2024 L.C. Democratic Club Report
1) the office - The office is the home base for Club, Young Dem, and Central & Executive Committee in person/ZOOM meetings. The Club maintained the office, open 7 days a week, for local candidate use and for the Coordinated Campaigns' base of operations at a cost of ~ $1000/mo. Volunteers cleaned, repaired, decorated, supplied and staffed the office. It gave us a base for:
2) sign distribution - We distributed over 1500 Harris signs, and hundreds of each of the state and local candidates signs. We also designed and had printed 300 Harris signs, when ODP failed to give us the 500 additional signs they had promised. We maintained contact with local candidates, letting them know when we were running low on their signs. $5,119 spent on signs
3) canvassing and phone banking - We coordinated with the Coordinated Campaign and with local candidates canvassing and phone banking events. Club and Coordinated Campaign doors knocked (on top of individual candidate doors knocked) = 13,181
4) volunteers - We recruited, trained and managed hundreds of volunteer shifts over the course of the year. 36 volunteers staffed the office. Dozens volunteered at each event/activity throughout the year.
5) postcards - We recruited and managed volunteers to hand write over 8,000 postcards for candidates. We stamped and mailed them. $5,165 USPS, $170 postcards
6) events - We sponsored petition signing, friend making and meet the candidate events throughout the year. Club events included Earth Day Celebration and Buckeye Axe throwing - featuring our local candidates. We promoted and attended individual Candidate fundraising events.
7) counter-rallies - We held counter-rallies in support of Issue 1, Sherrad Brown, and Jerrad Christian
8) parades and festivals - We coordinated Democratic participation in parades and festivals throughout Licking Co. from May through September, with booths supplied and attended by volunteers and parade marchers supplied with signs and candy. Steps of Change, Utica Ice Cream Fest., Newark Strawberry Fest., Johnstown Fireman’s Fest.,
Granville Pride, Granville 4th of July, Pataskala Street Fest., Newark Labor Day Parade, Newark Pride, and more...
9) LC Young Dems - We supported the newly formed L.C Young Democrats, who are bringing much needed fresh ideas and young people into the Licking County Democratic Party. The LC Young Dems staffed the Club office Mon., Wed., and Friday evenings!
10) marketing - We marketed candidate events, canvassing, phonebanking, postcard writing, sign distribution, meetings, Club events, Democratic ideals ... Via Social media (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok), Via emails to our 500+ mailing list, and Via our Website, that we overhauled and updated weekly. We printed and distributed Democratic T-shirts and Buttons. We designed and paid for 2 billboards on Rte 79 between Newark and Hebron "Project 2025 will Destroy Democracy"
11) Post-election - The office remains open as a safe space for all who need it. We have held several group support meetings for our community. We are reviewing 2024 and planning for 2025. Candidate and volunteer surveys, to help us improve our work, are to be completed by the end of the year. We plan to continue to support our local community - especially those who will be more vulnerable under Republican control of federal, as well as state, and local leadership.
Tracee Laing, Licking County Democratic Club President
What We Believe
Government should:
Advocate for the common good
Maintain high ethical standards, competence, and openness to diverse points of view
Affirm equality of opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity or presentation
Believe in everyone’s right to equal justice and protections under the law
Support equal access to health care, food, housing, education, and employment
Maintain thriving, safe communities with public works that include public transportation, good roads and bridges, clean air and water, and diverse cultural institutions
Ensure fiscal responsibility, fairness, and accountability
Be committed to transparency and truth in communication, disavowing disinformation
CORE FOUNDATIONS:
· GOOD GOVERNMENT - We support government that is both efficient and effective, protecting the individual and the community from threats posed by nation-states, terrorists, crime, and natural disasters. Our public servants should serve no master except the people, administer the laws impartially, and relentlessly enforce the highest ethical standards.
· INVOLVED CITIZENRY - Civic participation is the essence of democracy. When citizens run for office, serve on local boards, and exercise their citizenship rights, they help their communities thrive and grow. As local Democrats, we encourage everyone to be involved in the issues that affect our community and beyond.
· VOTING RIGHTS - We are committed to the sacred principle of “one person, one vote” and will work to end partisan gerrymandering and make voting easier and more accessible by supporting automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, early voting, and universal vote-from-home and vote-by-mail options.
· QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION - We believe that our children’s well-being and our community’s economic health depend upon excellent, innovative, and effective public schools that are adequately funded and held to high standards with teachers who are supported and well-trained.
· SUSTAINABLE, DIVERSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - We believe government has a critical role in ensuring a strong and sustainable economy through infrastructure maintenance, job training programs, and necessary regulations. A fair, stable, and adequate tax and revenue system is fundamental to a viable community, and we believe paying taxes is a civic responsibility of individuals and businesses. We support a worker’s right to a living wage; a safe, fair, and equitable workplace; and the right to organize and bargain collectively. We support government programs that assist those not fully served by economic development such as youth, the elderly, and the disabled.
· HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS, HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY - We believe all citizens have a right to health care, and that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that individuals, businesses, and government work collaboratively to provide quality health care for all citizens.
· SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, SAFE ENVIRONMENT - We strongly advocate for policies that encourage renewable energy and resource recycling and conservation; guarantee clean air, water, and food; and address issues of climate change. To protect the environment, we also call for responsible land use policies that preserve farmlands, support open lands, and contain urban sprawl.
· SUPPORT FOR OUR SERVICE MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES - We believe that members of the American military should never be put in harm’s way except in direct defense of our nation or an international peacekeeping mission. We believe that our government must ensure they and their families are treated with dignity and with the benefits to which they are justly entitled.
Our Vision
Our Vision
We envision a world where these core beliefs ensure that all Licking County citizens live in dignity, contribute to their communities, and pursue their potential so that all of us can thrive in this place we call home.
Let this living document serve as our call to engage meaningfully, respectfully, and cooperatively in the common work of creating positive change by using our skills, ideas, and energies to support our community and the wider world.
More information:
Equal Rights
Environment
Fiscal Responsibility
Social Supports