Click HERE to indicate the type of dish that you plan to bring to the next monthly Membership Meeting/Potluck
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Click HERE to indicate the type of dish that you plan to bring to the next monthly Membership Meeting/Potluck ~~~
The next GCDC Member meeting is the:
Membership Meeting/Potluck - June 19, 2026
Jun 2 Roundtable/Coffee
Business Items:
Phyllis provided the group with an update regarding the GCDC elected officers. Much to our regret, Secretary Veronica found it necessary to resign her position as GCDC Secretary due to conflicts between educational requirements and GCDC duties. We wish her well in her endeavors and hope that she knows that she will be missed.
With Veronica’s departure, the Executive Committee appointed Polly Callahan as Interim Secretary and A J Hodder as Interim Treasurer. Polly explained the bylaws and the upcoming election to the group.
Matching Donation Challenge
The response has been phenomenal and we couldn’t be more pleased. A.J. didn’t provide any additional specifics because the challenge is still open and specifics are subject to change. He invited everyone to be sure and come to the June 19 Membership Meeting/Potluck when all details will be revealed!
Other items included:
Joy presenting a signature petition on behalf of Alex Salle, candidate for the At-Large Board of Supervisors position up for election this fall;
Colleen noted that the Board of Supervisors comprehensive survey is out for the community to provide input. She also called for volunteers to atend and monitor the Board of Supervisors, planning commission, and board of education;
Lynn invited everyone to the third Black Bear Festival that was being held in Saturday, June 6
Phyllis challenged everyone to invite one person to come to the monthly meeting;
Polly noted that June 14 is the first anniversary of the first “No Kings” rally and reminded folks hat their are three remaining state referendums that will also be on he ballot in the fall. She also noted that Indivisible.org is recommending that instead of protesting on July 4, that people be active in their community celebrations and be with people, family, and friends.
A.J. provide two updates - the Matching Donation Challenge and the July 4 Parade.
July 4 Parade
We have two trucks so far with an Uncle Sam and a Lady Liberty in truck 1 and a trumpeter in truck 2. We still need walkers to display our message and interact with the public. We also need folks to help decorate the trucks, two people to ride with the trumpeter in truck 2, and someone will to take pictures of everything.
May 15 Membership Meeting/Potluck
So many changes in so little time!
While many of us are still reeling from the Supreme Court of VA decision to overturn the will of the people, rest assured that we will get through this setback as well. Polly presided over the meeting and provided updates that we knew of on all of the candidates. Special recognition was given to all of the wonderful poll greeters who turned out for the special election day - ALL of you were FANTASTIC!
Other business items presented included:
voting in our newest voting member, Grace Cangialosi. WELCOME, Grace!
update on our new insurance and a VERY special thank you to Pete Costigan for his role in helping the GCDC get it.
treasurer’s report of $2486 and change.
Having concluded the routine business items, Polly turned the meeting over to AJ Hodder to present “The Big Announcement” that was featured in the newsletter along with a pitch for the 4th of July Parade.
AJ provided the members with the state of our treasury and an overview of how the donations are spent. Highlighted were the basic operating expenses involved such as hosting our monthly meetings, the insurance that we just paid, along with the expenses associated with the election cycles and campaign support. This overview led up to the announcement of the anonymous donor and the Matching Donation Challenge as described on the home page. After asking folks to make a donation, AJ made his pitch for enthusiastic parade members.
At the conclusion of the regular business, Polly introduced Alex Salle, candidate for the Board of Supervisor Member At-Large.
Alex provided the members with his personal background that lends itself to first hand experience with many of the issues facing the country today.
He has met with the other BOS members and wants to work toward a more unified community. He believes that there needs to be more transparency of things that might be in the pipeline before the Board along with the use of more common sense when reviewing projects.
May 5 Roundtable/Coffee
Business Items:
Polly provided an update about the insurance - WE HAVE SOME! and we will be back at the Grace Episcopal Church for the May 15 Membership Meeting/Potluck. Don’t forget to click on the banner above to let folks know the type of dish that you are looking to bring!
Due to outages by select GCDC officers during the critical election activities in the fall, the GCDC is calling for folks to step up for democracy and help us with a variety of election cycle activities. We hope you will come onboard in the interest of SAVING DEMOCRACY!
The 10 pillars of a Rural New Deal presented by the Rural Caucus of Va
Rebuild Farm, Forest, and Food Economies
Reward Work and Ensure Livable Wage
Dismantle Monopolies and Empower Local Business
Invest in Community and Rgional Infrastructure
Rebuild Small Town Centers
Cultivate Self-Reliance and Resilience
Invest in Rural Healthcare
Fully Fund Rural Schools
Make Rural and Small Town Hosing Affordable
Re-Localize Rural and Small Town Banks
Candidate Adele McClure returned to our meeting to hear more about the concerns of the GCDC members. Two key subjects that were discussed were:
How we can encourage/involve young people into the GCDC.
