Quote of the Month
"Making that decision [to have an abortion] is not easy. It’s not something people do lightly, it’s not something you can just do. It is a hard, awful decision that people make. And if you don’t have the wherewithal to understand that, to start this conversation with ‘I know how hard this must be for you,’ if you’re starting it by telling me I’m gonna burn in hell, then you’re not looking out for me as a human being.” Whoopi Goldberg, 2022
Democratic Party of Milton Township
Monthly Meeting
April 28, 2022
Meeting Called to Order at 7:29 pm by Jessica Hierbaum, Chair.
We convened in person at the Glen Ellyn Historical Society.
Other Officers in attendance: James Rospond, Treasurer; Wyatt Merritt, Outreach Officer; and Operations Officer, Dennis Terdy.
Quote: Jessica opened with this quote from Mallory McMorrow, Michigan State Senator (Democrat): “People who are different are not the reason that our roads are in bad shape after decades of disinvestment, or that health care costs are too high, or that teachers are leaving the profession. I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard, and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white and Christian. We cannot let hateful people who tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they are not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact people’s lives.”
Welcome: Jessica welcomed all attendees and invited anyone new or candidates running for office to introduce themselves. One new attendee was Pamela Siemson, who joined us at the Glen Ellyn parade last summer.
Approval of March Minutes: Mike Nachman moved and Marian Tomlinson seconded the motion to approve the March minutes without reading as they are available on the DPMT Website. The minutes were approved.
Treasurer’s Report March 2022 Report - James Rospond, Treasurer
James reported on the previous month’s receipts and expenditures. He concluded that we ended the month with a balance of $6269. April’s largest expenditure was for producing the informational flyers for the primary, which were distributed to PC’s at the PC forum held immediately before tonight’s general meeting. There are two more flyers planned later in the year, so we still hope to increase membership to have additional funds available. We are up to 106 members now, and still hope for additional signups from the PC and Newsletter mailing lists.
New Business -
Operations Update: Dennis Terdy
Dennis reported on the PC forum, which, as mentioned, took place this evening before the general meeting. Our flyers, and literature from many of our candidates, were available for distribution. Further information for the PC’s included that our DuPage Democratic Party Chair, Ken Mejia-Beal, is offering to have the PC’s personal letters to their precincts, and their sample ballots, printed in the DuPage County Democrats office at no cost to the PC. You can notify them ahead of time to have the printouts waiting, or come in to print from your own laptops. Another reminder for PC’s is that we would very much like for them to be on the lookout for new PC recruits. We aren’t fully covered yet, and can use more help in this crucial endeavor that is our best way to increase turnout. Also mentioned was the new effort to add information on issues to the DPMT web site, which will be another resource for PCs to draw on and bring to their constituents’ attention.
Outreach Update: Wyatt Merritt
Wyatt reminded the group that we are still looking for more help with Social Media, and to contact her at wyatt.merritt@gmail.com if interested. In outreach news, she noted that the previous weekend, DPMT members contributed to the Great Western and Prairie Trail cleanups. Also, we of course plan to have marching groups in the Wheaton and Glen Ellyn Fourth of July parades again this year, so please plan to join us if you can, and watch our newsletter and social media accounts for more information on signing up.
Speakers – Candidate Forum
We hosted the second of three candidate forums at this meeting. The speakers this evening were:
State Central Committeeman Patrick Watson – running for re-election, 6th District
Gary Fasules - Candidate for County Board District 4
DuPage Forest Preserve President Dan Hebreard – running for re-election
DuPage County Board Member - Lynn LaPlante – running for re-election, District 4
Sonni Choi Williams - Candidate for Judge, 3 rd Appellate Court
DuPage Forest Preserve Commissioner Jeff Gahris – running for re-election, District 4
Don Potoczny, Candidate for DuPage Treasurer
Erik Spande, Candidate for DuPage Forest Preserve Commissioner, District 6
Gil Villegas, who was scheduled to speak, was prevented from attending by illness. We did hear from his Field Director and Organizer (Christian and Will), who invited members to stop by their campaign events.
Further New Business –
Dan Bailey reminded us that he is organizing participation in the Poor Peoples’ Campaign March on Washington, to take place on June 8, and that there will be a bus from Naperville for local participants.
Jean Kaczmarek, DuPage County Clerk, brought us the news that her office will be sending registered voters a mailer in the near future on the primary, with information about new districts, Permanent Vote By Mail application and polling places for early voting and Election Day. She urged our PCs to encourage voters to take advantage of the convenience of Permanent Vote By Mail.
Patrick Watson reminded members of the upcoming Weekend of Action, canvassing events on April 30-May1, and also of a Candidates Forum for the 6th Congressional District being sponsored on May 6 by multiple non-partisan groups including the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, the DuPage County NAACP, Illinois NOW, Latino Policy Forum, Indo-American Democratic Organization, Mohammed Webb Foundation, DuPage Federation of Human Services Reform, Empower Southwest, and the Mecca Center.
In addition to the candidates who spoke in the forum session, we were also joined by Mary Ozog, candidate for County Board District 4, who thanked Milton PCs for their efforts in gathering petition signatures for her.
Adjournment: Dennis Terdy moved and Dan Bailey seconded the motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:31 pm.
Next meeting: The next meeting of the Democratic Party of Milton Township will be on Thursday, May 26 at 7:30 pm at the Glen Ellyn Historical Society, 800 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn.
Join the Democratic Party of Milton Township. Annual dues $25 ($20 for members of the DuPage Democratic Party. Join at www.democratsofmilton.com/membership.
Submitted by Wyatt Merritt, Outreach Officer, covering for Steve Siemer, Secretary