Happy 4th of July Democrats!

We’re celebrating the success of Democrats across the country delivering for the American people. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan put millions of dollars into pockets around the country, including over $22 million just in St. Mary’s County! 

President Biden has rerouted the economy and has Americans working together to Build Back Better. The latest jobs report shows the fruits of this labor, with 850,000 jobs being created! President Biden and Democrats have created over 3 million jobs so far, over three times the amount under the previous administration. Watch President Biden's remarks on the employment numbers.

And, news broke yesterday announcing a win for almost 180,000 Marylanders who were set to lose their unemployment benefits this weekend. A Baltimore judge issued a temporary restraining order to extend these benefits as further details of the case are examined. This is a needed review of Governor Hogan’s harmful decision to cancel benefits thousands of Marylanders are depending on just to make ends meet. Read more from The Baltimore Sun. 

With more and more Marylanders vaccinated (75% with at least one dose, 52% two doses), this year we can celebrate the 4th with a little more normalcy! This is thanks to the incredible roll out of President Biden’s vaccine initiatives, targeted towards equity in access to free vaccines in every city, town, and neighborhood. Locally, we’re just about 50% fully vaccinated. The St. Mary’s County Health Department has done a superb job making vaccines accessible across the county geographically and demographically. If you still need to be vaccinated, please visit the Health Department’s website for more information! 

There’s less than 360 days until next year’s primary election! The candidates for governor have been announcing their campaigns--more on that in our update from the Maryland Democratic Party (MDP) below!

In this edition of the Skipjack Current, you’ll also find updates from the Democratic Central Committee, Democratic Club,  and local political updates.

Democratic Central Committee

The last meeting of the DCC was on June 16, 2021. Caroline King and Brandon Russell announced they were selected to serve on the state party’s Rural Communities Committee. This committee focuses on rural areas of Maryland, looking to increase engagement and involvement with politics at every level. Turning rural counties blue by identifying democratic principles to deliver results for our constituents is a primary goal for the party.

The DCC also held its first in-person fundraiser in over a year on June 26th with a morning of Wine & Yoga at Port of Leonardtown Winery. Guests enjoyed samples of wine and a breakfast spread along with a relaxing hour-long yoga class. Several door prizes were raffled, including an award-winning bottle of wine from Port of Leonardtown Winery. We enjoyed seeing everyone and appreciate the support to create this very successful event!

A press release went out to inform the public of a vacancy on the DCC. Read the press release here. We’re also looking for volunteers to serve on our various committees. Read more about the committees, and find information on how to join here. 

Our grassroots fundraising program, Skipjack Circle, is off to a solid start thanks to your monthly small dollar donations. We’ve been working to build our party locally while supporting the community, and have begun looking forward to next year’s election. We want to support strong candidates for County Commissioner, State Delegate and Senator, and more but we need YOUR help to do it! Click here to learn more about the program. Make sure to setup your MONTHLY DONATION soon to be a part of the first round of swag rollouts!

Speaking of elections, have you thought about running for office? We’re fielding candidates RIGHT NOW and would love to speak with you. Not ready to run? Join us in supporting great candidates by working on their team. Email us at [email protected] and say “Let’s get to work!”

Upcoming Events:

• Next Meeting: July 21st at 6pm. If interested in attending, please email [email protected] or message us on social media for the link.
• St. Mary’s County Fair: September 23rd thru 26th, stop by and see us at our table! If you’d like to volunteer to help us on the Fair Committee, please email [email protected] for more information.

Democratic Club

The Democratic Club decided to start a canvassing listening tour. We’re interested in hearing from our friends and neighbors about what is important to them, what they think the local party should focus on, and more! To get involved, please contact Roderick Lewis at [email protected].

We’re also looking for volunteers interested in helping accomplish the goals of the Democratic Central Committee’s subcommittees. Members of the Democratic Club work in conjunction with the DCC to staff the subcommittees, but the more the merrier! For more information on the sub-committees, what they do, and how to join, click here.