Reach out to high school students and school clubs
Be sure to letting them feel that they are part of the program
Make them feel heard
Let thm make their own title to describe what they are doing for the GCDC
Have them tell their story
Send thank you cards to high school student and new registeers inviting them to vote
Connect with the Young Democrats
Look for the 18 to 30 age groups demographics and establish contact
The next order of business was the adoption of the newly revised GCDC Bylaws. Elliot asked why there was so much procedure regarding the removal of a member. The response was concern to ensure that a removal was for cause rather than a personality conflict. Treasurer Polly moved to approve the Bylaws as written. Member Martha seconded the motion. The Bylaws were approved by hand vote.
Apr 17 Membership Meeting
Treasurer Polly called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. The first order of business was welcoming two new applicants for voting membership.
Richard Ayad-newly signed up on 4/17/2026 and Kelly Harding-signed up at the Mar meeting. VChair2 Joy moved, and VChair1 Phyllis seconded to not wait until the next meeting to vote on accepting a newly sign-up application. Motion carried. Polly asked for a vote of accepting Richard and Kelly to the voting membership. The motion carried unanimously.
Having completed all official business of the meeting, Polly introduced Virginia Delegate Adele McClure who is seeking to become a candidate for the House of Representatives race for CD7. Delegate McClure has a varied personal history with an outstanding state legislative history that would align well with Greene County residents. In the course of her presentation, she highlights her legislation to count farm workers as part of the minimum wage, being grassroots, and wanting to hear voter’s stories.
Delegate McClure spoke of her goals to bring the voters’ agenda to Congress. She wants to bridge the divides, talk to people on a human level, and represent the district on a human level. During the Q&A session, GCDC members asked a variety of questions:
Wait Staff Wage - Del McClure noted the conflict within wait staff itself that makes defining the minimum wage for wait staff a particularly challenging issue. She highlighted those conflicts along with her dedication to continue to work on the issue.
Immigration issues - asked by Alex Salle, candidate for Greene Board of Supervisors, Del McClure response focused on the need to fix th system, fix the DHS, update and revise our immigration laws, and pack the courts to handle to resulting load.
Rural Representation - Lynn asked about Del McClure’s living arrangement. Part of the counter arguement to the redistricting is the potental loss of rural representation at the expense of urban majority. If elected, Del McClure noted her intent to physically move to central area within the CD7 district, very specially a rural area which would “Greatly please her husband!”, as she noted.
Accountability - Gail asked Del McClure, “if elected, would you go after the criminals currently in office?” Response: YES!
At the conclusion of the Q&A, Polly thanked Del McClure for coming and spoke to the current referendum before the people. Dan Else from Culpeper Democrats spoke to an analysis that he did. The meeting adjourned at 7:04 PM.
The Greene Democrats are dedicated to providing as much information as possible on all candidates running for office so voters can make an informed decision.
Apr 7 Roundtable/Coffee
Polly began the meeting with an update about the insurance (we still don’t have any) and the impact it will have on our Membership Meeting on April 17 which will be held at the Stanardsville Town Hall with the meeting only, no potluck since food is currently prohibited.
April 17 meeting will be very important because we need the voting membership to approve the 2026 Draft of the GCDC Bylaws.
On the Special Election front - we are looking for greeters to man the Democratic tables for the two early voting Saturdays and on Election day at the polls.
AJ noted the abundance of 4×4 barns signs that he still has available for posting
The question was raised about having designated GCDC representatives to Board of Supervisor and School Board meetings along with a liaison to the Greene Board of Elections. It would be nice to have some volunteers!
Matt Cifuentes - Virginians for Fair Elections
Having taken a semester off from UVA, Matt has been traveling the state promoting and providing an excellent presentation of facts and data on the redistricting referendum and why this special election is so important not only for Virginia, but for the nation.
Ensuing discussion included weighing the pros and cons of redistricting, the misinformation and falsehoods being disseminated by the Republican sponsored “Justice for Democracy PAC”, and the need to vote”YES” on this TEMPORARY constitutional change
Mar 20 Membership Meeting/Potluck
Vice Chair 1 Phyllis Hopkinson called the meeting to order shortly after 6 pm. The first order of business was to vote on the exceptence of two new voting members, Martha Ledford and Judy Ritchie. Having sufficient voting members present for a quorum, Martha and Judy were accepted into the voting membership by unanimous vote. Phyllis provided an update on the special election currently taking place and passed around a sign-up sheet for folks willing to help get out the vote. She also noted that the Executive Committee has been busy reviewing and updating the GCDC Bylaws. These bylaws must be approved by the voting membership at our April 17 membership meeting. They will be posted soon on this website for everyone to read. Having finished with these business items, Phyllis introduced our guest speakers for the evening.
