Endorsed Candidates need your help

All five candidates who applied received endorsement by the DWC based on email and in-person votes.

There are many ways to help a candidate's campaign:
-Like her Facebook page                                      -Place yard signs
-Help with events; participate in parades              -Campaign door to door                        
-Make calls to garner votes for a candidate           -Take photos
-Utilize your digital media expertise                     -Register new voters
-Offer your creative design skills

Visit your candidate's website, and contact them to find out what they need.

                                          Endorsed Candidates websites
                              Allison Chopra                          Philippa Guthrie
                              Nicole Bolden                           Dorothy Granger
                                               Isabel Piedmont Smith
   
Many thanks for the dedication and volunteered hours of the Endorsement Committee members:  Charlotte Zietlow, Vicky Sorensen, Carolyn VandeWiele, Amy Swain, Jonna Capio, Sarah Ryterbrand and Hannah Miller.

IN THIS ISSUE
Piedmont-Smith Campaign needs your help
Senate Bill 379 & Transit Day at the Statehouse
Rural Zoning Ordinance Meeting
Upcoming Events of Interest
Facebook? MMN?  Join!
Action Item

See you at Rachel's again this Friday!

March DWC Breakfast Meeting - Vote for Endorsement:

DWC members will receive a ballot, listing all candidates who applied for endorsement and indicating which candidates are recommended for endorsement by the Endorsement Committee (see details below).  Members who paid during or before Feb. 6 meeting may vote on which candidates will receive endorsement.

There will be a special email on Wednesday with Endorsement Committee recommendations.

Help support your progressive, pro-choice women candidates!

IN THIS ISSUE
Friday Breakfast
The Endorsement Process
Upcoming Events of Interest
Membership Report
Action Item

It's time for candidate endorsements.

Endorsement Process

February: The Endorsement Committee meets, and will contact all eligible candidates to invite them to apply, and to inform them of the application due date and interview date(s).

At a second meeting in February, the Endorsement Committee will interview the applicants in person or by phone. Following the interviews, the Endorsement Committee shall determine which candidates are recommended for endorsement by a simple majority vote. More than one candidate for a seat may be recommended for endorsement.

March DWC Breakfast Meeting: DWC members will receive a ballot, listing all candidates who applied for endorsement and indicating which candidates are recommended for endorsement by the Endorsement Committee.  DWC members who paid during or before Feb. 6 meeting may vote on those recommended.
 

IN THIS ISSUE
One-woman play, Grounded
Commission on Status of Women releases report
Important Dates & Deadlines
Membership Report
Action Item - March on the Statehouse this Thursday

Breakfast Friday, Feb. 6, 7:30 a.m. at RACHEL’s CAFÉ

Due to the Village Deli being closed right now, Rachel’s Café (300 E Third Street) will host the DWC Breakfast meeting this month.  Rachel will have set choices for us -- an egg strata, gluten-free quiche, waffle, biscuits/gravy, fruit and yogurt, muffin and maybe another choice. We’ll give you an order form at the door with the choices listed, and then you’ll take this to the counter to pay.  Your order will be delivered to you!  Coffee is free if you’re patient with this new venue!  Check email this week for more details.

We will also be passing Charlotte’s REALLY BIG hat this week. Any donations will be given to those great servers at the Village Deli who’ve taken such good care of us in the past 10 years!

We’ll also be taking membership dues for 2015.  Bring your checkbook or ca$h ($20 for one year’s membership!) along with you, or join ahead of time online, here on DWC site.

IN THIS ISSUE
Take Action Friday!
Happening This Morning - SB 466 & SB 525 testimony
Meetings and deadlines this week
Meetings next week
Women's History Month Luncheon
Applicants sought for City of Bloomington boards and commissions
Action Item -  Tell legislators to end the legislative attacks on Superintendent Ritz and the Dept. of Education

IN THIS ISSUE

You can now join and pay for your DWC Membership online!