The St. Mary’s County Fair is happening this year, and it’s less than 3 months away! Our Planning Committee for the Fair is just beginning to form, so we’re also looking for volunteers who can help with organization, planning, and staffing the booth over the four day event. To volunteer for the Fair Planning Committee, email Julia Nichols at [email protected].

The Club’s By-Laws have been updated. All members should read through the updated by-laws and prepare to discuss them at the next meeting in August. The updated By-Laws will be emailed out ahead of the meeting for review. Please email [email protected] for a copy of the By-Laws if interested in reviewing them early.

We’d like to thank Delegate Brian Crosby for attending our last meeting and providing a legislative update on the last session. 

Upcoming Events

• Next Meeting: August 16th, with guest Peter Franchot, candidate for Governor.

I Am St. Mary’s

The next meeting of I Am St. Mary’s will be Wednesday, August 18th. All Democratic women of St. Mary’s County are invited. For more information on the group, contact [email protected].

Maryland Democratic Party Updates

Currently there are nine declared candidates for Governor on the Democratic side: Rushern Baker, Jon Baron, Peter Franchot, Doug Gansler, Ashwani K. Jain, John King Jr., Wes Moore, Tom Perez, and Mike Rosenbaum. 

Meanwhile, the Republicans have Kelly Schulz who has largely been unseen and unheard, Robin Ficker, and Dan Cox, a vehement Trump supporter who arranged transportation for the insurrectionists.

Sign up here to join the state party in working to elect a Democrat as Governor in 2022. 

Wednesday, July 14th, we’re thrilled to be hosting our second Maryland Climate Matters panel, this time with former Governor Martin O’Malley. The panel will focus on the threat Climate Change poses to our state’s natural resources--specifically the Chesapeake--and what YOU can do to protect the Bay. 

Wednesday, July 21st, our Seniors Diversity Leadership Council will be hosting a summer kick-off and meet and greet. Join this great group to find out how seniors can help elect Democrats up and down the ballot. You can find more information here. 

Searching for a New LGBTQ+ Diversity Council Chair

The Maryland Democratic Party seeks a chair for our LGBTQ+ Diversity Leadership Council. The purpose of the LGBTQ+ Diversity Leadership Council is to serve as the MDP’s primary means of outreach to sexual and gender minority communities across the state. As such, the LGBTQ+ DLC is both a brain trust and a working group focused on the ongoing education, engagement, recruitment, and turnout of LGBTQ+ voters. You can find out more about this opportunity here.

Local Government Updates

St. Mary’s Countians have been calling for the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County to appoint a fair and balanced Redistricting Board of two Democrats, two Republicans, and one Independent. The Commissioners delayed the deadline for appointments from March 1st to July 1st earlier this year. Now, July 1st has come and gone but no appointments were made. In fact, the Commissioners will not meet again until July 13th, putting them far past their deadline for appointments. Are the Commissioners committed to a fair and balanced Redistricting Board, or will they engage in partisan politics by appointing a board of all Republicans?

Since appointments haven’t been made, there is still time to contact the Commissioners and let them know YOU support a Fair & Balanced Redistricting Board with two Democrats, two Republicans, and one Independent. 

The Commissioners have also been discussing progress on a YMCA community center in the Lexington Park area. However, during Commissioner Time at the June 22nd meeting, Commissioner Hewitt mentioned a potential land donation for a YMCA in Charlotte Hall. While this is great news, and an extremely generous donation if it happens, we need the Commissioners to focus on the original YMCA project in Lexington Park.  

Tuesday, July 13th there is a Public Forum at 6:30PM. You can attend in person, submit comments via email, or call-in by phone to make your voices heard! More information is available HERE.

Other Notable Initiatives

The St. Mary’s County NAACP is hosting it’s 4th Annual Back to School Fair at John G. Lancaster Park on August 14th from 12-3PM. At their last fair in 2019 they were able to distribute 500 backpacks and supplies to students. They’re looking for donations to support this drive. For more information, please visit https://stmarysnaacp.org/back-to-school

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