August 2023 Newsletter

DeKalb Democrats Announce DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections Nominees

DeKalb County, GA (Friday, June 2, 2023) – The DeKalb County Democratic Committee (DCDC) has selected Democrats Susan Motter and Vasu Abhiraman as their nominees to the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections for the 2023-2025 term. The nominations were announced to members and supporters at their monthly countywide meeting last night. 

Susan Motter has agreed to serve another term on the Board. A dedicated member since 2019, Motter’s reappointment for a third term will maintain essential continuity and considerable expertise on the Board. A passionate defender of voting rights and skilled attorney, Motter currently works as an Associate Partner at Aon, a global professional services firm.

Dele Lowman-Smith, who served two terms and led the Elections Board as Chair through critical staff changes and a global pandemic, has chosen to step down to pursue other opportunities. After an application and interview process, the DCDC has selected Vasu Abhiraman to replace Lowman-Smith. 

Born and raised in DeKalb County, Abhiraman brings an extensive wealth of knowledge of Georgia election law and procedures. Most recently, as Senior Policy Counsel and Deputy Policy & Advocacy Director for the ACLU of Georgia, Abhiraman led a variety of initiatives to expand voter access, improve voting procedures, and recruit election workers in coordination with Elections Directors across the state. In this role, Abhiraman also worked with volunteers to monitor Board of Elections meetings across Georgia.

In 2020, Abhiraman served on the Georgia Secretary of State’s Bipartisan Task Force for Safe, Secure, and Accessible Elections to ensure that all Georgians could vote safely during a global pandemic. The effort resulted in more Georgians casting ballots in the 2020 General Election and Runoff than in any other elections in Georgia history. Abhiraman also served as a DeKalb poll worker for several years and currently serves as Senior Counsel at Alliance for Justice.

“We are very happy to reappoint Susan Motter to serve another term. She and Dele Lowman-Smith set the bar very high for serving with dedication and integrity. We would have loved to reappoint Dele as well, but we understand her wishes and are so grateful for her strong leadership under very challenging circumstances,” said DeKalb Democrats Chair Brandi Wyche, “We are thrilled that we found an exceptional candidate to take her place. Vasu not only has an impressive resume, he has earned great respect among those that know and work with him. He’ll be a fantastic partner to all members of the Board and staff, and a tremendous asset to DeKalb elections. We look forward to a speedy confirmation from Chief Judge Jackson for both he and Susan.” 

The nominations for all members of the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections will be confirmed by DeKalb Superior Court Chief and Administrative Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson who will also select the fifth At-Large member of the Board.

Dekalb Dems announce newly elected State Committee Members

State committee member elections were held at our last business meeting on February 28, 2023. Each Dekalb County Commission District elected three people to represent them as voting members of the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), except for CD5 where we have one vacancy. Each Super Commission District elected one member, bringing the total to 16 new state committee members. Here are the election results and our new representatives to the DPG:

Commission District 1

  1. Michael Greenwald
  2. Amy Swygert
  3. Andrew Heaton

 

Commission District 2

  1. Clare Schexnyder
  2. Jean-Louis Sankale
  3. Cindy Wilsky

 

Commission District 3

  1. Karen Davenport
  2. Larry Lowe
  3. Gloria Moore

Commission District 4

  1. Kenneth Royal
  2. Jade Gibbs
  3. Bridgemon Bolger

Commission District 5

  1. Dorothy Wiley
  2. Barbara Campbell
  3. VACANT

Super Commission Districts

  1. Brandi Wyche – SCD 6
  2. Janetta Cureton – SCD 7
Coordinated Campaign Office Now Open in Chamblee

Coordinated Campaign Office Now Open in Chamblee

The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG) has opened a field office in Chamblee to help coordinate the campaign activities of multiple Democratic groups working here in DeKalb County through the midterm elections. Organizers and representatives from DPG, the Dekalb Dems, the Young Democrats of Georgia, and several candidates are working with the Coordinated Campaign office to ensure that we deploy the most robust and effective Get Out the Vote strategy in the history of DeKalb County.  We strongly encourage our house district chairs, precinct captains and others to reach out to the Coordinated Campaign office to participate in the many volunteer campaign activities planned and to get canvasing materials. This office will help all of us build a cohesive strategy for the upcoming midterm elections. The office is located at 

5383 New Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Chinatown Mall, suite # 5389-N 

(The location is close to the front of the mall.)


OFFICE HOURS 

Sunday 11:30 am – 9:00 pm

Monday – Closed

Tuesday – Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Friday 11:00 am – 7:30 pm

Saturday 8:30 am – 9:00 pm

House District Committee Elections

House District Committee Elections

Elections for postseat holders and House District chairs were held this past Thursday, July 21, 2022. When redistricting occurred last year, the postseat holders and chairs for some House District committees were suddenly residing in a different House District, while other House Districts were entirely replaced by a new House District. Due to this confusion, the elections for postseat holders and House District chairs were moved up to July 2022 as opposed to January 2023. Here are the results of those elections.

