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September Newsletter - Volume 5, Issue 1
CONTENTS:
Upcoming WDC Events
Upcoming Democratic Party Event
Upcoming Campaign Events
Join or Renew Now
Social Media Update --- We're on Twitter!
Political Book Club
Volunteers: It Takes a Village
Suggestion Box
You may click on one of the above titles to go directly to that subject, or simply scroll down the newsletter.
Thanks to Sybil Cantor, Teddi Pensinger, Beth Tomasello, Bonnie Wicklund, Linda Kolko, Joyce Lipman, Betsy Loyless, Lucy Freeman, Joan Riggs, and Tara VanToai for their contributions to this newsletter.
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UPCOMING WDC EVENTS
Happy Hour 
5:30-7 p.m.
Lebanese Taverna
7141 Arlington Road, Bethesda
Want to meet new people and talk politics? Join us at the next WDC Happy Hour. Every second Thursday of each month, Democrats who are passionate about politics gather to relax and network with WDC members and their guests. Whether you want to meet elected officials, make new friends, form new business contacts or just have fun, the WDC Happy Hour is the perfect place to meet and greet fellow Democrats.
Wednesday, October 15
Montgomery 101: Affordable Housing
7:00 pm -8:30 pm
Silver Spring Civic Center
Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring
The speakers are:
Marc Elrich, two-term member of the Montgomery County Council, former teacher, and author of the County's first minimum wage bill;
Robert Goldman, President, Montgomery County Housing Partnership; and
Matthew Losak, Executive Director of the Montgomery County Renters' Alliance, Inc.
This is your chance to learn about affordable housing, moderately priced housing, the difference between the two, and the problem in Montgomery County. Thirty-one percent of Montgomery County residents are renters, and the number of affordable housing units is decreasing. What is the County government doing about this? How are the nonprofits helping our residents?
To register, please e-mail Nancy Holland, nancy.holland@rcn.com or call 301-656-8754.
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UPCOMING DEMOCRATIC PARTY EVENT
HDC 2014 Hispanic Heritage Celebration
6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Hilton Washington DC./Rockville Hotel and Executive Meeting Center
1750 Rockville Pike
Rockville
Join the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County on Thursday, October 9th, at the 18th Annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration and Leadership Awards. Click here. to join the event.
If you have any questions or need further information, please call Mayra Bayonet at 240-447-6643 or email hispanicdemocraticclub@gmail.com
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UPCOMING CAMPAIGN EVENTS
Keep The Senate Blue Sign up directly at KeepTheSenateBlue.Org. For more information, email katherine.deerkoski@gmail.com or call Katherine at 301/452-4626. Maryland Dems Coordinated Campaign Click here for the Montgomery County Democratic Coordinated Campaign Field Calendar. Wednesday, Oct. 1 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. D-18 Democratic Breakfast Club Phonebank Tastee Diner, 8601 Cameron Street, Silver Spring Saturday, Oct. 4 (TBD) 9:30am - 12:30pm D-39 Democratic Team Canvass Monday, Oct. 6 6:00 p.m. - 8:30pm D-17 Democratic Team Phonebank MCEA, 12 Taft Court, Rockville Tuesday, Oct. 7 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Team Frosh, Young Dems, AADCMC Phonebank Night Brown-Ulman Office 11262 Georgia Ave, Wheaton Thursday, Oct. 9 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. D-20 Democratic Team Phonebank 1201 East West Highway, Apt 114, Silver Spring Saturday, Oct. 11 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Coordinated Campaign Day of Action 11262 Georgia Ave., Wheaton Delaney Campaign Phone Banks (Bring your cell phones and lap tops)  Wednesdays, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. 14 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg (The Diamond Square Shopping Center near the Giant) To participate or for more information, please call Sam at 301-500-8642 or email sam@delaneyforcongress.com. |
RECAP OF MONTGOMERY 101 AFFORDABLE HOUSING FORUM by Linda Kolko
 | | Councilman Elrich, Robert Goldman, and Chris Perry |
WDC's Montgomery County 101: Affordable Housing program on September 22nd was a hit! More than 50 people attended the panel discussion with County Council Member Marc Elrich, Robert Goldman, President, Montgomery Housing Partnership and Chris Perry, Vice Chair of the Board of the Renters Alliance.
Councilman Elrich gave an overview of the challenges of finding affordable housing in Montgomery County and proposed ways the County could do more to address the problem. He announced that he was proposing another rent control bill in the County Council.
The Renters Alliance is an organization that gives voice to renters in the county by helping to organize tenants' organizations, fighting against arbitrary evictions, keeping rent fair and ensuring enforcement of county codes.
