President's Message - Jan. 2025
I hope everyone has been enjoying this holiday season and I would like to wish our members, friends and their families a Happy and Healthy New Year. Although we’ve had our share of political disappointments in 2024, let’s start 2025 with a positive state of mind by remembering that the only title in our democracy superior to that of the President is the title of Citizen. Those words were spoken by the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and they serve to remind us that We the People have the ultimate power. And since we have the ultimate power, the experience of democracy is like the experience of life – always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested in adversity. (These words were spoken by former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter, who died this weekend.)
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We will be tested as a new administration takes office in several weeks. We are aware of Project 2025, the incoming President’s threats directed to those he perceives as his enemies, his astonishing and frightening choices for cabinet positions – all intended to undermine, deplete and destroy what our country has already accomplished. We cannot let this happen. This is our test. This is the time for action. The South Shore Democrats, the Hillsborough County Democrats and the Florida Democratic Party are all ready for the fight! Some of our upcoming strategies will be to:
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Continue phone banking, messaging and/or canvassing, reminding registered Democrats that they must reapply to Vote by Mail, due to the GOP controlled Florida legislature law canceling your vote-by-mail registration every election cycle.
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Set-up Democratic voter registration sites.
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Present dynamic and winnable candidates for the upcoming 2026 election which will include Governor, Senator, Congresspeople, Hillsborough County Commissioners, Hillsborough School Board Members and State Senator and House legislators.
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Re-elect and support Democratic incumbents.
As stated at the beginning of this letter, it is we, ordinary citizens, that have the power to affect change. Let us work for the equality and protection of the rights of all citizens. As our work for 2025 begins let us dedicate our efforts in the memory of President Jimmy Carter who -- as a private citizen once he left public office -- did more than any President in United States history to improve the lives of people in America and throughout the world. He made a difference. We can, too.
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Thank you. I look forward to seeing you this Thursday!
Fran
Sponsor of the Month
VL Residents,
In November, many residents of Valencia Lakes attended a community meeting in the Social Hall where we discussed the 4 proposed developments that were being considered by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). At the meeting we discussed how the 8400 new homes would impact flooding in Wimauma, would cause even more traffic congestion, would strain emergency services and would overburden the Wimauma schools. On Thursday night, January 9, 2025, the BOCC will take a second and final vote on the proposed developments.
This is your opportunity to voice your opposition to these developments. We ask you to do two things:
1. Attend the meeting of the County Commissioners. The meeting will be held at the County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd, 2nd Floor, Tampa. The meeting starts at 6:00 PM. We need residents to attend the meeting. Representatives will testify against the proposals, but we need to show a presence at the meeting and show the County Commissioners that we are truly concerned about this unplanned growth.
2. Write to the seven County Commissioners. Here is a recommended email message to all 7 County Commissioners:
´ URL: http://bit.ly/48t2ui7´ Select ALL Commissioners´ Enter your personal information´ Message Subject: Oppose Expanding ALL Wimauma Urban Service Area Applications´ Message: I am a Wimauma resident and want you to oppose the 8 Wimauma Urban Service Area Extensions changing from WVR-2 to R-4 at this time. I am concerned about flood risks, insufficient roads for traffic, overburdened schools, and the overall impact of unchecked growth. I urge the BOCC to pause new construction in Wimauma until a comprehensive study can be completed.´ Click YES to: Is this comment related to an active zoning application?´ Enter ALL to: Rezoning Application NumberClick SUBMIT
We only have a few days to respond. Please write to the County Commissioners and please plan on attending this meeting.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
John Regan & Augie Grace
Wimauma Community Plan Advisory Council (WCPAC)
Call for Action
The Hillsborough County Commission Board wants to change Wimauma's service aera from rural to urban. Please attend one of the remaining meetings to hear the pros or cons of this change.
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For more information and ways you can make a difference, visit:
South Shore Democratic Club Monthly Meeting
Thursday, Jan 2nd, 2025
1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
In Person
Our speaker will be Kirby Wilson, political writer from the Tampa Bay Times who will provide his prospective Florida's current political scene. He will discuss the media and his role in it as he sees it.
St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Social Hall
1239 Del Webb Blvd. West
Sun City Center, Fl 33573
Light refreshments will be served
We strongly encourage you to register for the meeting, so we can plan properly and will know to expect you.
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Mix & Mingle: 1 - 1:30 PM | Meeting: 1:30 - 3:30 PM
We Remember John Lewis
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Watch this Video
SPRING FLING
HCDEC Honors the South Shore Democratic Club at the Spring Fling. We are 'Officially Number 1
Recommended Reading
Prequel by Rachel Maddow - available on Amazon and Audible
"Rachel Maddow offers a chilling history lesson — and hope for today
In her new book, ‘Prequel,’ Maddow looks at a past moment of crisis that might help us understand both the threats we face today and how we can endure them"
Review by Kathleen Belew October 17, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. EDT, Washington Post
Read 'Here is how we save American democracy'
by Robert Reich
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"The next 14 months will be critical to the survival of the American system of democracy, and that individual action is essential."
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View an extremely timely documentary by PBS / NPR
Listen to the Podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News
Long before Governor Ron DeSantis declared a new war on wokeness, Florida lawmakers in the 1950s and 60s tried going after the NAACP, suspected communists and gay people in Florida schools and universities. The lawmakers upended life for countless numbers of their fellow Floridians before being upended themselves by their own zeal for the cause. Now that DeSantis is bringing this playbook to a presidential campaign, Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson ask what we can learn from the last time Florida went down this path. - Apple Podcasts Preview
Please take a moment to view this extremely important message from the Hillsborough County Democratic Party
