Message From The Chair Catherine Price
“I am honored to have been elected Chair for 2020-2022. Under the leadership of outgoing Chair Kathie Sutherland, MD, the Polk County Democratic Party has experienced substantial growth and progress.
Moving forward, the Polk County Democratic Party will be recruiting and grooming a diverse field of political candidates with the leadership skills necessary to: lead Polk County out of the current COVID crisis; provide support to business owners, unemployed Floridians, healthcare and public education workers; protect our precious, fragile Florida environment; and, stand for equity and justice for all Floridians.
The initial focus will be on Polk County municipal elections as we prepare for gubernatorial and US Senate races in 2022. We have elected a strong Executive Board, and I look forward to working with this great team over the next two years.
Happy Holidays!”
– July 2020
Floridians have learned the hard way that voting has consequences. The Covid crisis has been handled poorly from the outset, resulting in loss of lives, jobs, and health. Instead of exercising federal leadership based on the advice of health experts, the Trump Administration chose to downplay the risks and shift responsibility to the states. Unfortunately, our Florida governor chose to listen to Trump instead of health experts. DeSantis opened the state before it met CDC guidelines and did not recommend a statewide policy on masks. Testing and tracing of contacts is not up to par. Now we are paying the price with exponential increases in new cases, more deaths, and crowded ICUs. Our county commissioners have also not taken a leadership role. Many cities have passed mandatory mask ordinances, but that leaves the county with a patchwork system against a virus that easily hops from city to city. The Polk DEC just passed a resolution asking the county commissioners to require protective face coverings. You can read the resolution here. There should be NO consideration of opening schools unless significant safeguards are in place for students, teachers, and parents.
The significant mishandling of the Covid crisis is only one (1) of the bad decisions in the past month. Trump has seen fit to cut healthcare at a time when Americans need it more than ever. He pardoned Roger Stone, a traitor who helped Russian intelligence to make Trump the president, and then lied about it under oath. And what about the ignoring of bounties placed by the Russians on our soldiers?
And please beware of the large amount of disinformation and misinformation which is now being spread. On Twitter, 45% of accounts are traceable to bots. Fully 75% of Covid 19 posts are by bots. If you’re wondering why some people object to masks, they may be targets for these disinformation campaigns.
We have an opportunity to replace this incompetent president and many failed state leaders in 110 days. The safest, most secure, most convenient way to do that will be to Vote by Mail. But don’t wait until the last minute to request your Vote by Mail ballot. Do it NOW to avoid overburdening the Supervisor of Elections office closer to the election. You can go to stampthevote.com OR polkelections.com OR call the Supervisor of Elections office at (863)534-5888. You can follow your Vote by Mail ballot every step of the way (when it was mailed, when it was returned, and when it was counted) online at polkelections.com.
Please don’t forget – we need more than just your vote this year. Be sure to ask 3 friends to register to Vote by Mail, and then follow-up to ensure they send it in. If you can spare even an hour a week, please volunteer. If you can spare even $10, please donate.
Stay safe and healthy!
