Florida Keys Democrats

A Message and a Plan for 2013-2014 From the Monroe County Democratic Executive Committee Chair

First, I would like to recognize the other officers who work with me to guide Monroe County’s Democratic Party efforts through this: Pauline Sherman, Vice-chair; Sue Sullivan, Secretary, and Bert Sise, Treasurer. Along with our two State Committee representatives; Liz Lustberg and Ian Whitney we commit to continue strengthening the Democratic Party in Monroe County.

I would like to also acknowledge the hard work of everyone who helped out in the 2012 elections by making calls; talking to neighbors; distributing candidate materials; donating money and time; helping to Get Out The Vote – all of these efforts helped grow the Democratic Party in Monroe County and culminated in our election night victory with the re-election of President Barack Obama. Thank you for what you do as Democratic citizen-activists!

While we are a small county every vote counts in this Democracy and our votes are as important as anyone’s vote in Miami or Palm Beach. We must Get Out The Vote in 2014 to help elect a progressive Democrat to the Governor's office.

My plans for 2013-2014 are as follows:

• Continue to expand our base of Democratic voters
According to the Supervisor of Elections there were now only 1,520 more Republicans than Democrats in Monroe County as of July 1, 2013. We are constantly making gains and need to continue to emphasize registering new voters and converting independents to our important cause.

• Continue to strengthen our DEC Membership and our Grassroots Volunteer Network
We now have 23 officially elected precinct leaders across Monroe County. This will sustain us as an organization into the future. We also have a newly formed UPPER KEYS DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE to make certain that we have on-the-ground capacity to Get Out The Vote across Islamorada, Tavernier, Key Largo, and Ocean Reef! We'll soon have a MIDDLE KEYS DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE for Democrats in Marathon and its neighboring keys to organize around.

• Fundraising! Fundraising! Fundraising! Fundraising!
Nothing on our agenda will happen without money. Fundraising NOW is critical. Along with the 2014 races for Governor and the accompanying statewide offices, U.S. Congress, and the Florida State House we will also have several very important local races in 2013 and 2014 that immediately affect our way of life. It will be an enormous challenge for us to be able to provide GOTV and financial support for all of these candidates.

You can help in this effort starting NOW!
If you would like to contribute to the Monroe County DEC using a credit card, please visit:

Please watch for our new initiatives on each of these fronts over the months ahead. We encourage anyone who is interested in helping build the future of the Democratic Party in Monroe County to join us in one of the many ways available. Please look at the Volunteer Section of our website and find the place where you can make a real contribution or contact me directly for more information.

The principles and ideals of the Democratic Party include the right of all people to have freedom of expression, religion and the pursuit of happiness as well as a quality education, a clean and safe environment, a secure and healthy future, a fair living wage, secure retirement, equal opportunity, and access to quality health care. This is what we are fighting for as Democrats – won’t you please consider taking an active role in the Monroe County Democratic Party and help us pursue these goals?