Village Deli damaged by fire
DWC Endorsement Policy
Monroe County Citizens Academy
Action Item: Sign the Petition to Protect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The DWC hosted a second open house for potential 2015 and 2016 candidates and their prospective campaign leaders on Thursday, January 15th.  There were about 20 women in attendance, sharing strategies and discussing the fundamentals of preparing to run for office.  Several of the attendees are candidates for the 2015 primary and we are confident they learned some useful information for their upcoming campaigns.  GO PROGRESSIVE WOMEN!!

IN THIS ISSUE:

Recount Response from Lorraine Merriman Farrell
Openings on Monroe County Boards and Commissions
Monroe County Citizens Academy
MCDC Luncheon and Silent Auction
Speakers at the IU Maurer School of Law
Time to Renew Your DWC Membership
Action Item: Sign the Petition to Make the Princeton Review Include Info on How Colleges Handle Rape

REMINDER: January DWC breakfast meeting on Jan. 9th, not Jan. 2nd (details below)

Consider that with two powerful women (Hilary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren) as potential candidates for the democratic nomination as President in 2016, there's a good chance that women's issues will be in the spotlight more than ever.  We may even see legislation passed over the next two years benefitting women, as a political move.  Make sure you're part of the conversation!

IN THIS ISSUE:

Monthly DWC Breakfast
League of Women Voters Legislative Update
Second DWC Open House Session for Potential Candidates
Caucus to Elect MCDP Chair and Treasurer (TONIGHT)
Time to Renew Your DWC Membership
Democracy for Monroe County Link-Up
Cartoon of the Week
Action Item: Encourage Elizabeth Warren to run

Please note that our January DWC breakfast meeting will be Jan. 9th, not Jan. 2nd, since many will still be out of town on the first Friday of the month. 

As of the beginning of 2014, of the 1,351 mayors of U.S. cities with populations over 30,000, only 249, or 18.4%, were women (Center for American Women in Politics). We must do better in this country in electing women to leadership roles, and what better place to start than in Bloomington! We know our community has the talent. Look around you, and look in the mirror - do you see someone who could make an excellent city council member, city clerk, or mayor? Talk to her about running in 2015!

IN THIS ISSUE:

Second DWC Open House Session for Potential Candidates
Swearing-In Ceremony January 1
Caucus to Elect MCDP Chair and Treasurer
Time to Renew Your DWC Membership
Democracy for Monroe County Link-Up
Action Item: Tell the President to Withdraw Antonio Weiss' Name for Treasury Job

The issue of rape is once again all over the news.  Why?  The November 19th Rolling Stone story titled "A Rape on Campus," alleging a September 2012 gang-rape of a then-freshman student at the University of Virginia named Jackie. Since the story came out, Rolling Stone has admitted that its reporter did not do sufficient due diligence, specifically, she failed to check the facts provided by Jackie. The unfortunate result is that one woman's story, whether it was wholly or partially fabricated, whether she had been so traumatized she couldn't accurately recall the facts, or whether there is some other explanation altogether, will now be used to discredit the stories of others.  Rape is an issue fraught with terrible difficulties, for women, for men, and for the institutions and individuals responsible for sorting out the facts and the consequences.  Let's start by asking our press to do its job and try and get it right.  Please.

In this issue:

Second Open House Session for Potential Candidates
Caucus to Elect MCDP Chair and Treasurer
News/Action Item: Girl Scouts Report on The State of Girls
Commission on the Status of Women Seeks Nominations
Time to Renew Your DWC Membership

The December breakfast program on "The Women of City Hall" was a great success!  Thanks to all who attended.  DWC members and guests packed the Village Deli to hear Beverly Calendar-Anderson, Safe and Civil City Director and newly named Director of the Community and Family Resources Department; Danise Alano-Martin, Director of the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development; Susie Johnson, Director of Public Works; Lisa Abbott, Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development; and Doris Sims, Director of Human Resources. These influential women talked about how they got to where they are and provided a preview of the plans for their departments for 2015.  They also discussed the interaction of their departments, and boards and commissions they are responsible for, with the mayor and City Council. Bravo to these amazing public servants and role models for women!  Their efforts help make Bloomington the wonderful and efficient place that it is.

Open House Session for Potential Candidates
Nominations for Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women Awards
Time to Renew Your DWC Membership
News Item:  Victory for Women's Right to Choose
Action Item:  Petition on Ohio Abortion Law