Collier Democratic Roundup

Jeff, Amber and Linda discuss Joe Biden's re-election bid and the impact of the Florida Legislative Session on Floridians and the Politicians that passed the bills.

They discuss the question of "age" on Joe Biden's re-elect and whether Democrats should be concerned about it.

They review the legislative session and the most damaging bills passed by Florida Republicans and offer evidence of hope and a path forward to turning the red tide that has washed ashore in Florida.

On this episode, Amber, Linda and Jeff discuss the Florida Legislature and their continued efforts to limit a women's right to medical decisions, limit our rights to vote, and limit what we can teach and say.

They discuss the Naples City Council's decision to restrict Naples Pride after criticisms from a far right group and the Collier County Commissioners decision to pass an ordinance to restrict what can be done by local businesses with regard to Covid.

And they also discuss the national implications of the supreme court race in Wisconsin and the impact of Donald Trump's indictment.

On this episode, we dive into the disturbing agenda being pursued in the Florida Legislature.

On this episode of the podcast Amber, Linda and Jeff discuss the momentum President Joe Biden is experiencing. They review the Biden achievements and talk about what the next two years could look like for President Biden.

They also look ahead to the 2023 Florida Legislative Session and discuss the litany of bad bills being proposed by the Florida Republicans. From Abortion bans to defunding the public schools to allowing anyone to have gun and hide it.

And as always some updates on what's going on locally and how you can get involved.

Hello and welcome to the Collier Democratic Round-Up, the

official podcast of the Collier County Democratic Party. I am your host, Jeff

Spencer. We’re back! It’s been two years since we last recorded a podcast and a

lot has happened in the time since. Let’s do a bit of a recap and get everyone

up to speed.

First, we have new leadership here in Collier County. Every

two years, we have an election to choose a new slate of officers. Annisa Karim

and myself, as Chair and Vice-Chair, chose to step down. There are a lot of

reasons for this, but the main being that we both felt that the party needed

fresh energy and fresh perspectives to grow as it needs to grow. We have both

put a lot of effort over the last 6 years to build a strong foundation for the

party to build.

We achieved a lot. We raised more money in our 6 years than

in the previous 12 combined. We upgraded our website, social media, and

communication presence to reach more Democrats. 

We invested in improved financial and volunteer management systems to

allow us to maximize our potential. We fielded full slates of candidates for

all offices in 2018 and 2020 and had the highest democratic turnout in 2020 of

any county in the entire state.

There were big accomplishments, but they were not enough.

The party needed some fresh perspectives and new ideas to take the next step

toward a blue Collier County. And I am very excited about our new slate of

officers and the direction they are taking the party.

Our new Chair is Jane Schletweig. Jane worked with Annis and

I as State Committee Woman where she represented Collier County at the State

Party. Jane is also the Region 12 Chair of the Democratic Women’s Club of

Florida.

Our new Vice-Chair is Adam Molny. Adam has been our Data

Coordinator for the last four years and he has been integral to each of our

successes.

Anne Daley was re-elected as Treasurer for a second term and

Judy Freiberg was re-elected as Secretary for her second term.

This new leadership is incredibly qualified and has already

hit the ground running. New members and new volunteers have already started to

participate. Melody Hardee has taken over the Communications Committee and has a

great plan to reach out to more Democrats and non-democrats alike. At

February’s meeting, it was standing room only with new volunteers signing up to

help on many new committees.

The next two years are very important. We have a Governor

who is emboldened and continues to go on the attack. We have the School Board

and County Commission that has lurched even further right parroting conspiracy

theory, discounting science, and ignoring the needs of the most vulnerable

constituents. Rick Scott is up for re-election and needs to be defeated.

Jane and the rest of the leadership have a plan to engage

new voters. You can find out more about their plans and how you can help by

going to www.collierdems.org. We’ll be

right back after a short break.

Today we discuss Biden's first 100 days in office and give him a grade (spoiler alert, he did pretty well), we talk about the census and what redistricting means for Democrats, and we look at the efforts of local Anti-abortion advocates and their push to make Naples a sanctuary city for the unborn. Plus we have our moments of positivity.

But before we get into all of that here is some Democratic Party news.

First, it is with great sadness that we announce the resignation of our State Committee woman Sara McFadden. Sara has been a huge asset to the local party over the last 5 years. She has run twice for office and made huge strides in a very difficult district, growing the party with all of her efforts both as a candidate and as our State Committeewoman. She will remain on as a Precinct committee person, but she is taking a much deserved break. A huge thank you to Sara for all of her efforts.

With Sara's resignation, we have to replace her position and we are excited to announce that Jane Schletweig has agreed to become our new State Committeewoman. Jane is a precinct committeewoman out of Marco, she is Vice-President of the Democratic Women's Club of Marco, and she is the Region 7 Chair for the Democratic Women's Club of Florida. Jane has worked closely with the leadership of the Collier Democratic Party over the last 4 years and we are excited for her to join our leadership team.

The Democratic County Chairs Association met for the first time this past month and we had State Party Chair Manny Diaz and Executive Director Marcus Dixon on to update us on all the Florida Democratic Party efforts. They are doing a great job of getting the party back moving in the right direction. They have proposed a annual budget of 12 million dollars, focusing heavily on voter registration and communication. They have budget money to combat what will prove to be contentious redistricting process. They have had to deal with a lot of unforseen issues that have arisen after their election, but they have righted the ship and are pushing forward.

Here are the upcoming meetings to put on your schedule.

Thursday May 6th @ 6:30 is the Monthly DEC meeting. This is the business meeting of the party, it is open to the public.

Tuesday May 11th @7:00 is the monthly meeting of the Democratic Womens Club of Marco. I will speaking at this meeting along with our outgoing State Committeewoman Sara McFadden. We will be discussing the legislative session and the voting trends as seen around Collier County.

Monday May 17th @ 6:30 is the monthly meeting of the Collier Democratic Club.

Please remember to volunteer and donate. We are an all volunteer organization and we rely on your generosity to maintain the website, produce this podcast, and promote the agenda of the Democratic party through out Collier and Southwest Florida, so please donate a little time or money to our efforts. It is greatly appreciated.  

This week's show we look at the unpopular legislation being pushed by the Florida State Republicans including the protest bill, the THC bill, the Voting Restrictions bill, preemption bill, and more.

We talk about how bad press is evidently good press for Florida Republicans as Matt Gaetz sticks it out and Governor DeSantis is now the front runner for the 2024 nomination.

And finally we talk about Collier Counties push to open up the environmentally sensitive eastern side of the county to developers against the public and environmental groups. What could go wrong?

Plus the local news from the party.

In this episode we are joined with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried. She talks about her experience in the cabinet as the only state wide elected Democrat in Florida and answers questions from our DEC members.

Also, Amber, Linda and I discuss Governor DeSantis's corruption regarding the vaccine roll out and talk about the American Rescue Plan. How it will help and why Republicans are against it. Plus we have our moments of positivity.

We update on the latest hires and appointments at the Florida Democratic Party and we dive into some of the bills the Republicans are proposing in the 2021 Legislative Session. Bills to make voting more difficult, BIlls to make protesting illegal, and bills to undermine the will of the people. Just another day in Republican governance.

In episode 31, Amber, Linda and I talk about the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Biden's Covid Relief bill and Ron DeSantis's covid incompetence.