It’s party time in Green Lake. Join us for a picnic on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 8 (no Packer game that day) for a purely social event. No speeches from candidates, no canvassing assignments, no sign up lists for signs–just come and socialize. This is a great opportunity for us to simply get to know each better.
Things start at about 3 p.m. at the Buffetta house (W1186 Lillian Street, Green Lake). We’ll eat about 4 p.m.
Provided will be brats, hot dogs, the trimmings, bottled water, plates and utensils. The rest is potluck, so please bring a hot dish, salad, dessert or anything else you want to share.
Look for an RSVP email closer to that Sunday, so we have an idea on how much meat and stuff to bring. Check our Facebook page for any updates or additional information.
U. S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is the real deal.
I’ve always known this. It started with his moving into a low-income tenement building in a high crime area of Newark in 1998.
Who does that when his law and Stanford degrees would have afforded him positions in law firms and corporate boardrooms across the county.
Heck, he still lives in that neighborhood in Newark. Lived there while he served as mayor of the New Jersey city.
I had a chance to speak with him (“You sure you know how this cell phone camera works”, I asked). He did, and you and see the result here.
Boy, he’s big. I would love to see Donald Trump try to physically intimidate him like he did Hillary.
Maybe we’ll get that chance. I hope so.
I know the odds are against this. I also know that the so-called debates, while well intended, simply aren’t the proper platform for experiencing most of the candidates.
When you get a chance to see and listen to Booker in person, you are exposed to his charisma, character, and strong passion for his beliefs.
I heard Booker speak for about 45 minutes. It was 5:30 on a Sunday afternoon in Hartland, an upper-scale community in Waukesha County, one of the state’s reddest counties. Frankly, when I heard through a friend that he was going to be in Hartland, I was surprised. I know too well how deeply Republican the county is and I knew how weak the Democratic party was in that part of the county.
But I was pleasantly surprised. There were about 75 people at the gathering of various ages, color, and gender. Yes, it was a mostly white group, but not completely.
Clearly the Democratic Party is not dead in Waukesha County.
Back to Booker. He is also a great story teller and I won’t repeat them here because I am trying hard to get the video that was shot while he was speaking. I want to share with our members here, and if I can with the other county Dems. Not sure if I will be successful. I am sure that Corey’s people have plans for the video and allowing us to see it may short-circuit those plans. Don’t want to do that.
Bottom line: if you can see and hear Corey in an environment like the one in Hartland, grab it. It will provide you with insights into the man that will help you decide who should represent our party in 2020.
The final results are in and as expected, Health Care and the Environment, the early leaders in the Green Lake County Dems & Friends poll of attendees at the just concluded Green Lake County Fair, were the final two top issues of concern.
The poll, admittedly unscientific and definitely unofficial, but lots of fun, closed Sunday at the end of the 4-day fair run.
So, who participated in our poll? Well, young and old, male and female, Democrat and Republican (including 6th District Congressman Glen Grothman, a Republican and a good sport), and a group of young 4-Hers who, while too young to vote in real elections, cared enough about the issues to register their votes with us.
As indicated, Health Care, with 168 votes, was the top issue of concern, with the Environment close behind at 160. The Environment, as the table below shows, was the leader after the first day, but Health Care rallied and led the rest of the way.
Education finished third with 129 votes.
Agriculture was third with 65 votes, followed closely by Voting Rights with 60.
Everyone who voted was encouraged to make two choices with the provided smiley faces; most did.
Copy of Green Lake County Dems & Friends Issues Poll
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Totals
AGRICULTURE
12
21
25
7
65
EDUCATION
20
49
42
18
129
ENVIRONMENT
44
59
33
24
160
HEALTH CARE
30
63
52
23
168
INFRASTRUCTURE
8
11
10
3
32
VOTING RIGHTS
21
24
7
8
60
OTHER
5
19
12
4
40
A table showing how some attendees at the August, 2019, Green Lake County Fair ranked the issues that may be keeping them up at night. This is an unofficial and admittedly unscientific poll.
While the rain Saturday night ended the polling prematurely, attendees at the Green Lake County Fair still demonstrated a lot of interest in Green Lake County Dems & Friends’ unscientific, completely unofficial poll to learn what issues were of the most concern to voters heading into the 2020 election year.
Health Care, the No. 2 issue after the first two days of voting–the Environment was No. 1–is the new leader with a three-day total of 145 votes. The Environment is now No. 2 with 136 votes.
Helping Health Care take over the top spot was a relatively large margin on Saturday. Health Care had 52 votes Saturday before the rain came, while the environment had 33 votes Saturday.
The No. 3 top issue after three days? Education with 111 votes.
