in the primary election as a candidate for representative in House District 28 in Hot Springs County.

Kim is running on five main issues: Medicaid expansion, freezing property taxes for seniors, job growth/economic diversification, education and equality.

Kim lives in Thermopolis and is a small business owner running a native landscaping company. She and her husband are also master Gardeners.

She said she would welcome any help that the JC Dems can give to her campaign.

She also mentioned that Erin O’Doherty is running a zoom training session for candidates on July 16.

Sergio Maldonado is running in the primary election for Superintendent of Public Instruction and is a very good candidate for this state position.

Upcoming events:

After much discussion about having a social event around Labor Day that would include Democrats from Johnson, Sheridan and Campbell Counties, Suzi Black made a motion to have one social event around Labor Day that would include Democrats from Johnson, Sheridan and Campbell Counties. Vikki Chenette seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lois Petersen will be the contact person for this event and she will follow up with Kris Korfanta from the Sheridan County Democrats.

Announcements from the Floor:

It was announced that there will be at least four write-in candidates for the Buffalo City Council: Mike Madden, Jody Sauers, Greg Haas and Myra Camino.

Upcoming Meetings:

JC Dems next monthly meeting will be Tuesday, August 2 at 7:00 pm in Room 108 at the Bomber Mountain Civic Center.

Adjourn:

Greg Haas adjourned the meeting at 8:28 pm.

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting
July 5, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

7:00pm Call to order

7:04pm Minutes & Money & Chair Announcements

7:08pm Old Business

William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship

• new donate button
• explanation of progress number
• family response

Position Paper

7:18pm New Business

Guest Speaker (TBA soon!)

Upcoming Events

7:48pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Monthly Meeting – August 2

Other?

7:59 Adjourn

Johnson County Democratic Party Minutes
June 7, 2022
Bomber Mountain Community Center

In attendance:

Gregory Haas, Lois Petersen, Jim Shell, Kate Sherwood, Suzi and Mitch Black, Lynn Gordon.

Call to order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 7:04pm. Everyone reaffirmed their allegiance to the flag and republic.

Minutes

from the May 3rd meeting were approved as written.

Treasurer Report:

Suzi Black reported the current checking account balances for the general fund and the Scholarship Fund.

Motion was made by Lois, seconded by Kate to authorize Suzi to spend up to $20 to purchase a new case to use for treasurer business. Motion approved.

Chair Announcements:

Greg announced that Myra Camino is running for City Council as a write-in candidate.

Old Business:

The scholarship website is up and running and Greg provided a demo of its use.

State Convention in Rock Springs – June 11-12, 2022

• At present, delegates planning to attend the convention are Greg Haas, Lois Petersen, and Mary Van Auken.
• A motion was made by Lois and seconded by Mitch to pay up to $300 out of our current budget toward convention costs, if needed, in order to support the attendance of our Chair and Vice Chair. Motion approved.

Position Paper:

• Greg presented the start of a draft aimed at pairing down the details of our county platform in an effort to create talking points for use in a handout. He will be sending his draft out for input from others.

New Business:

There was further discussion of ‘fun events’ we would like to consider sponsoring in the upcoming year including Lunch Forums, as introduced last year by Bill McIntyre, a Labor Day picnic in the park that Vikki Chenette will be looking into, and a shared event with Sheridan County Dems that Lois is exploring.

Other announcements:

Lois called attention to the fact that Vickie Edelman is not running to keep her seat as County Clerk and commended her for fine work on County Elections.

Next Meeting:

Tues., July 5th at 7 pm at Bomber Mountain Community Center

Meeting adjourned at 8:01.

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting
June 7, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

7:00pm Call to order

7:04pm Minutes & Money & Chair Announcements

7:08pm Old Business

William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship

• website
• bank account
• donation online
• family response

State Convention in Rock Springs

Position Paper

7:18pm New Business

Upcoming Events

7:48pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Monthly Meeting – June 7

SCC – June 10-12 in Rock Springs, WY

Other?

7:59 Adjourn

Johnson County Democratic Party
County Convention
April 30, 2022
Buffalo Senior Center

Attendees:

Ernest and Lynda Champlin, Kathleen Sherwood, Mary Carlson, Dudley Case, Suzi and Mitch Black, Vikki Chenette, Lois Petersen, Linda Wilson, Mary Van Auken, Lorajane Kessler, Gregory Haas.

Call to Order:

County Party Chairman, Greg Haas, called the convention to order at 10:00 am. Convention said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Additional Agenda Item:

Greg Haas stated that the selection of a Convention Chair needed to be added to the agenda with a motion.
Lois Petersen made a motion that the selection of a Convention Chair be added to the agenda. Vikki Chenette seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Selection of Convention Chair:

Suzi Black nominated Greg Haas to be Convention Chair. There were no other nominations. The Convention members selected Greg Haas by voice vote.

Report of the Credentials and Ballots Committee:

Dudley Case, on behalf of the committee, reported that there were 13 qualified Democrats present and participating at this convention.

