Parade season kicks off for us with the 27th Annual Harrodsburg Heritage Days Parade on May 18th. Parade start time is 2:00pm.  This is an opportunity to have some fun and show off the vibrancy and pride of our Party in this cherished Hoosier tradition. We hope many of you will join us, so please stay tuned as we finalize details.

This year's FDR Gala will take place on Thursday, April 4 from 6-8 p.m. at the Fountain Square Mall Ballroom. Visit the event page and RSVP! 

Please take a look around our site and get to know our community. Please stay in touch and don't forget to sign up for our e-mail notifications. Save the evening of April 4 for our FDR Gala, and watch for other events and opportunities to get involved.

Yours in the Democratic Party,

Trent Deckard

Democratic friends,

Thanks for your continuing service and support. 

All the best,
Rick

Monroe County Democratic Party
2013 Quadrennial Reorganization

Democratic Central Committee,

In accordance with Indiana Democratic Party Rules, it is my duty to call a caucus of Democratic precinct committeepersons and vice precinct committeepersons for all Monroe County precincts for the purpose of electing party officers (chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary and treasurer) for the term to run through March of 2017, and to conduct other business as required by Indiana State Party Rules.

The caucus will be held on Saturday March 2, 2013 at 12noon in the Bloomington City Hall Council Chambers, at 401 N Morton St., Bloomington, Indiana.

All Monroe County Democratic Party precinct committeepersons and Vice precinct committeepersons are eligible to vote at the reorganization meeting.  The list of precinct chairs and vice-chairs is available on the MCDP website.

Candidates must file a written notice of candidacy with MCDP Secretary, Efrat Feferman, before the caucus – by 5:00PM on Thursday February 28, 2012.  An email notice shall be sufficient for notification of candidates and may be addressed to Efrat at information@monroedems.org.

Any questions about this caucus can be addressed to me at chair@monroedems.org or at 812-671-0076.  I look forward to seeing you on March 2nd.

Sincerely,

Rick Dietz, Chair
Monroe County Democratic Party

Democrats,

The Monroe County Democratic Party will hold a caucus on Saturday Jan 26, 2013 at 2 pm in the Monroe County Courthouse, Nat U. Hill Meeting Room for the purpose of filling the position of Monroe County Councilor District 1 vacated by Vic Kelson.

Candidates for this office must be eligible to be a candidate for County Council District 1 (old boundary).  Candidates must have filed form CEB-5 with the Caucus Chair, Rick Dietz, 72 hours before the caucus – by 2PM on Wednesday Jan 23, 2013. At 2pm today the deadline passed for candidates to file for this caucus.  As of the filing deadline, 4 candidates filed and they are…

• Lindsay A. Shipps
• Anthony A. Smith
• John Willard Tilford
• Shelli Yoder

This caucus for District 1 County Council is unique. It will be a caucus of the new (post 2010 census) precincts that lay within or overlapping old (pre 2010 census) Council District 1 boundaries.  This includes the following current/new precincts:

• Benton 1, 2
• Bloomington 8, 9, 10, 21
• Perry 4,9,10,11,12,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,26,28,31,32
• Salt Creek

All (old) Council District 1 Monroe County Democratic Party precinct committee persons are eligible to vote in the Council election. Vice precinct committeepersons shall be eligible to vote if they are carrying a proxy for their committeeperson in accordance with Indiana Democratic Party Rules.  

The Caucus is open to all Democrats, but only (old) District 1 precinct chairs or their authorized proxy may vote.

Any questions about this caucus can be addressed to me at chair@monroedems.org or at 812-671-0076.

Sincerely,

Rick Dietz, Chair
Monroe County Democratic Party
Caucus Chair

Welcome

With the passing of every election we turn to the task of organizing the civic ritual of swearing-in our community's newly elected officials.  It is at this time the candidates and politicians of 2012 become the public servants of 2013 and beyond.  We are here to honor their efforts and to celebrate the democratic, peaceful and orderly transition of office in our local governments.  But this is more than simply a civic ritual, It’s a celebration and a renewal of an ages old pact, one that defines the legitimate use of government power, the limits on that power, the people who may wield it and their obligations to the citizens of our community from which these powers derive.

A Note To all 2012 Candidates:

In elections, as in much of life, the dividing line between victory and defeat can be slim and even when not, we should celebrate all those who worked hard and ran compelling races, but did not in the end prevail.  We owe a debt of gratitude as a community to all of our citizens willing to step into the arena of public life and community service.

Let's hear it for all of our community's 2010 candidates!

To our Newly Elected Officials:

It is no light matter to enter into public service.  We hear time and time again complaints that so few choose to run and to serve.  But you have.  And for that we thank you.

No one sworn in here today has an easy task before them.  Many struggle in our community to meet basic needs against the backdrop of local, state and national economic struggle.  Many are looking to you as elected officials to provide critical services amidst declining resources.  And many hope for leaders to stand above it all – the arguments and squabbles – despite politics being perhaps the most quintessentially human enterprise.  

And although the challenges are many, our community is strong and resilient.  In no small part due to the caliber of officials serving, officials that have served before, and officials to be sworn-in here today.  

Candidates asked for the support of the people of Monroe County for their campaigns.  Now it's time for them to earn that support yet again through their elected service, as best they can, to the people of Monroe County.   Please join me in thanking all who will now represent our community in government.

(As delivered by Rick Dietz, Jan 1, 2013)

As the year winds down I want to thank all of you for your important contributions throughout the past year.  2012 was a year where our wins and losses were both political and personal. Your support helped our party emerge from 2012 in positions of strength in local and national political spheres. We can be proud of our candidates and of the efforts of our hundreds of volunteers to make our community a better place. Thank you for being a part of that effort.

There is only one last step to close out the 2012 Election.  We will be swearing-in newly elected and re-elected officeholders at a Swearing-in Ceremony on January 1 and you are invited!  The Monroe County Swearing-in Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, January 1 at 2 p.m. at the Judge Nat U. Hill Room at the Monroe County Courthouse. You are invited to attend. This is a non-partisan event and will be an opportunity to congratulate all of our recently elected and re-elected county officials. All are welcome.

With that being said, I am happy to close out 2012.  2013 will be a year of planning and building and reorganization for the MCDP.  I'm looking forward to it.  With your help we will keep our party strong and be more than ready for the next election cycle in 2014.

Happy New Year!
-Rick