Episode 36 - Hello Again. We're Back at It!

Hello and welcome to the Collier Democratic Round-Up, theofficial podcast of the Collier County Democratic Party. I am your host, JeffSpencer. We’re back! It’s been two years since we last recorded a podcast and alot has happened in the time since. Let’s do a bit of a recap and get everyoneup to speed.First, we have new leadership here in Collier County. Everytwo years, we have an election to choose a new slate of officers. Annisa Karimand myself, as Chair and Vice-Chair, chose to step down. There are a lot ofreasons for this, but the main being that we both felt that the party neededfresh energy and fresh perspectives to grow as it needs to grow. We have bothput a lot of effort over the last 6 years to build a strong foundation for theparty to build. We achieved a lot. We raised more money in our 6 years thanin the previous 12 combined. We upgraded our website, social media, andcommunication presence to reach more Democrats. We invested in improved financial and volunteer management systems toallow us to maximize our potential. We fielded full slates of candidates forall offices in 2018 and 2020 and had the highest democratic turnout in 2020 ofany county in the entire state. There were big accomplishments, but they were not enough.The party needed some fresh perspectives and new ideas to take the next steptoward a blue Collier County. And I am very excited about our new slate ofofficers and the direction they are taking the party.Our new Chair is Jane Schletweig. Jane worked with Annis andI as State Committee Woman where she represented Collier County at the StateParty. Jane is also the Region 12 Chair of the Democratic Women’s Club ofFlorida.Our new Vice-Chair is Adam Molny. Adam has been our DataCoordinator for the last four years and he has been integral to each of oursuccesses. Anne Daley was re-elected as Treasurer for a second term andJudy Freiberg was re-elected as Secretary for her second term. This new leadership is incredibly qualified and has alreadyhit the ground running. New members and new volunteers have already started toparticipate. Melody Hardee has taken over the Communications Committee and has agreat plan to reach out to more Democrats and non-democrats alike. AtFebruary’s meeting, it was standing room only with new volunteers signing up tohelp on many new committees.The next two years are very important. We have a Governorwho is emboldened and continues to go on the attack. We have the School Boardand County Commission that has lurched even further right parroting conspiracytheory, discounting science, and ignoring the needs of the most vulnerableconstituents. Rick Scott is up for re-election and needs to be defeated. Jane and the rest of the leadership have a plan to engagenew voters. You can find out more about their plans and how you can help bygoing to www.collierdems.org. We’ll beright back after a short break.