Election of Delegates to the State Convention:

State Convention:

Greg Haas stated that the State Convention will be in Rock Springs. The convention dinner will be held on Friday June 10 and the convention will be held on Saturday June 11. Masks will be required and there will be no food or beverages in the theatre.

Vote on sending full or half delegates to the State Convention:

Lois Petersen made a motion to send full delegates. Mitch Black seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Nomination of delegates:

Mary Van Auken, Lois Petersen, Greg Haas and Mary Carlson nominated themselves. Lois Petersen nominated Kate Sherwood.
Vikki Chenette made a motion to elect these five nominees as delegates to the State Convention. Linda Wilson seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Lois Petersen made a motion for the convention to take a 5 minute beverage and snack break. Vikki Chenette seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Consideration of the Platform and Resolution:

Linda Wilson, Chair of the Platform and Resolutions Committee, explained and presented the seven changes to the Platform that would be voted on. Greg Haas showed the changes with a digital projector and screen. The changes are as follows:

1. Plank 8. Taxation/Revenue
   Removal of the last sentence: “We support the formation of a Senior Citizen Service District in Johnson County as described in State Statute 18-15-101.”
2. Plank 10. Protecting Our Democracy
   Adding a sentence: “We support the use of ranked-choice voting in primary elections.”
   Adding a sentence: “We support an independent commission for the determination of legislative districts.”
   Adding a sentence: “We support reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine.”
3. Plank 12. Protecting Our Personal Rights:
   Removal of the second sentence of the second paragraph: “No person should be discriminated against based on the following, including but not limited to, actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion or non-religion, age, disability, economic status, political beliefs, sex, gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation.”
   Adding a sentence: “We believe that until all of us matter, none of us matter.”
4. Plank 13: Integrity in Foreign Relations
   Adding the word “all” in the third paragraph: “We recognize the use of force may be required to protect these fundamental principles only when all peaceful international efforts have failed.”

Lois Petersen made a motion to accept the seven platform changes as presented. Mary Van Auken seconded the motion.

Lois Petersen then proposed a friendly amendment to the first sentence added to Plank 10, so that the sentence would read: “We support the use of ranked choice voting and open primary elections.” Lois Petersen and Mary Van Auken agreed to this amendment.

The motion with the friendly amendment passed.

Other Business:

William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship

Greg Haas explained how the idea of having a William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship came about after Bill passed away, his talk with Dixie McIntyre about the idea of having a scholarship in Bill’s name and her discussion of this idea with her relatives. Greg also talked about his drafting of Bill’s biography, the scholarship application, the Scholarship Committee guidelines and rules, the Scholarship Committee membership page and the donation form.

Dudley Case then introduced the Scholarship Committee -Lois Petersen, Lorajane Kessler, Vikki Chenette and himself. Dudley then briefly explained that the committee had met several times to turn the draft scholarship documents into a final version that the JC Dems could vote on and had thus made a number of changes to the draft documents, including the date for accepting the first applications. The committee also had decided not to use a corporation with a 501(c)(3) tax exemption to run the scholarship, due to the time, effort and expense it would take to use a corporation. He also stated that the committee had decided to take Bill’s biography off of the application and put it on a separate page for inclusion on the scholarship website. The committee also decided to remove from the Scholarship Committee Guidelines and Rules page the sentence that gave special regard to Kaycee High School students since the committee felt that this might discourage Buffalo High School students from applying for the scholarship. Dudley also mentioned that the JC Dems Treasurer, Suzi Black, had suggested to the committee that a separate JCDems bank account be set up to receive donations for the scholarship.

Greg Haas then suggested that a motion be made to formally accept the scholarship documents as revised by the scholarship committee and to launch the scholarship by means of fundraising, setting up a scholarship bank account and creating a press release. Suzi Black made the motion and Linda Wilson seconded the motion.

As part of the discussion of this motion, Greg Haas suggested two friendly amendments to the part of the motion concerning the scholarship documents as revised by the scholarship committee. One, to reincorporate Bill’s biography at the beginning of the scholarship application. So that applicants would know about Bill’s life and the values for which he stood. Two, to add back to the internal document entitled “Scholarship Committee’s Guidelines and Rules” the sentence: “Special regard will be given graduates of the Kaycee High School in Kaycee, Wyoming.” Greg stated that since the guidelines and rules are an internal document that only the scholarship committee would see, this should not discourage students at the Buffalo High School from applying for the scholarship.

Suzi Black, who made the motion, and Linda Wilson, who seconded the motion, both accepted these friendly amendments. The motion with the friendly amendments was then voted on and passed.

Greg Haas said he would create a press release for the scholarship and will distribute it statewide. And Lois Petersen said she would contact Dixie McIntyre and get her the revised documents.

Greg Haas adjourned the convention at 11:28 am.

Johnson County Democratic Party
Business Meeting
May 3, 2022

Call to Order:

Greg Haas called the meeting to order at 7:01pm.