Check out the table below for the day-by-day totals, plus the grand totals for the first three days of the four-day event.
Green Lake County Dems & Friends Issues Poll
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Totals
AGRICULTURE
12
21
25
58
EDUCATION
20
49
42
111
ENVIRONMENT
44
59
33
136
HEALTH CARE
30
63
52
145
INFRASTRUCTURE
8
11
10
29
VOTING RIGHTS
21
24
7
52
OTHER
5
19
12
36
A table showing how some attendees at the August, 2019, Green Lake County Fair ranked the issues that may be keeping them up at night. This is an unofficial and admittedly unscientific poll. If you are attending the fair and have not participated in the poll, you can do so on Sunday. All are welcome.
Fairgoers participating in the Green Lake County Dems & Friends poll on Friday said that Health Care was their top issue or concern. Second was the Environment.
This is a reversal of Thursday’s results, where the Environment was the first day leader with 44 votes
Health Care earned 63 votes Friday, the largest one-day total so far. A close second on Friday, was the Environment with 59 votes.
This means that after two days, the Environment is still the overall leader with 103 votes. Health Care’s two-day total is 93.
See the table below for more information on the vote totals. Our poll, which is new this year, is an admittedly unscientific and unofficial undertaking. So, what. We and the fairgoers participating in the poll are having fun, while also gaining some insights into the opinions of those attending the fair.
Green Lake County Dems & Friends Issues Poll
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Totals
AGRICULTURE
12
21
33
EDUCATION
20
49
69
ENVIRONMENT
44
59
103
HEALTH CARE
30
63
93
INFRASTRUCTURE
8
11
19
VOTING RIGHTS
21
24
45
OTHER
5
19
24
A table showing how some attendees at the August, 2019, Green Lake County Fair ranked the issues that may be keeping them up at night. This is an unofficial and admittedly unscientific poll. If you are attending the fair and have not participated in the poll, you can do so on Saturday or Sunday. All are welcome.
The early results are in and attendees at the Green Lake County Fair have spoken.
Their top issues of concern heading into the 2020 elections are (drum roll please) the Environment and Health Care.
Next up: Voting rights and education.
Although it was expected to be one of the leaders, the Environment, with 44 votes, had a 14-point lead over Health Care’s 30 after the first day of the fair in this unscientific, unofficial, but extremely fun poll.
Although the big lead for the Environment and Health Care was a bit of a surprise (some observers felt it would be closer), these vote totals are only for day one of the four-day annual event.
Today’s results could end up making the race closer. Today could also see voting rights (and its allied issues, such as redistricting) and education close the gap.
Trailing the leaders, after the first day, was Agriculture with 12, Infrastructure with 8 and Other with 5.
In total, 140 votes were cast on Thursday, the fair’s opening day.
Voting (such as it is) continues today, Saturday, and Sunday. Look for the final results Sunday night.
There are 72 counties in Wisconsin. Forty-seven of the counties, well more than half, have passed resolutions in favor of nonpartisan redistricting or gerrymandering.
Green Lake County is one of the holdouts.
At the Green Lake County Fair, now underway in Green Lake, the Green Lake County Dems & Friends are asking fairgoers to sign petitions urging fair maps that will be presented to the County Board.
Green Lake County Dems & Friends chair Linda Wilkens says she and the local Democratic Party organization are hoping that the county board will add Green Lake County to the list of counties that are responding to citizen demands.
She points to a Marquette University Law School poll taken earlier this year that suggested that 72 percent of Wisconsin’s voters support gerrymandering and nonpartisan redistricting. In addition, those 72 percent said they support a nonpartisan redistricting process such as the one now used in Iowa. Finally, 62 percent of all Republicans in Wisconsin are in favor of this approach.
For more on the issue of fair maps and nonpartisan redistricting, check out these articles:
A visitor to the Greeen Lake Dems & Friends booth at the 2019 Green Lake County Fair votes for an issue that concerns him the most during the morning sesssion on Thursday, Aug 1.
If you are attending the Green Lake County Fair, which runs from Thursday, Aug. 1 through Sunday, Aug. 4, make sure you stop by the Green Lake Dems & Friends booth. This is the second year we’re out front and visible at the fair. We’re (our volunteers) are there from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Additionally, make sure you participate in our first annual unscientific, unofficial, but very fun issues poll. We’ll post the results for each day on our Facebook page, and then tabulate all the votes and publish a summary on Sunday night (or maybe Monday morning).
While the rain Saturday night ended the polling prematurely, attendees at the Green Lake County Fair still demonstrated a lot of interest in Green Lake County Dems & Friends’ unscientific, completely unofficial poll to learn what issues were of the most concern to voters heading into the 2020 election year.
