Phone Bank

Celebrating 250 years of Democracy by doing our part.

On September 17, 1787, as Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention, he was stopped by a prominent Philadelphia social figure. Elizabeth Willing Powel asked him “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin’s now famous response was “A Republic, if you can keep it.” On our country’s 250th anniversary, and with a wannabe king trying desperately to destroy America’s Democracy, Franklin’s response is a perfect reminder to all of us of our responsibility to help preserve our Democracy.

In order to win elections, we must Get Out The Vote. In their ongoing voter suppression efforts, the republicans in Tallahassee removed the entire state from Vote By Mail (VBM) in 2024. Based on statistics from the Florida Democratic Party, we know that VBM works! Democrats registered for VBM vote at a rate of 94%! Democrats who are registered to vote but NOT enrolled in VBM vote at the greatly reduced rate of 47%! VBM literally doubles the likelihood of a Democratic voter to actually vote, so we must do everything possible to get Democrats re-enrolled.

We now must re-register for VBM every two years, and many Democrats have not yet done that. A new type of phone bank has been scheduled to reach out to the tens of thousands of Democrats in our county who have not yet renewed their VBM. The ‘auto-dial” feature will allow us to make many more calls. We can do this individually from our homes or invite others to join us for the event.

The South Shore Democratic Club has joined forces with the North Tampa Democratic Club and the LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus to participate in this phone bank.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 22
TIME: 4:00 to 6:30 PM
WHERE: wherever you choose – home or with friends

To register for the phonebank, go to
https://north-tampa-democratic-club.solidarity.tech/north-tampa-dems-lgbtq-caucus-virtual-dialer-phonebank

And there is a very short overview of the auto-dial phone bank you can review at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMqsfqpHPvU

Please make your voices heard. Sign up to participate, and encourage your like-minded friends and neighbors to join in too. Democracy needs ALL of us.

Call for Action

July Club Membership Meeting

DATE: Thursday, July 2, 2026

Time: Mix & Mingle at 1:00pm

Meeting at 1:30pm

Location: St Andrew Presbyterian Church (Social Hall in the rear of Bldg.), 1239 W Del Webb Blvd, Sun City Center

Program:

It is time to meet our Democratic Candidates running for Florida Senate District 20.

John Houman and Gerald Baldi have filed to run and will be introducing themselves to the Club.

Our club will participate this month in a Back to School and Household Drive to help our Wimauma community.

Many in the community have lost their jobs and are fearful to drive to the stores or food banks. The drive also includes school supplies, personal hygiene items and household essentials, . Recommended items are provided below.

With your help, Magnified Voices will donate the items you bring directly INTO the community.

The families who are receiving the food and other items are extremely grateful.

Please bring your donated items to our meeting

Town Hall

Kathy Castor Town Hall in Sun City Center

WE NOW HAVE A GREAT DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN

LET'S WORK TO KEEP HER

The South Shore Democratic Club sponsored a very successful Town Hall on June 6. Due to the recent illegal redistricting, the majority of SSDC members were moved out of Congressional District 16 and into CD 14. The Town Hall enabled us to learn about CD 14 incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who is now our Congresswoman. We also heard from Dr. Neil Manimala and Aileen Rodriguez, both of whom are running for different Hillsborough County Commission in at-large seats and are endorsed by Congresswoman Castor.

For those who were unable to attend, Kathy Castor demonstrated she is a real fighter with a commitment to public service. She listened to the issues that are important to us and assured us she will continue to champion them, including affordable housing and expansion of affordable health care, protection of Florida’s natural environment, supporting veterans’ benefits and services, and lowering energy costs for working families.

She needs - and deserves - our total support. In order to win, we need to Get Out The Vote for ALL Democratic candidates. To do that we must talk to voters. If you are able to volunteer for her campaign or donate to her campaign, contact Debbie Anderson, Volunteer Coordinator, at heredebbie@yahoo.com to be connected with Castor’s campaign.

Members in Action

NO KINGS Demonstration - March 28

The national NO KINGS group held a third NO KINGS event on Saturday, March 28, and we participated in Sun City Center. We had over 1500 people join us here, with an estimated 8 million people participating nationwide in 3300+ locations.

This NO KINGS was a nonviolent chance to let the world know that we do not accept the authoritarian regime trying to gain a foothold in our democracy. In America we have NO KINGS. If you'd like more information about the national events and their history, go to https://www.nokings.org/

The outrage was channeled into creative signs, shirts, and chants. Thank you to everyone who participated!

TOWN HALL WITH DAVID JOLLY

In our ongoing efforts to help voters meet and learn about Democratic candidates, the South Shore Democratic Club hosted a Town Hall in Sun City Center on January 24 for Gubernatorial candidate David Jolly.

Former Congressman David Jolly grew up in Florida, the son of a pastor. He and his wife Laura are raising their young family in Pinellas County, which he represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2014-2017.

In Congress, Jolly focused on helping veterans and seniors, supporting law enforcement, protecting the environment, and bringing resources back to Florida. Following his time in Congress, Jolly has been a long-time political commentator on NBC and MSNBC.

Also speaking at the meeting were Glenn Pearson, candidate for Congressional District 16, and Luis Salazar, candidate for Florida State House of Representatives District 64.

Attendees were invited to bring non-perishable canned goods for the local food pantry.

The South Shore Democratic Club does not endorse any Democratic Candidates that are engaged in a primary. The Club's hosting of this town hall should not be considered an endorsement by the Club.

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SAVE THE DATE

ICE OUT

POP UP PROTEST JANUARY 29

Keith Porter, Jr., a father of two who worked with special needs children, was killed by federal agents in Los Angeles on New Years Eve.

Renee Good, a mother and committed community member, was killed while observing federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on January 7.

Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the local VA hospital, was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24.

We WILL NOT stay silent. A local protest took place on Thursday, January 29 in Sun City Center. While this was not a Club-sponsored event, many members participated.