Category Archives: Link-Up

Events, Link-Up

June Link-up: Knock Down the House

We are proud to host a showing of the new documentary that follows four determined candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, throughout their campaign in the 2018 election. These progressive candidates take on big money and stagnant incumbents in the 2018 election with and without success. Join us for a great film, good company, and a good discussion following the film.

For more information about the film, please view the trailer: KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

Date: Thursday, June 6, 2019
Gathering: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Program: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Monroe County Public Library, Room 1B – 303 E Kirkwood Av

This showing is co-sponsored by:

  • College Democrats at Indiana University
  • Indiana 9th District Latino Caucus
  • Democratic Women’s Caucus
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Events, Link-Up

Lived Experiences: The Undercurrent of Racism in the U.S.

Come join us for our May Link-Up! We are proud to host a panel of speakers from a range of communities in Bloomington to talk about their lived experiences as people of color in the United States. Speakers will discuss a variety of topics related to their lived reality and daily experience of racism and different forms of oppression. We hope that attendees will come away with a deepened awareness of the undercurrents of racism and a renewed commitment to racial justice.

Speakers TBA

Date: Thursday, May 2, 2019
Social Time: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Program Time: 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: Crazy Horse – 214 W. Kirkwood Av, Bloomington

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Link-Up

DFMC Candidate Endorsements


The members of Democracy For Monroe County met tonight at our April Link-up and voted to endorse the following candidates:

E. Thomasina Marsili for State Representative, District 46
Penny Githens for State Representative, District 60
Amy Swain for State Representative, District 62
Jared Stancombe for State Representative, District 65

Nicole Browne for County Clerk
Erika Oliphant for Prosecuting Attorney
Eric Schmitz for County Recorder
Brad Swain for Sheriff

Lee Jones for County Commissioner, District 1
Shelli Yoder for County Council, District 1
L. Kate Wiltz for County Council, District 2
Eric Spoonmoore for County Council, District 4

Chris Gaal for Circuit Court Judge, Division 6, Seat 2
Catherine Stafford for Circuit Court Judge, Division 6, Seat 3
Darcie Fawcett for Circuit Court Judge, Division 9, Seat 8

Michelle Bright for Benton Township Trustee
Kim Alexander for Bloomington Township Trustee

Congratulations to all of these candidates!

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Events, Issues, Link-Up, Progressive Activism

June Link-Up: Labor in Politics, Past and Future

At our June Link-Up, sponsored by the local Jobs with Justice chapter and DFMC, join us to meet Hoosier hero Chuck Jones and Chuck Deppert. Many will remember that last year, United Technologies made $5 billion in profits, while also announcing hundreds of layoffs at its Carrier plants in Indiana. As president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, Chuck Jones fought for the jobs of his fellow union members. When Trump and Pence gave millions of dollars in subsidies to Carrier, Chuck Jones pointed out that Trump’s promises to save workers’ jobs did not add up. Trumps promise to save 1100 or more of those jobs turned out to be only 800, of the 1400 jobs slated to be moved. He suspected the then-president-elect was including in his count design and engineering jobs that were never going to leave. Trump responded on Twitter by saying Jones had done a “terrible job” as union president. Sadly, Chuck Jones is being proven right, with over 600 layoffs at Carrier in Indiana coming this year, including many right before Christmas. His local 1999 United Steelworkers Local also made waves by endorsing the presidential candidacy of Senator Bernie Sanders, breaking with much of the labor movement.

Chuck Jones will be joined by Chuck Deppert, former president of the Indiana AFL-CIO, who led the state’s fight against NAFTA in the early 1990s, securing the votes of 8 out of 10 Indiana members of Congress against the disastrous, job-killing agreement.

The two Chucks will provide us with some important insights on taking the Democratic party back to its roots in labor, important given how poorly Democrats fared among the working class both in Indiana and nationwide in last year’s election. Please join us and enjoy a night with Bloomington’s most exciting progressives and lets learn something together.

Let us know you’re coming! Facebook Event Link: Labor In Politics, Past and Present

LOCATION: ***** Runnin Crab, 2038 N. Walnut ******
DATE: 8 June 2017
TIME: 6:00 to 8:00 PM

Runnin Crab is a new restaurant in town serving Cajun Fusion.  While it is mainly seafood, they have vegetable soup and a very good salad bar for vegetarians.  And they serve beer and wine, yahoo yahoo.  Runnin Crab is on the east side of Walnut just south of 24th Street (the bypass).  It is the next restaurant north of La Charreada restaurant.

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Events, Issues, Link-Up, Progressive Activism

May Link-Up: Saving Our Public Schools

Cathy Fuentes Rohwer, Chair
Indiana Coalition for Public Education, Monroe County

Cathy will talk about the important place of Public Schools in the history of our society and providing the sense of community.  She will also talk about the impact of vouchers and charter schools on our public schools as well as the demonstrable impact on our society.   Finally, she will also discuss the rationale and nature of the Federal lawsuit ICPE-MC filed against Indiana and Seven Oaks Classical School.  Go to http://www.icpe-monroecounty.org to see the press release and the lawsuit as well as a Q&A sheet.

LOCATION: ***** Runnin Crab, 2038 N. Walnut  ******
DATE:         11 May 2017
TIME:          6:00 to 8:00 PM
Runnin Crab is a new restaurant in town serving Cajun Fusion.  While it is mainly seafood, they have vegetable soup and a very good salad bar for vegetarians.  And they serve beer and wine, yahoo yahoo.  Runnin Crab is on the east side of Walnut just south of 24th Street (the bypass).  It is the next restaurant north of La Charreada restaurant.