The Montgomery Housing Partnership has developed over 1300 affordable housing units. They also  run programs to improve the quality of life and increase opportunities for their residents. Their school readiness program has resulted in an increase in the GPA of their school age tenants from 2.8 to 3.5.
Over 20 people signed up to attend their affordable housing reality housing tours in Silver Spring, Wheaton and Takoma Park. Maryland State Delegate Al Carr attended the event, along with Board of Education candidates Jill Ortman-Fouse and Laurie Halverson. If you missed the September 22nd event, please join us on Wednesday, October 15th at 7:00 pm at the Silver Spring Civic Center, Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, MD. RSVP to: Nancy Holland nancy.holland@rcn.com or 301-656-8754.
 
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INTERVIEW edited by Linda Kolko
Bonnie Wicklund
 WDC's secretary grew up in Colorado, and after graduating from the University of Denver with a major in history, came to the Washington area in 1967 for a government job. She married a couple of years later, and became a stay-at-home mom to raise two daughters. Her husband's work took the family to Germany for three different tours, wonderful experiences for everyone. Bonnie earned a master's degree in library science in 1989 and began a new career, first as a school librarian and eventually as an enthusiastic adult reference librarian with the Montgomery County Public Libraries. A widow since 2006, she retired at the end of 2008, and the next year began working as a volunteer at the Library of Congress, and joined the WDC READING I've belonged to the same book group for almost 30 years, and our yearly list now is usually weighted more towards non-fiction, but my own love is fiction, especially by British authors like Hilary Mantel. Her portrayal of Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, is a tour de force about a self-made man making his way in a political world so dangerous that a mistake could cost one's life. Other favorite authors: Jane Gardam, Penelope Lively, William Boyd, E. M. Forster, Somerset Maugham. VIEWING Although I don't watch much regular television except for the news, I watch a lot of movies and mini-series on PBS and from Netflix, and I still love going to see films in theaters. Recent favorites include "Captain Phillips," "Blue Jasmine," and "Calvary." LISTENING I've become addicted to several podcasts, mostly from NPR. For example, Planet Money's enthusiastic young reporters present the most unusual and interesting stories, ostensibly about business and finance, but really about how people affect and are impacted by economic forces. Classical music, especially piano music, is another favorite pastime. I'm a big fan of the Baltimore Symphony led by Marin Alsop at Strathmore. TRAVEL Living in Germany with my husband, for a total of almost seven years from 1971 to 1997, gave us the opportunity to travel all over Europe. Highlights include visiting Provence, Italy and Mallorca before they were overrun with tourists. I thought I would never see scenery so beautiful as the views of Lake Como from Bellagio, or the Tuscan countryside from the balcony of our little hotel in San Gimignano--until I went to Kauai, and then to the Devonshire coast of England in 2010. There are beautiful places all over the world, and I'm lucky to have visited a few of them. EXCITING POLITICIAN I admire Hillary Clinton because she is smart and ambitious, and she has channeled these qualities into trying to improve the lives of ordinary people, especially women. She learns from her mistakes, and has demonstrated a remarkable resilience and a willingness to work very hard for what she believes in. She is pragmatic, not an ideologue--a good quality, in this day of political extremism. POLITICAL HIGH POINT Still in the future: when our country elects a woman president, and of course, I hope she will be a Democrat. URGENT POLITICAL ISSUE The environment--the catchall phrase for wasting energy and water, pollution, global warming, animal extinctions, deforestation, etc.--seldom seems to top the polls for most important political issue. But how we deal with these problems affects other important issues, such as income inequality, in profound ways. Compromise is necessary; we all use a lot of energy, and we cannot simply blame big business for all our environmental ills. Persuading all factions in our society, and other nations, that time is not on our side in saving our planet is truly urgent.
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RIGHT TO VOTE TASK FORCE TESTIMONY REPORT
by Linda Kolko
On behalf of the WDC Board of Directors, WDC president Beth Tomasello testified at the Montgomery County Council hearing on the Right to Vote Task Force on September 23rd. The Right to Vote Task Force was formed by the Montgomery County Council and tasked with making recommendations that would encourage voter participation in the electoral process. Approximately forty people testified before the Council and the hearing drew an audience of approximately 100 people.
