June 7, 2022 minutes
Cheatham County Democratic Party
Regular Monthly Meeting
June 7, 2022
Pinnacle Financial Partners, 524 S. Main St, Ashland City, TN 37015
Attendance (first night of Summerfest)
Present: Aric Storck (Summerfest and meeting), John Patrick (VP), Elena Roser (VP), Martha Wettemann (S), Karen Stell (T) (Summerfest). Dist 2: Mathew Binkley. Dist. 3: Ryan Philipp. Dist. 4: Linda McGee (Summerfest). Dist. 5: Randy Fiedler (Summerfest). Dist. 6: Gerald Dooley.
Absent: Dist. 1: Roger Marriott, Rick Johnson. Dist 3: Lynn Seifert. Dist. 5: Kathryn Mitchem. Dist. 6: Michael Lottman.
Excused: Lynn Newcomb (PP). Dist 1: Galen Gray. Dist 3: Lisa Walker. Dist. 5: Beth Ervin, Joanne Jaworski. Dist.6: Jan Morrison.
Guests: Ken Rawn, Steve Tillisch, Betsy Morley (all Ashland City).
Committees: (committees are not limited to the Executive Committee):
Advocacy Committee: Martha Wettemann (chair), Rick Johnson, John Patrick, Linda McGee.
Elections Committee: Elena Roser (chair), Kathryn Mitchem (phone banking), John Patrick, Martha Wettemann, Jan Morrison.
Events Committee (including Forums): Randy Fiedler (chair), Michael Lottman, Roger Marriott, Lynn Newcomb, Ryan Philipp (event planning/coordination), Karen Stell, Linda McGee.
Social/Print Media: Michael Lottman (print chair), Karen Stell (web site chair)(advocacy posting on web site), Beth Ervin (social media).
Nominating: L. Newcomb, Elena Roser (co-chairs). Membership/recruitment- Ryan Philipp.
Federation of Democratic Women: Lynn Newcomb (chair), Joanne Jaworski.
Call to order: Vice Chair Elena Roser called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance: There was not a quorum, so no votes were taken.
Approval of Minutes and Agenda for the Meeting. J. Patrick/G. Dooley moved to approve the minutes of the last meeting. No corrections were suggested for the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report: E. Roser reported on the current balance of $3,506 provided to her by the treasurer K. Stell. The Summerfest and July 4 booths at Pegram have been paid for.
Committee Reports
Advocacy Committee: J. Patrick reported that the CC School Board voted to raise teacher salaries from $38,300 to $42,500. This needs to be approved by the County Commission. A final School Board budget needs to be voted on by June 27. He pointed out the need for action on raises since CC is 141st of the 147 school districts in Tennessee in per pupil funding. The state is requiring starting salaries for teachers to be $45,000 by 2027. John will let us know when the County Commission is meeting.
He also reported that President Biden signed an executive order to reduce tariffs on solar panels to keep the supply flowing. This can aid the solar project to be installed (between July and September) at Sycamore High School. K. Rawn mentioned that local building codes could be changed to require some amount of solar on government buildings. M. Wettemann reported she attended a Tennessee phone conference with Moms Demand Action on Gun Violence who said 4,000 Tennesseans had signed up for the call. Rallies to support reducing gun violence will be held in Nashville and Clarksville on June 11 to advocate for Congressional action on reducing gun violence. The Pride parade in Nashville is June 24.
Elections Committee: E. Roser discussed her plans including door to door and postcards and campaign events planned. She needs turfs to be created. Signs are going out.
Events Committee: Emails/Sign up software has been sent out regarding volunteering at Summerfest and July 4 in Pegram. A. Storck, R. Fiedler, K. Stell and L. McGee are doing setup today. Additional volunteers were needed for Wednesday and Thursday; there were volunteers for Friday and Saturday. There is voter registration material and there will be some material on candidates and state legislation.
There is a list of volunteers for July 4 in Pegram. Karen will supply a truck for the float. Elena has some material for decoration. Voter registrations for August 4 voting are due by July 5. R. Philipp asked about getting signs for the gubernatorial and other candidates (for float and booth)- M. Wettemann to check. A. Storck will check on labels for flags and will check whether L. Newcomb received the pins ordered from the County Chairs Association.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Submitted by Martha Wettemann, Secretary.
June 15, 2022