Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley held a town hall in the Garfield Township Hall on Nov. 21st, at 6 p.m. Mr. Calley has entered the race for Michigan Governor' for 2018. About 30 people were there with about 7 students from a Government class and three members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The members of the Grand Traverse Band were there to question Mr.Calley about Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac. The first question was about Education and h

A warm group of fellow progressives joined together at Little Fleet for the November Progressive Potluck. Becky Rogan spoke to us about the work of Conflict Resolution Services and gave us a few hints on using their methods in our own progressive work. Right to left: Chris Cracchiolo GTDem Chairman, Betsy Coffia, ProgPot organizer, Becky Rogan Speaker for November. Becky's talk emphasized that before we can be persuasive we need to create an environment where folks want to

Yesterday, a hundred or so Tax Scam Rally goers were greeted with waves, honks and cheers (and a few birds) while carrying signs to educate the public regarding the effects that the so-called Tax Reform Bill being rammed through the US Senate, will have on everyday, hard working Americans, many of whom stand to have their taxes raised and lose their health care benefits, and eventually experience reductions in their Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits. Republica

With #45 in the White House and Louisiana Jack serving as his acolyte, the 2018 election is our first and best opportunity to save our democracy as we know it. As I read all of the various posts on social media I started to realize that Facebook, twitter, etc. contain excellent points, summaries and facts...but we end up preaching to the choir and not the general voter in our District. Below is a listing of area newspapers and their circulation numbers. As you can see Letters

The recent destruction of civility in our country began with the primary season of the 2016 election. I believe everyone was shocked watching the mudslinging and nasty comments as our politicians stepped on and over each other on their way to the top. Some citizens actually thrilled at the game of it! Unfortunately, once the winner climbed to the top of the mountain to proclaim victory, that crude behavior did not change. On a chilly day last January, I stood along the Parkwa

I am sharing a letter I received from Tom McClure, who along with Jake Rothenburg, headed up the Democratic Presidential Campaign for Hillary Clinton in Traverse City and surrounding counties in the Fall of 2016. He now works for a Bloomberg Group, Everytown for Gun Safety centered in New York City. This is his recounting of his experience of going down to Virginia to knock on doors to help get out the vote in the recent election there for governor, and why doing this impor

If the health of our democracy is measured in by how elected officials treat their constituents, we should all be deeply troubled by the town hall held in Traverse City Central High School this week. As a candidate for Michigan’s 1st congressional district, I won't attempt to characterize the event itself. Those who were there have strong opinions already. Instead, I want to focus on what I believe is the only path forward from here: electing leaders who truly want to serve a

The Northern Michigan Indivisible Summit was held Sunday, Nov. 5th at the Mt. Pleasant Veterans Memorial Library Annex, where Hugh Madden, Communications Director for Progress Michigan gave the keynote speech to a representative audience comprised of northern Michigan Indivisible groups and Democratic candidates running for office from all over the state. In his speech titled “Finding Your Voice,” Hugh gave some tips for public speaking. He said, “how you speak is important.

Michael Moore held forth for more than three hours Saturday evening in front of a packed house at the State Theater at an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the State. He began, however, by sharing his thoughts on the state of the country, and on how to wrest control of the government from Donald Trump. Michael said he wants to see the Democratic Party run someone who generates excitement, and not someone from the establishment, like Joe Biden, love him though one migh

GT Dems and interested citizens gathered Friday evening, Nov. 3rd, 2017, at Ruby Tuesdays in Traverse City, Michigan, to hear Rep. Jon Hoadley (D) from 60th Michigan District representing Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jon explained that after ten months of enduring the current Republican administration, he felt a need to begin educating Michiganders in the art of advocacy and effective engagement of our Michigan legislators. To begin he advised everyone to read the “Indivisible Guide