Monroe County Democratic Party

The caucus will be held on Sunday, December 11th, 2011 at 3pm at City Hall in the Council Chambers.

The Monroe County Democratic Party (MCDP) will hold a caucus to fill the position of Monroe County Council Member, District 4. This Caucus will be held on Sunday December 11th at 3 pm at City Hall Council Chambers (401 N Morton in downtown Bloomington.) The position has been vacated due to the resignation of Sam Allison. All Democrats are welcome to attend this Caucus, but only precinct chairs from Council District 4 (or their authorized proxies) are eligible to vote. In the event that a precinct chair is unable to attend, the vice precinct chair may cast a proxy vote. In this case the precinct chair must provide the MCDP Secretary with a written note authorizing the vice precinct chair to cast a proxy vote at the Caucus. MCDP Treasurer, Hans Huffman, will serve as Caucus Chair. Dan Combs will serve as Parliamentarian.

For Council candidates: the deadline for filing is 12 noon Friday, December 9th. If you intend to run you must notify MCDP Secretary, Donna Purdom, in writing. Email is fine for this purpose. Candidates may prepare a written statement that will be sent to the MCDP email list.

UPDATE: For Candidates. Candidates must provide form CEB-5 to the Caucus Chair at least 72 hours prior to the caucus. You may download the CEB-5 candidacy form below. Candidates are strongly encourage to deliver the form in person to Hans Huffman, caucus chair. Please contact Hans to arrange a meeting.

A current list of precinct chairs and vice-chairs is available for download.

The votes have been tallied for the 2011 general election.

Here are the results for the contested races. The Herald Times has full results posted online, and Indiana Public Media has these and statewide results as well.

It has come to our attention that a number of IU students may have been offered a reward to vote in the form of a party to be sponsored by Buffa Louie's. This information has been provided to bi-partisan absentee voting staff at early voting by student voters who have taken pictures of themselves casting their ballots and who have voluntarily reported participating in a contest among fraternities and sororities sponsored by Buffa Louie's. Mr. Ed Schwartzman is a Republican Candidate for City Council At-Large and is an owner of Buffa Louie's. It is unclear just what Mr Schwartzman's involvement, that of other GOP candidates or the Republican Party is in this project, but given Buffa Louie's involvement it seems likely to be significant by Mr. Schwartzman.

This type of inducement may run afoul of Ind. Code § 3-14-3-19(1) and Ind. Code § 3-14-2-1(3). (See citations below.)

(It is not a problem to take a picture casting a ballot in the ballot box, but it is a problem if the ballot votes are exposed and photographed.)

As followers of Bloomington and IU campus politics know, the Monroe County Democratic Party encourages all in our community to vote and has worked tirelessly to broaden the franchise on campus and throughout our community in the form of satellite voting, extended early voting hours and moving to more accessible Voting Centers. The Monroe County Democratic Party encourages everyone to vote, but we and our candidates go about that legally. Offering a material or monetary reward for voting is not in keeping with proper standards and the law. (See citations below).

We don't believe any student is at fault and we encourage everyone in our community to vote. Mr. Schwartzman has seemingly placed himself, his business, his Party and many unknowing students in some legal jeopardy. The reward for voting should be a sense of civic pride and community spirit, not a monetary or material inducement.

Several students claim to have been offered the reward of a party at Buffa Louie's to vote in this election cycle. Dozens if not hundreds more sorority and fraternity members may have been solicited in the same fashion. Mr. Schwartzman and the Monroe County Republican Party need to explain this activity and rescind any promised or implied material rewards for voting and do so immediately and publicly.
Monroe County Democratic Party
Rick Dietz, Chair

Some relevant sections of Indiana Code follow:

IC 3-14-3-19: Inducing votes by gift or offer to compensate
A person who, for the purpose of inducing or procuring another person to:
(1) apply for or cast an absentee ballot; or
(2) vote or refrain from voting for or against a candidate or for or against a public question at an election or political convention;
gives, offers, or promises to any person any money or other property commits a Class D felony.
As added by P.L.5-1986, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.3-1987, SEC.482; P.L.103-2005, SEC.37.

IC 3-14-2-1(3) : Fraudulent application for registration or absentee ballot; fraudulent voting
Sec. 1. A person who knowingly does any of the following commits a Class D felony:
(1) Conspires with an individual for the purpose of encouraging the individual to submit a false application for registration.
(2) Conspires with an individual for the purpose of encouraging the individual to vote illegally.
(3) Pays or offers to pay an individual for doing any of the following:
(A) Applying for an absentee ballot.
(B) Casting an absentee ballot.
(C) Registering to vote.
(D) Voting.
(4) Accepts the payment of any property for doing any of the following:
(A) Applying for an absentee ballot.
(B) Casting an absentee ballot.
(C) Registering to vote.
(D) Voting.