House District 52

Chair: Lil Woolf

Postseat Holders:

    1. Don Richard
    2. Elaine Desimone
    3. Lil Woolf
    4. Amy Sweigert
    5. Edith Fusillo
    6. Ellen Rafshoon

Alternates:

    1. Alisa Hamilton
    2. Gabriel Pressman
    3. Vacant

House District 80

Chair: Mike Greenwald

Postseat Holders:

    1. Sheila Levy
    2. Mike Greenwald
    3. Karen Langford
    4. Karima Jones
    5. Steven Strasberg
    6. Melanie Jacobson

Alternates:

    1. Andi Oki
    2. Eric Warshal
    3. Stephe Koontz

House District 81

Chair: Linda Zuk

Postseat Holders:

    1. Andrew Heaton
    2. Susan Motter
    3. Linda Zuk
    4. John Sawyer
    5. Ellen Schwartz
    6. Jay Harrell

Alternates:

    1. Scott Brooks
    2. Cindy Wilsky
    3. Vacant

House District 82

Chair: Benjamin Bell

Postseat Holders:

    1. Jana Miles
    2. Benjamin Bell
    3. Elizabeth Burns
    4. Paula Anderson
    5. Penny Krump
    6. Ann Abramowitz

Alternates:

    1. Laura Wingfield
    2. Emily Leslie
    3. Christina Ward

House District 83

Chair: To be determined

Postseat Holders: 

To be determined

Alternates: 

All vacant




House District 84

Chair: Nadine Ali

Postseat Holders:

    1. Larry Lowe
    2. Karen Davenport
    3. Teresa Hardy
    4. Jannetta Cureton
    5. Nadine Ali
    6. Ian Maclay

Alternates:

    1. Pamela Harris
    2. Steve Parker
    3. Barbara Campbell

House District 85

Chair: Dr. LaDena Bolton

Postseat Holders:

    1. Anne Clarke
    2. Kenny Austin
    3. Dr. LaDena Bolton
    4. Melva Hicks
    5. Vacant
    6. Ebony Jones

Alternates:

All vacant

House District 86

Chair: Michele Henson

Postseat Holders:

    1. Rita Robinzine
    2. Janel Green
    3. Vacant
    4. Francia McCormack
    5. Vacant
    6. Michele Henson

Alternates:

All vacant

House District 87

Chair: Bridgemon Bolger

Postseat Holders:

    1. Delores Bryant
    2. Bridgemon Bolger
    3. Dr. Bola Tilghman
    4. Maria Fernandez
    5. Clifton Bradley
    6. Jessica Parker

Alternates:

All vacant

House District 88

Chair: Gabrielle Rogers

Postseat Holders:

    1. Jade Gibbs
    2. Robin Biro
    3. Leona Perry
    4. Stephen Henson
    5. Gabrielle Rogers
    6. Joyce Reid

Alternates:

    1. Gil Freeman
    2. Deboarah Duin
    3. LeShawn Woods

House District 89

Chair: Willie Render

Postseat Holders:

    1. Janet Grant
    2. Beverly Ellis
    3. Willie Render
    4. Michael St. Louis
    5. Vacant
    6. Jean-Louis Sankale

Alternates:

All vacant

House District 90

Chair: Brandi Wyche

Postseat Holders:

    1. Gloria Moore
    2. Tom Stemen
    3. Mike Lynch
    4. Brandi Wyche
    5. Scott Thorpe
    6. Alison Maria Amoroso

Alternates:

    1. Tommy Travis
    2. Nura Williams
    3. Vacant

House District 91

Chair: To be determined

Postseat Holders:

All vacant

Alternates:

All vacant




House District 92

Chair: Edwina Clanton

Postseat Holders:

    1. Vacant
    2. Edwina Clanton
    3. Chris Moser
    4. Nathan Alexander
    5. Vacant
    6. Vacant

Alternates:

All vacant

House District 93

Chair: To be determined

Postseat Holders:

All vacant

Alternates:

All vacant




House District 94

Chair: Lance Hammonds

Postseat Holders:

    1. Venola Mason
    2. Jo Handy-Sewell
    3. Freda Hammonds
    4. Lance Hammonds
    5. Helen Royal
    6. Ken Royal

Alternates:

    1. Amaryllis Alexander
    2. Vacant
    3. Vacant
Primary Election Results

Primary Election Results

We finally have our Democratic ticket! Our candidates are:

This fall we will also have new members of the DeKalb delegation. Representative-Elect Omari Crawford (House District 84) has no Republican opponent. Now, we have to help carry State Representatives Shea Roberts (HD 52), Long Tran (HD 80), Karen Lupton (HD 83), Imani Barnes (HD 86), and Saira Draper (HD 90) to victory.

Let’s make history this November!

A Post-Roe America

A Post-Roe America

We are officially in post-Roe America. But here in Georgia, it’s about to get worse. The Georgia legislature passed a law in 2019 called the LIFE Act that would make it illegal to have an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest, medically unviable pregnancies, and natural miscarriage. That law was not constitutional at the time it was passed and therefore, it did not go into effect, but now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the law will go into effect. Apparently, it is “constitutional” now. At the moment, the law is not yet being enforced, because it is held up in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the expectation is that this court will allow it to become enforceable law as soon as the court makes its decision, which could be any day now.  
 
Although it may seem counterintuitive, “six weeks pregnant” actually means about four weeks after conception. So the law is even worse than it sounds. In reality, it is a heartbeat law. If the doctor can hear a heartbeat, which begins at about four weeks after conception, then it is illegal to get an abortion, except for the exceptions listed above. And those exceptions might go away: Republican state legislators are already in the process of proposing even more restrictive anti-abortion laws. If you value your rights to bodily autonomy, whether or not you personally can be pregnant, then vote for Democrats this fall and urge your friends and family to as well! And vote Democrat down the entire ballot! Now that the Supreme Court has desecrated the official interpretation of the constitution, many of our rights and freedoms will be in the hands of state legislators to decide. If we turned Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats blue, then we can turn the Georgia legislature blue, too!

Field Staff Waiver

Field Staff Waiver

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