Sarah’s Voter Engagement Message
OUR JOB IS TO STAY IN THE FIGHT
VEC Chair: Sarah Jones
VEC Resist Chair: Diane Dimperio
VEC Tabling Chair: Doris Harvey
VEC MONDAY MESSAGE 4/27/2026
Hello Everyone,
CURRENT AND UPCOMING EVENTS:
*Our next VEC meeting will be held on Thursday, 5/7/2026, at 1p, on Zoom. We’ll be planning our summer events. I will be sending the zoom link and agenda to committee members shortly before that.
*46th Annual 5th Avenue Arts Festival. Many thanks to all the members who stepped up to volunteer at the 5th Avenue Downtown Festival Saturday. Our community presence is so important, especially if our goal is to “turn Florida blue.”
*May Day: Friday, May 1, 2026, will honor the annual International Workers Day. This year it takes the theme of “Workers Over Billionaires.” A rally will be held at Bo Diddley Plaza on May 1st at 5p. Also, we’ll participate in shopping boycotts and work and school walkouts.
*DWCSFS held a candidate forum on Sunday, April 26, at the Florida Springs Institute in High Springs. The 5 candidates running for Alachua County Commission spoke on their campaign goals and hopes for Alachua. Prominent was their desire for local governance. Photos are posted on our Facebook pages.
*Repeating Event: Join the Badass Feminists at the Oaks Mall every Saturday from 10a-Noon and Sundays at the 39th ST overpass from 3:30-5p.
*Note: if you hear of upcoming events, please email me (dwcac-vec.org) so we can participate.
*The Resist Network Update:
Hi All
Hope you had a chance to read and share the most recent RESIST Network message
and plan to honor organized labor on Friday May 1 at Bo Diddley or in another way.
But supporting the dignity of work and workers against billionaires is a year round
activity. Please remember to use our local union services and spend some time looking
at nationally available union made products and switch to using them in your everyday
shopping!
A major Buycott suggestion is to shop union.
*I’m going to keep including this little poem to remind us that we have agency:
‘Our biggest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our biggest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?”
Marianne Williamson
*I will be emailing a new form for t-shirt orders for May this week. The current cost for shirts is $15.50. Also, I have 3 unsold shirts: 2 small and 1 medium. They are priced at $15 each and can be picked up immediately
SOME NEWS, OBSERVATIONS, AND QUOTES:
-Last week’s incredible victory in Hungary ousting Viktor Orban is truly a lesson for us in the U.S. In a thorough and totally enlightening interview with Pau Krugman (4/18), Kim Lane Scheppele of Princeton (an expert on Hungary and on autocracy) explained that over a period of 2 years, Péter Magyar went out to the countryside continually to speak with Hungarian citizens about the corruption of Orban’s government. He echoed their longing to be aligned with the EU and their distinct lack of desire to be a satellite of Russia. She also revealed the difficulty Magyar now faces in building his new government because of the layers of bureaucracy Orban has put in place to keep him rich and in power. There was corruption at every level and, as Dr. Scheppele reveals, the Emerald City is in view but there is an alligator pit in between. Peter Magyar is a Conservative, but he is focused completely on his country’s prosperity and its relationship with the EU. He must rebuild his government at every level, beginning with asking the president (an Orban pick) to resign.
Corruption and autocracy threaten us here in the US now. They arose out of a system that has made it more and more difficult for “we the people” to be supported. The Hungarian people showed amazing courage, coming out in huge numbers to vote against Orban. The Democratic base has been out, pushing for change and garnering support as the midterm elections face us. It will take numbers like those in Hungary to win convincedly. Then, it will take real courage from Democrats to affect the kinds of changes for which our people have been crying. Repair of our democratic system must happen at every level.
Polling shows favorability for the Democratic party currently at 36% (up from 27%!). Republicans are not faring much better. Conditions in Hungary had reached a level so bad that it is beyond the imagination and understanding of US citizens. Do we have the courage for real change? The following is a quote on just that.
“[Daily KOS 4/25/26 - Conversation by Markos: There’s nothing fun about the Trump clown show] Democrats don’t have the levers of power. They don’t have the media, legacy or social. But that doesn’t excuse how soft they were coming out of the gate when Trump retook power. They spent the entire 2024 campaign warning that he was a wannabe dictator—warnings that proved accurate—and then they governed like it was business as usual.