Our Democratic candidates for City Council have recorded statements for CATS' Candidates on Demand. We've put together a playlist at our YouTube Channel. Or, you can watch the videos below.

Chris Sturbaum, District 1

Tim Mayer, At Large

Andy Ruff, At Large

Susan Sandberg, At Large

Democratic friends,

I don't have to tell you how important each and every election is. This is that case for every election, but local elections hit home the closest and they have the greatest impact on our day to day lives.

Bloomington is a rare and wonderful place because that is what we have all built together -- generations of Democratic leadership with your support. We are who we are in no small part because of who we elect. And the election is now!

It's time to get out and vote, Bloomington! We fought to keep uncontested candidates on the ballot so even in those cases the voters of Bloomington could still have a say. More importantly, there are competitive races in District 1 and At-Large Council seats. Chris Sturbaum, Tim Mayer, Andy Ruff and Susan Sandberg all deserve your support. Each have brought important perspectives and a deep spirit of service to the City Council and they deserve to continue that service on the City Council.

No election can be taken for granted. The direction of our community cannot be taken for granted. Your vote will shape that direction for future generations. Now is the time to step forward and vote. Early voting is now underway at the Curry Building.

WHERE: Atrium of the Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.
WHEN: Tuesday Oct 11 through Nov. 7
HOURS: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 7

I hope to see you at the polls...

-Rick

PS We could use some help at headquarters and alternates for Poll Workers. Please let me know if you are interested.

Rick Dietz, Chair

It's time to get out and vote, Monroe County.

WHERE: Atrium of the Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.
WHEN: Tuesday Oct 11 through Nov. 7
HOURS: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 7

View Early Voting 2011 in a larger map

Democratic friends,

I don't have to tell you how important each and every election is. This is that case for every election, but local elections hit home the closest and they have the greatest impact on our day to day lives.

Bloomington is a rare and wonderful place because that is what we have all built together -- generations of Democratic leadership with your support. We are who we are in no small part because of who we elect. And the election is now!

It's time to get out and vote, Bloomington! We fought to keep uncontested candidates on the ballot so even in those cases the voters of Bloomington could still have a say. More importantly, there are competitive races in District 1 and At-Large Council seats. Chris Sturbaum, Tim Mayer, Andy Ruff and Susan Sandberg all deserve your support. Each have brought important perspectives and a deep spirit of service to the City Council and they deserve to continue that service on the City Council.

No election can be taken for granted. The direction of our community cannot be taken for granted. Your vote will shape that direction for future generations. Now is the time to step forward and vote. Early voting is now underway at the Curry Building.

WHERE: Atrium of the Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.
WHEN: Tuesday Oct 11 through Nov. 7
HOURS: Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 7

I hope to see you at the polls...

-Rick

Last night, President Obama addressed the nation about the effects of the Congressional stalemate on our economy.

So the debate right now isn’t about whether we need to make tough choices. Democrats and Republicans agree on the amount of deficit reduction we need. The debate is about how it should be done. Most Americans, regardless of political party, don’t understand how we can ask a senior citizen to pay more for her Medicare before we ask a corporate jet owner or the oil companies to give up tax breaks that other companies don’t get. How can we ask a student to pay more for college before we ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries? How can we slash funding for education and clean energy before we ask people like me to give up tax breaks we don’t need and didn’t ask for?

A full transcript of the President's remarks on the debt ceiling is available from the White House.

The White House has also posted a complete transcript of his remarks.

And not only did the President greet many prominent Indiana politicians on his visit - he also met with Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens.

The votes have been tallied for the 2011 Bloomington primary election. A sincere congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all the candidates who ran - it's because of you that our community is strong.

Here are the results for the contested races. The Herald Times has full results posted online, and Indiana Public Media has results, analysis, and interactive features as well.

The Indiana Senate Democrats are asking for your feedback on proposed redistricting maps of Indiana:

Senate Democrat Leader Vi Simpson (D- Ellettsville) will host a public meeting to discuss proposed changes to the State Senate and U.S. Congressional districts now under consideration as part of the 2011 redistricting process. New districts will be redrawn by the General Assembly to account for changes in Indiana's population as recorded by the 2010 U.S. Census.

The meeting will be held at Ivy Tech-Bloomington in Lamkin Hall, room C131, on Saturday, April 16 at 11:00 a.m. Senator Simpson invites the public to attend and provide feedback on the current and proposed district maps.

Current and proposed maps and an opportunity for public input are also available online at www.Redistricting.IN.gov.

For more information, check out the maps at redistricting.in.gov or leave your feedback at the INRedistricting Facebook page.