Attendance:

Greg Haas, Mitch Black, Suzi Black, Pat Barndt, Lois Petersen, Dudley Case, Sharon Case, Vikki Chenette, Shirley Gorman, Ernest Champlin, Lynda Champlin, Mary Van Auken, Mary Carlson

Chair Announcements:

Greg Haas asked people to introduce themselves, since there were a number of new attendees.

Greg then read the thank you card the JCDems received from the Hoofprints of the Past Museum for the JC Dems $350 donation to the museum in memory of Bill McIntyre.

Greg also brought attention to the April 28th Guest Columnist article in the Buffalo Bulletin by Cale Case, in which he opposes the Republican politics of hate and disparagement. He encourages moderate Republicans to run as precinct committee men and women and for public office.

And finally, Greg mentioned that Nina, the Communications Director in the Wyoming Democratic Party, has apparently taken employment elsewhere and he has not heard if the WDP will be opening that position.

Secretary Report:

Greg Haas asked if there were any changes to be made to the April 5 meeting minutes. Hearing none, the minutes were entered into the record.

Treasurer’s Report:

Suzi Black reported the balance currently in the bank account, the dollar amount of donations over the past month, which are earmarked for the William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship.

There was an invoiced, as yet unpaid, for three ads placed in the Buffalo Bulletin for the County Convention. Suzi reported the cost of each and the total due.

Suzi also reported the cost of the room rented at the Buffalo Senior Center for the County Convention.

Old Business:

JCDems County Convention Review by Greg Haas, Convention Chair

There were 13 Johnson County Democrats who participated in the convention. The convention voted to have 5 delegates participate in the State Convention. Greg will send the delegates’ contact information to the state party. The delegates are Lois Petersen, Mary Van Auken, Mary Carlson, Kathleen (Kate) Sherwood and Greg Haas.

The convention also voted to incorporate some changes into the JC Dems Platform, and these changes will be made by the Platform Committee and posted on the JC Dems website.

And finally, the convention voted to proceed with the William D. McIntyre Memorial Scholarship, to use the scholarship documents presented at the convention, to begin scholarship fundraising and to create any press releases necessary to the operation of the scholarship. As a side note, Greg stated that the scholarship was intended, at some point, to be expanded into adult education.

Greg also mentioned that he has started putting the scholarship documents onto the website, except for the Scholarship Committee Guidelines and Rules, which will remain an internal document and not be publicly displayed on the website. Greg will also send out the press release announcing the scholarship as soon as the website is ready, hopefully this week.

Lois Petersen will also get the finalized scholarship documents to Dixie McIntyre as soon as she can.

New Business:

Planning:

Greg Haas said he would like to start doing some social events planning for the rest of this year in order to help get more Democrats to participate in the party and he asked for suggestions for social events.

Vikki Chenette suggested a Labor Day Picnic.

It was suggested the luncheons that Bill McIntyre had started somehow continue.

Lois mentioned perhaps having another joint event at Kearney Hall with the JCDems and the Sheridan County Democrats.

Lynda Champlin then asked what the responsibilities of a precinct committee person were. Greg explained that the Democratic Party organization starts at the neighborhood level by organizing counties into precincts. He also explained that there should be both a precinct committee man and woman for each precinct. And that they represent and vote on matters for their precinct members at the JCDems monthly meetings and also vote for county party officers at election time. In the past they would also keep their precinct members informed of JC Dems meetings and events, but now that is being done mostly by emails to members who are on the listserv and by means of Facebook and Twitter. Precinct committee men and women are also listed on the county election ballot and voted on there. If there are not two precinct committee people for each precinct then the county chair can appoint precinct committee men and women.

Announcements from the Floor:

Suzi Black said that since she is setting up a separate bank account for the scholarship that she will need to have three signatories on the account and that any check written on the account will need two signatures. It was suggested that since the Party Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are the signatories on the JCDems bank account that they also be the signatories on the scholarship bank account. Everyone seemed to be in agreement on this suggestion, so she will set it up that way.

Upcoming Meetings:

The next JCDems monthly meeting will be held on June 7 in Room 108 of the Bomber Mountain Civic Center. The Party Chair may not be at this meeting and the Secretary will not be at this meeting. Lois Petersen has graciously consented to filling in for the Secretary at this meeting.

The Wyoming Democratic Party’s State Convention will be held in Rock Springs on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11, with the possibility that the convention may also extend into Sunday, June 12 if it can’t be finished on Saturday.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:03 pm.

Johnson County Democratic Party Meeting
May 3, 2022 at 7:00 PM
Bomber Mountain Civic Center, Rm 108

Agenda

7:00pm Call to order

7:04pm Minutes & Money & Chair Announcements

7:08pm Old Business

County Convention Review

7:18pm New Business

Planning

7:48pm Announcements from the Floor

Upcoming Meetings

Monthly Meeting – June 7

SCC – June 10-12 in Rock Springs, WY

Other?

7:59 Adjourn