That disconnect still lingers. Even now, with Republicans staring down a potential midterm wipeout, Democrats remain deeply unpopular.
We are going to win in November because Trump and his party are dangerous and everyone hates them, not because Democrats have convinced anyone they’re better.
That’s fine for now. It won’t be fine in 2028. Which is why stories of Democrats fighting back break through. People are hungry for it. They want to see it. They reward it.”
KEEP YOUR EYE ON:
-The DOJ has now dropped its criminal probe into Fed Chair’s Jerome Powell, handing the job to the Inspector General. Magas are still trying to gin up trouble because of supposed cost overruns on the renovation of the Fed building.
-Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick for Fed Chair, demonstrated his lack of courage and submission to Trump’s wishes during his confirmation hearing this week. Due to Republican’s fealty to Trump, he will likely be confirmed. Luckily for the independence of the Fed, his vote is only one in the group.
-RFK, along with Trump and allies, still doesn’t understand how real math works. A 600% reduction in the price of a drug on Trump’s new pharmacy site just doesn’t work no matter what your politics.
-Virginia stood strong Tuesday against Republican efforts to redistrict in their favor. We need to stand strong against this effort here in Florida because this important issue is up for discussion and voting this week. Floridians have shown their distaste for it, but our governor continues to push for it, sidelining the will of the people. Let your representatives know you won’t be sidelined.
-Ukraine continues its fight for freedom. Russian performance on the battlefield, according to the Kiev Independent over the past few years shows “Russia has been able to occupy [only] an additional 1-2% of Ukrainian territory at the expense of staggering losses.”
-In California’s governor’s race. Eric Swalwell, the Democratic forerunner, is out due to accusations of impropriety. Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer are front runners currently, but Democrats must act quickly to consolidate in order to avoid being locked out.
-Democrats who voted to give Isreal more bombs are Chuck Schummer (NY), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Chris Coons (DE), Catherine Masto (NY), John Fetterman (PA). Kristen Gillibrand (NY), and Jackie Rosen (NV). The vote was 49-59, 36-63.
-Catholics are reacting fiercely against Trump’s tirade against Pope Leo. As a group formerly supportive of Trump, they are polling in the other direction now.
-New York state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, is being pushed by Trump to loosen climate regulations that have already been beneficial to New York City in cleaning up the air. “The main effect of these proposed changes is to allow the Hochul administration to do nothing for at least the next four years,” said Rachel Spector, deputy managing attorney at Earthjustice, an environmental law organization. “These proposals will do nothing to benefit New Yorkers. The only beneficiaries would be Hochul, along with gas utilities and corporate polluters.
PLEASE STAY INFORMED BY USING OUR ONLINE RESOURCES::
Facebook: Democratic Women’s Club of Alachua County (Admin. Sarah Jones)
Website: DWCAC.net (Admin. Suzy McGinnis)
Please help Suzy and me to serve your interests by viewing the sites, commenting and liking what you see on site, and sending photos and comments for us to post. We love feedback.
Our club mailing Address: DWCAC, PO Box 357579, Gainesville, FL 32635-7579
*Get to know our parent organization at DWCF.org
AND NOW FOR A BIT OF HUMOR:
Daily KOS - Shenman 3/24/26
Note: if you do not wish to receive messaging from VEC in the future, please email me (dwcac-vec.org) and I will remove you from the VEC mailing list.
Thanks to everyone
Sarah Jones, VEC Chair
ELECTION INFORMATION
*Election Alert: The Florida SAVE ACT does not go into effect until next January 1, 2027, so your driver’s license (which has your photo and your signature of record) will suffice. If you need to register, you’ll need to do so by:
§ For the primaries – 7/20/26
§ For the midterm – 10/5/26
To vote in person, you’ll need a
§ Standard Driver’s License with photo and signature
§ Or Photo and accepted document of proof of signature (e.g. credit card)
To register, you’ll need to be a U.S. citizen and have:
§ Valid Forida Drivers License
§ Lat four digits of your Social Security Number
To Do:
· Check your voting status at VoteAlachua.com or by calling the SOE (Supervisor of Elections) Office at 352.374.5252
· *Make sure your information on your address, Signature of record, and your Driver’s License is current.
Remember: Vote By Mail must be updated every 2 years. Call the SOE Office [352.374.5252] to do this.