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Events, Issues, Link-Up

April Link-Up: Food, Glorious Food – Food Systems in the Comprehensive Plan

The Bloomington Food Policy Council, established in 2011, exists to increase and preserve access to sustainably produced, locally grown, healthful food for all residents in Monroe and surrounding counties. We are a group of community members committed to building food security by assessing the current food system and advocating policy changes that assure everyone access to affordable and nutritious food, with an emphasis on food produced sustainably by local farmers and gardeners.

BFPC Chair, Ryan Conway, will join the DFMC on Thursday April 13th to discuss the importance of including Food Systems in the City and County’s comprehensive and everyday planning activities. The inclusion of Food Systems in the forthcoming City of Bloomington Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) was mandated by the Imagine Bloomington Steering Committee, tasked by the City of Bloomington to develop core standards for priority needs for the City’s next master plan. However, the original draft of the CMP contained only a few, superficial references to this critical element Bloomington’s social, economic, and environmental systems. Attendees will be invited to contribute general and specific feedback on goals, policies, and programs that the BFPC should include in its recommendations to the City and County regarding a Food Systems chapter in the CMP. The BFPC is recruiting additional board members, to more thoroughly address this crucial policy work, and will entertain self-nominations on a rolling basis, submitted to bfpc@bloomingtonfpc.org. Come learn about and discuss the fight for food security, food justice, and food sovereignty in Bloomington and Monroe County!

When:  Thursday, April 13
Gather at 6, start at 6:30
Where: Bobby’s Colorado Steakhouse

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Events, Gerrymandering, Issues, Link-Up

Redistricting Ourselves Out of a Corner: How to End Gerrymandering

Democracy for Monroe County Link-up
March 9, 2017

Julia Vaughn, the Policy Director for Common Cause Indiana, will be coming to Bloomington to help us understand what happened with HB1014 – the bill to establish an independent redistricting panel. Julia joined Common Cause in 1995 and is responsible for policy development, lobbying, grassroots organizing and coalition building in the Hoosier State. Julia led the lobbying effort on the Bill, so she can give us the inside scoop on what the heck is going on.

We had over 150 people attending the last HB1014 committee hearing. The committee had to move the meeting to the House Chamber (it was really nice having one of those chamber seats) to accommodate the crowd. In addition to filling the 100 seats in the Chamber, we had scores of folks in the back, along the side, and sitting in the aisle. However, the Republicans (Committee Chairman, Milo Smith from Columbus) still refused to bring the bill to a vote. We need some insight on this willingness to ignore the people.

The focus of this link-up will be on what we can begin doing now to increase the pressure on the House and Senate in the next session. Both Kate Cruickshank and Julia have told me there is much we can and should be doing, so come hear the post-mortem analysis and, most importantly, strategies for moving forward.

Location:        Bobby’s Colorado Steak House, Hoosier Room.
1635 N. College Ave
Date:                March 9th
Time:               6:00 PM Gather for conversation, drinks and eating.
6:30 PM Link-up starts
8:00 PM Formal program ends

Everyone is invited. Please bring friends and introduce them to DFMC. While membership is not required, joining for $20 a year helps us put on our link-ups and support the progressive agenda.

March DFMC Board Meeting. Monday, March 13 at 6:30PM. We hold our DFMC board meetings in the back room at Player’s Pub. This meeting is open to all. Please submit agenda items to chair@democracyformonroecounty.org if you have a topic you would like us to address.

Coming soon: Special event March 24 featuring best-selling author Thomas Frank, Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? and other books plus a member survey! Details to come.

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Candidates, Events, Issues, Link-Up

How to Win Elections: Reflections from the Candidates – DFMC February Link-up

How Do We Win Voters:
Reflections from the Candidates

Link-ups will normally be the second Thursday of the month – mark it on your calendar.  This month we have moved the date so we can all attend Mayor Hamilton’s State of the City address.

We are so excited that this month’s panel has been able to adjust to the date change.  Our progressive candidates who were in competitive races were invited to talk with us about their experiences in trying to recruit/enlist the rural and moderate Republican citizens in their districts.  The goal is to understand what they learned and how we can use that to reach out and build alliances beyond Bloomington as well as to aid future campaigns.   Our panel discussing these issues includes:
Shelli Yoder, Candidate for U.S. House, 9th District
Penny Githens, Candidate for Indiana House, 60th  District
Bill Breeden, Candidate for Indiana House, 46th District
Linda Henderson, Candidate for Indiana Senate, 44th District

As usual, we gather at 6:00PM with the event starting at 6:30PM.  Remember we are meeting at the Monroe County Public Library, Rm 1B and we will have pizza and bottles of water.

Everyone is invited.  Please bring friends and introduce them to DFMC.  While membership is not required, joining for $20 a year helps us put on our link-ups and support the progressive agenda.

Calls to Action.
We hope you will take an active role in DFMC not only in responding to the link-ups but also:

  •  Attend board meetings and offer your input on topics for future linkups and on how we can make DFMC more effective.
  • Join DFMC committees to build our agenda.  The committees are
    • Outreach (membership, education, collaborations)
    • Events (Link-ups; fund raisers).
    • Candidate Endorsement and support
    • Technology

If you are interested in being on a committee write chair@democracyformonroecounty.org

February DFMC Board Meeting.  Monday, February 13 at 6:30PM, we holding our next DFMC board meeting in the back room at Player’s Pub. This meeting is open to all. Please submit agenda items to chair@democracyformonroecounty.org if you have a topic you would like us to address.  The draft agenda can be found here: http://democracyformonroecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/2017/02/DFMC Board Agenda 13 Feb.docx

 

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