Dem’s Drop-In with Barbara Byrum, Ingham County Clerk May 27, 2017 “You need to run for office or get appointed, especially if you are a woman. It doesn’t matter what office, committee or commission, just do it”. That was one inspirational piece of advice from Barbara “Barb” Byrum, Ingham County Clerk and former Michigan State Representative. Barb spoke at the GT Democrats Drop-In on May 26 at MI Grill in Traverse City. She was also in town for another race as a runner i

The significance of organized labor being an important component in establishing a strong middle class, I believe that a necessary element in winning back those who voted for Trump, it is imperative that members of the progressive movement put pressure on our elected officials, whether Democrat or Republican, to put forward legislation to safeguard the rights of disenfranchised blue-collar workers, many of whom voted for Trump, to defend worker’s rights to collective bargaini

Immigration Concerns Forum, Grow Benzie Tuesday, May 23, 2017 by Sylvia McCullough On Tuesday evening a crowd of about 150 people attended a panel forum focused on immigration concerns hosted by Concerned Citizens of Benzie County at Grow Benzie, organized by Keria Duvernoy. The panel included moderator Christie Bardenhagen, and panelists Don Smeltzer, Carolina Tabora Cortez, Sheriff Ted Schendel; Marcelo Betti, and Fr. Wayne Dziekan. When asked if the Trump administrations r

The Blue Tiger Project is a charitable initiative of the Grand Traverse Democratic Party, which serves the Traverse City Food Pantry of Traverse City High School. The food pantry serves from 180-240 students who are often simultaneously attending school, employed and in transition (temporarily homeless). Traverse City High School serves a concentrated “at risk” population, where 70% lack fixed regular or adequate housing and 79% qualify for free or reduced lunch. For the pas

Dems Meet Dana Alan Ferguson, Candidate for Congress by Lori Brickman Another newcomer is testing the waters for a 2018 run in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District. Dana Alan Ferguson met with Grand Traverse Dems on May 21 at the MI Grill in Traverse City to introduce himself and talk about why he thinks it’s time for someone new to represent us in Washington. Dane, as he prefers to be called, is from Negaunee near Marquette. He is a small business owner who earned his bac

Grand Traverse Band Hosts Water Symposium, Friday, May 19, 2017 Leelanau Sands Casino, Suttons Bay, MI by Sylvia McCullough Tribal Chairman, Sam McClellan, opened the water symposium hosted by the Grand Traverse Band of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians on Friday evening with a plea for community support in protecting the water of the Great Lakes. A water ceremony was conducted by tribal women who sang and prayed for preserving the purity of our water for future generations and th

Michigan Representative for Grand Traverse County, Larry Inman, met with active and retired teachers Saturday, May 6 at the MEA office in Traverse City. He had requested the meeting to listen to educators concerns about their future. Every seat was filled as was every inch of wall space in the conference room. The assembled group was desperately trying to make Rep. Inmann understand what was happening to them and education in general here in Michigan. You may be thinking t

The GT Dems “Clean Team” volunteers were busy cleaning up a three mile stretch of M31, south of Antrim County, on Thursday, May 4 providing a service for the community and helping improve the environment. We picked up enough litter to fill 32 trash bags and in the process we enjoyed the sunny weather, made some new friends, caught up with old friends and had lots of laughs along the way. At the end of the pick-up we had a contest as to what was the most “unique” item picked