Dr, Lorita Daniels - running for US Senate
Dr. Daniels stated that she wants to use her life experiences to bring a fresh perspective to her following areas of focus:
affordability - in particular on childcare and minimum wage
healthcare
education
Alex Salle - Candidate for Board of Supervisors At-large
Alex introduced himself to the group and provided us with some of his experience and background information.
AJ Holder - provided an update on the placement of barn signs and the availability of yard signs
Ken declared that he is running for the future of his two daughters and his five grandchildren. He is also very concerned about how four of the five candidates possibly running for the 7th District reside in Northern Virginia. Ken took questions from the audience regarding his position on several topics including tariffs, AI, data centers, healthcare, and rebuilding the community.
Announcements included:
Guests at the March 20 Membership Meeting/Potluck
Jackson Miller - speaking on the Virginia For Fair Elections redistricting initiative.
Dr, Loriita C. Daniels - candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Mar 3 Roundtable/Coffee
Polly began the meeting with a couple of notes regarding the impact that the redistricting is having on candidate signatures, the current status of the redistricting referendum and early voting. She then introduced our guest speaker, Ken Mitchell - Shenandoah Valley candidated for the 6th or 7th House District depending on the Special Election results.
What’s to know about Ken Mitchell
Ken has had a multi-faceted life that has provided him with a wealth of experiences and knowledge. Well versed on a varieity of topics, Ken describes himself as a “common sense democrat” who would bring all that he knows to Washington, D.C. if elected. Ken’s creditials include:
owning a small farm in Rockingham County that current sits in the 6th District. Should the temporary redistricting succeed, Ken’s farm will become part of the 7th District;
a civil engineer by profession, Ken is already familiar with the water situation in Greene County having been a part of the early process that took place;
a miliary veteran of 24 years, Ken spent seven years working in the White House for presidents from both parties.
Chair Julie called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM at which time she provided an update on the focus of the Virginia General Assembly as it reached the mid-point of this legislative session. Key pieces of legistion center around voting rights to include the protection of election officials, anti-corruption around voter registration, and the redistricting referendum in response to current federal activities and actions.
Julie introduced Liz White who spoke to the group about the impact Rank Choice Voting (RCV) could have on our elections. Described as a small change to ballots that makes a big diffrence for democracy, Liz provided a RCV 101 course on how rank choice voting works, the history and current status of the movement, and the positive effect it would have not only on the election, but also the campaigns running up to the elections. Those benefits include:
disincentivizes the negative campaign - it’s easy to attack one opponent. It’s much harder to attack five or six opponents;
eliminates the spoiler effect - a third party candidate cannot “steal” votes from the major party candidates because the voter casts a vote for all of the candidates;
the most disliked candidate does not stand a chance of winning - instead of picking the lesser of two evils, voters can vote their conscience and know that it will count for something;
a direct correlation has been shown regarding voter turnout for the election and candidates being more inclined to actually knock on doors to speak with the people.
Rank Choice Voting is already used in local elections — Arlington and Charlottesville — with very positive results.
Liz is a founding Executive Director of UpVote Virginia and the former Deputy Director of OneVirginia2021.
STATUS: Redistricting Referendum
The Virginia Supreme Court is allowing the special election to proceed.
Early voting: May 6 - April 18, 2026
Election Day: April 21, 2026
Polly provided information on the redistricting and noted that 17 year olds who will turn 18 by the Nov election day can vote in the special election and the primaries.
The Copelands provided updates on the Board of Supervisors meetings and upcoming votes impacting the county.
FEB 20 Membership Meeting/Potluck
Feb 3 Roundtable/Coffee
Was cancelled due to the lovely artic blast and winter storm that took over the entire county and much of the country.
Jan 16 Reorganization Meeting/Potluck
Our January meeting was all about the required Reorganization of our Greene County Democratic Committee. The Reorganization provides us with the opportunity to renew our dedication to the democratic principles and processes that have been a part of this country for 250 years.
Check out the official results of the caucus and officer elections.
Jan 6 Roundtable Meeting/Coffee
Our meeting started with a round robin discussion about the most recent events and the Jan 6 anniversary. During this discussion, the following sources were noted for personal research:
Project 2025 - to help understand the blueprint of the current administration.
Heritage Foundation - author of Project 2025
Heather Cox Richardson - American historian who does This Week in Politics
Discussion then turned to the upcoming General Assembly session, Virginia Lobby Days, Amendments to appear on the ballots, and how the Greene Dems can help keep the public informed.
An outcome of this discussion was the formation of Task Force to address the impact of Data Centers and current Data Center Reform efforts. Stay tuned for updates on this Task Force as plans develop!