As WDC president Tomasello stated, "The WDC Board reviewed the recommendations of the Task Force through the lens of the working mother, sometimes a single parent, sometimes holding down more than one job to support her family, to evaluate whether the recommendations of the Task Force make it easier or harder for that woman to vote. The WDC Board found that many of the recommendations of the Right to Vote Task Force will make it easier for women to vote, and the Board is therefore pleased to offer its specific endorsement of most of the recommendations of the Right to Vote Task Force." In addition to the Task Force recommendations, the WDC Board recommended that, instead of closing of schools to use as polling places on Election Day, the Council should encourage the State to consider alternative sites like fire houses and libraries as polling places. Closing schools adds to the burden placed on women who rely on schools as their primary form of child care, and many of those women will not have the day off from work.
For a copy of president Tomasello's testimony, please click here. For a copy of the Right to Vote Task Force, click here.
The WDC looks forward to testifying at future Council and State hearings. If members are interested in testifying or recommending topics for the club to investigate, please contact president Tomasello at bethtomasello@rcn.com.
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BALLOT QUESTIONS The Maryland Secretary of State recently released the final language for the ballot questions in Maryland for the 2014 General Election. Please examine the ballot initiatives and share the language with family and friends. Click here to download the 2014 Ballot Questions Report On Statewide Question 1: Transportation Trust Fund - transfer of funds: The MCDCC will SUPPORT the Constitutional Amendment. On Statewide Question 2: Filling a County Executive Vacancy Election: The MCDCC will SUPPORT the Constitutional Amendment. On Montgomery County Question A: District Councilmember Residency Requirement: The MCDCC will SUPPORT the amendment to the County Charter.
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EARLY VOTING
Early voting will be from Thursday, October 23-Thursday October 30. The hours will be from 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Early Voting Locations:
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Activity Center at Bohrer Park
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506 S. Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg MD 20877
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Damascus Recreation Center
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25520 Oak Dr, Damascus MD 20872
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Germantown Recreation Center
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18905 Kingsview Rd, Germantown MD 20874
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Jane Lawton Recreation Center
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4301 Willow La, Chevy Chase MD 20815
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Marilyn J. Praisner Recreation Center
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14906 Old Columbia Pik, Burtonsville MD 20866
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Mid-County Recreation Center
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2004 Queensguard Rd, Silver Spring MD 20906
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County Executive Office Building
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101 Monroe St, Rockville MD 20850
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Silver Spring Civic Building
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1 Veterans Place Silver Spring MD 20910
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Wheaton Recreation Center
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11711 Georgia Ave, Wheaton MD 20902
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VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS
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JOIN OR RENEW NOW
 All current members have received their renewal forms in the mail. Please renew now! Included in this mailing was a gift form which is new to our Club this year. Your gift membership to a friend is a great way to acknowledge a good Democrat and recognize the many opportunities that Club membership offers. WDC appreciates your continuing support and wants to remind you that your dues were due on September 1. Your voice and membership dues are crucial to the vitality and strength of the Woman's Democratic Club. Your $35.00 dues ($36.00 online at www.womansdemocraticclub.org) pays for Club mailings; subsidizes events, programming, and the annual New Member dinner; and supports the important work of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and Democratic candidates with campaign contributions. All non-renewing members are purged from the membership and email list. Click here to renew or join now.
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SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE - WE'RE ON TWITTER!
WDC has a Twitter account! Our Twitter handle is @WomenDems. Be sure to follow us!
Don't forget to like us on Facebook; we're listed as Woman's Democratic Club, Montgomery County.
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POLITICAL BOOK CLUB
Want to learn more about what your fellow Democrats are reading about American or political  history? Join WDC's Political Book Club - our longstanding literary conclave that meets on the third Wednesday of every other month. Meetings take place at 1:30 p.m. at members' homes. A facilitator for each book leads the discussion. For more information, contact Estelle Stone at estellestone24@gmail.com .
The November 19 selection is The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy.
If you're interested in seeing what other books have been discussed, please go to www.womansdemocraticclub.org and click on Political Book Club, which is listed under Events.
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VOLUNTEERS: IT TAKES A VILLAGE
 Sharing your skills and expertise with us and joining a committee are fun ways to meet other members and make new friends while helping the Club accomplish its goals. We especially need volunteers to help with new member recruitment as part of the Membership & Outreach Committee and we need volunteers on the Legislative Committee to help analyze and track important legislation. |
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SUGGESTION BOX:
Do you have ideas for future programs? Do you know someone who would be a great speaker at a future WDC event? If so, please send an e-mail to wdcmcmd@gmail.com.
Keeping members better informed, better connected and more politically effective since 1957
 
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Woman's Democratic Club
Sybil Cantor
Email Coordinator
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With regard to voter registration and absentee ballots, the Montgomery County Board of Elections has information on the following link: