Former State Rep. James Fields, right, was a speaker at Thursday night's meeting.
CULLMAN – On Thursday evening, the Cullman County Democrats held their monthly meeting at the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce office.
Before they conducted their business meeting, Former state representative and 2014 candidate for Alabama lieutenant governor, Rev. James Fields took the floor to reflect on some recent political developments in the state, including the state's suspension of its investigation into Gov. Robert Bentley, the conviction and sentencing of former House Speaker Mike Hubbard and two special elections in other parts of the state.
He then turned his attention to the future, in the form of the 2018 election.
Fields encouraged the group, "We're going to be successful in 2018. We need to do some encouragement. The numbers are good for Democrats; we still have the numbers, we're just not voting. If we would vote and convince our friends to get out and vote . . . Democrats still outnumber the Republicans. It's just that some of us have crossed over, and don't know how to get back. We've got to do that, and we can win some races here locally. We can win three seats, I believe, if we get motivated. We can win some races, if we work."
Fields also had a word of warning about the 2018 election. "If the Republicans stay in control after the 2018 election, guess what, you're going to live with it till 2030, because they do the census in 2020; that's the redistricting year. If they're in control in Montgomery, they have the ability to draw the lines, and Democrats can't do anything about it. This is an important election. They're trying to keep us from looking at the 2018 election by trying to convince us that Democrats still cannot win in this state. And we're saying that, Democrats are saying that. We don't believe we can win, and we can. We have young people who are motivated and who have good sense. These guys have good sense, and they want to see a change."
Fields then addressed the upcoming 2017 state legislative session.
He said, "The session will start about the second week of February. We need to be watchful for that in Montgomery, because there's some idiotic bills. There are some things that are not necessary, but things that make certain folks feel good when they read particular bills like that. So, we've got to be very, very cautious about those things, because once you start convoluting the session with unnecessary stuff, we don't see the real work of what these guys are doing in Montgomery, which is really nothing, because they're all running scared. They're afraid that Mike Hubbard is going to start turning some state's evidence, to keep him from going into the state prison."
After Fields opened the floor for a brief introduction by each person present at the meeting, Former Cullman County Coroner Gary Murphree took the floor. He shared a little background about his career and role on the board of the Alabama Coroners Association.
He reflected briefly on his extensive professional credentials, then said, "I am the third most educated coroner in the state of Alabama, and I am number one in number of cases handled and experience in this state. I got beat out of office last time, not because of who I am or what I've done, but just because of the Republican landslide. Several times people have come to me and said, 'You're going to have to change parties to get elected.' Well, that might be, and I've had some Republicans offer me substantial campaign funds to run as a Republican. But I make no bones about it: there are people in this room that have been behind me, and I hope that y'all will be next election. If I never win again, I will never turn my back on these people.’"
Then the group got down to its formal business meeting with Chairwoman Karen Johnson presiding.
The first item was an update by North Central Alabama Young Democrats President Roger Duke on contributions to Toys for Tots and the Cullman Caring for Kids food drive. Duke reported that two boxes of toys were delivered to Toys for Tots, and contributions to CCK are ongoing.
Duke gave an update on plans for the Young Democrats' upcoming fundraiser. The group has secured Stonebridge Farm for a substantial discount below its regular rate, and has set a date of Friday, Nov. 3 for the dinner. After discussion of some event particulars, a motion to pay $300 for the rental passed.
Members then shared announcements and information about several other events in the near future, in which members might want to participate, including:
- Jan. 14 – Women's reproductive rights march at 10:30 a.m. at Brother Bryan Park in Five Points South in Birmingham, to be followed by an anti-Jeff Sessions rally
- Jan. 15 – Loretta Lynch speaking at 16th St. Baptist Church at 3 p.m., after the worship service. This will be her last public address under the outgoing administration.
- Jan. 16 – Martin Luther King Day march in Birmingham
- Jan. 21 – "Woman's March on Washington" event at 2 p.m. in Birmingham
As the group prepared to adjourn the meeting, Cullman High School student and active Young Democrat Andrew Cryer was invited to speak. He thanked Duke for his work with Young Democrats, and expressed gratitude for seeing eager progressives in attendance.
He said, "We must be more active in this community and this state, and we must become more progressive. We have to identify with working class people of all races. We must bring people making 8, 10, 12 dollars an hour and the elderly making $13,000 a year on Social Security into the political process. Democrats must realize that the progressive cause is the Democrats' cause, and the Democrats' cause is the progressive cause."
Cryer continued, "Being Republican-lites will not work anymore. We must be bold Democrats with a capital ‘D,’ in order to provide the people with their due choice. We may not win on our first set of campaigns, but we must get our names out there. We must run a bold candidate on every ballot option. Only a bold progressive message can beat Trump-ism. We will look to the next 12 years with hope and optimism, because we know the majority of the American people agree with us on key economic issues. We just have to run on them."
For more information look up "Cullman County Democrats" on Facebook, or visit the website http://aldemocrats.org/local/cullman.
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