April 7, 2020 minutes

Cheatham County Democratic Party
Regular Monthly Meeting
April 7, 2020, 7:10 PM, Online
Minutes
Call to Order: Chair L. Newcomb called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Other online meetings took place from 6 to 7 p.m and will continue. 7 pm is the new start time for our meetings.
Attendance: A quorum was present.
Present: Lynn Newcomb (P), John Patrick (VP), Jane Crisp (VP), Martha Wettemann (S), Roger Marriott (T), Karen Stell, Jim Brooks, Margaret Brooks, Nicole DeBaun-Phillips, Randy Fiedler, Kathryn Mitchem, Michael Lottman, Elena Roser, Rick Johnson.
Absent and excused: Aric Storck.
Absent: Tony Gross, Gerald Dooley.
Guests: Chris Finley (running for Congress- 6th District- against John Rose, no primary opposition) , Linda McGee, Holly Spann (candidate for State House District 78, no primary opposition).
Committee Sign-ups (committees are not limited to the Executive Committee):
Advocacy Committee: Nicole DeBaun-Phillips, Mike Lottman, Karen Stell, Martha Wettemann
Elections Committee: Kathryn Mitchem, Elena Roser, Martha Wettemann
Events Committee (including Forums): Randy Fiedler, Mike Lottmann, Roger Marriott,
Social/Print Media: Jim Brooks, Mike Lottman, Karen Stell, Aric Storck
Approval of Minutes and Agenda for the Meeting: With no suggested corrections, the minutes were accepted as written.
Treasurer’s Report: R. Marriott reported our current balance was $2,2050.15. He paid the P.O. Box for next year and the Chamber of Commerce. Chair L. Newcomb asked R. Marriott to send $25 to Gary Bynum to pay our County Chairs’ dues.
Chair’s Report: L. Newcomb thanked everyone for being on the conference call. We can also discuss other options for meetings. The County Chairs Association is making name badges for the county chairs. Badges will cost $10. Some executive committee members would like one. L. Newcomb will send out the information about this. On the state monthly County Chairs call, it was reported that training from the Party and Indivisible will be starting, including information on how to do advocacy in the virtual world, Votebuilder, etc. She stated that it is important that we participate.
The Party wants us to be using Votebuilder, doing phone banks, doing Virtual Meet and Greets on Facebook live, etc. Nicole expressed a concern about using Facebook. Other ways mentioned include Zoom, Free Conference Call, and web ex. L. Newcomb said many people qualified to run for Sen. Alexander’s seat, and she has information about the candidates. Several people as well as incumbent Jim Cooper qualified to run for the 5th District Congressional seat.

Guest Comments: Holly Spann thanked everyone for completing the signatures to allow her to run within 24 hours! She did qualify, and is happy that she doesn’t have opposition. She mentioned some issues related to campaign strategy.
Chris Finley (6th District) says he will need about 50,000 votes to be successful. J. Crisp requested Chris send information about himself to L. Newcomb to distribute.
Vice Chair Report: Relating to safe access to being able to vote, J. Crisp reported on absentee ballot rules, which are outlined on the website. Those eligible to request an absentee ballot include anyone over 60 years old, a caregiver, a handicapped person (with a doctor’s letter), a person in the military deployed overseas, a person at school (not in the county) or a person whose spouse is enrolled in school in another county, or anyone who is working and can’t get to the polls during voting hours. The application can be filled out online. It can’t be returned more than 30 days ahead of election day. You can also get on the permanent absentee voting register.
Committee Reports:
Elections Committee: John Patrick has qualified to run for the school board in the August 6 primary. His opposition is Derek Williams (big Trump supporter). N. Debaun-Phillips said a big issue is Internet access. Chair Newcomb reported that the new date for the at-large election for delegates to the Democratic National Convention is May 16.
Events Committee: In person events are cancelled until further notice.
Social/Print Media: The number of viewers on our social media is up. It was suggested we invite our friends to follow our Facebook page. We received no coverage on our convention even though the Pleasant View paper said they would cover it.
Advocacy: M. Wettemann suggested, on the issue of broadband expansion, we have a speaker from CEMC discuss how it is proceeding in our county. Wesley Aymett is the Ashland City representative on the board. Chair Newcomb suggested the general manager. It was stated that Ashland City received a recent grant.
New Business: Chair Newcomb reported the Tri-County event is on hold. We need to find ways for the candidates to have access to voters. She also listed the following vacancies on the Executive Committee which need to be filled: 2nd District woman, 3rd District man, 4th District man, and 6th District woman. We could also fill at-large. Due to other conflicts, the monthly meetings will continue at 7 p.m. Two members, J. Patrick and N. Debaun-Phillips, said they had significant difficulty accessing the phone line for the call. Chair Newcomb said she might check on the state’s phone system for the next call.
J. Crisp/N. Debaun-Phillips moved to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Note re Elections: The Cheatham County elections on August 6 will include Pleasant View and Kingston Springs council elections, three school board positions, property assessor, state senate (primary), and state representative (primary).
Submitted by Martha Wettemann, Secretary
Email: [email protected] Website: Cheathamcountydemocrats.org