TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP — AND RUN FOR OFFICE!

The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus elects its leadership every two years. Elections for Caucus officers will be held at our Winter Membership Meeting on March 6, 2021. This will be a virtual meeting and more info will be coming to you soon about that.

We are also electing our Regional Directors in a series of regional meetings in January 2021. Each region has three positions available: Regional Director, Deputy Director and Alternate Director. The Regional Director has a vote on the Caucus Board.

Please note that we have a new regional structure taking effect with this election in accordance with the votes of our membership at our Summer 2019 and Winter 2020 conferences. These changes updated our regions and revised the regional leadership.

Due to the pandemic, our regional elections will occur via Zoom. Registration links will be sent to members for their specific meeting no later than one week prior to the meeting. The election schedule is as follows:

Region 1, Northwest: Saturday, January 23, 11am ET/10am CT
Convener: Mark Gillman
Counties: Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsen, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, LaFayette, Liberty, Leon, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walker, Washington

Region 2, Northeast: Saturday, January 23, Noon ET
Convener: Daniel Henry
Counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Union, Volusia

Region 3, Central Northwest: Saturday, January 23, 1pm ET
Convener: Rick Boylan
Counties: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Sumter

Region 4: Central Northeast: Saturday, January 23, 2pm ET
Convener: Beth McMillen
Counties: Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Seminole

Region 5, Central: Saturday, January 23, 3pm ET
Convener: Sally Phillips
Counties: Hardee, Highland, Hillsborough, Polk

Region 6, Southwest: Sunday, January 24, 1pm ET
Convener: Mary Ann Shea
Counties: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Manatee, Sarasota

Region 7, Central Southeast: Sunday, January 24, 2pm ET
Convener: Nicholas Coppola
Counties: Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, St, Lucie

Region 8, Southeast: Sunday, January 24, 3pm ET
Convener: Anthony Ginsburg
Counties: Broward

Region 9, South: Sunday, January 24, 4pm ET
Convener: Javier Estevez
Counties: Miami-Dade, Monroe

Regional directors are key to our strategy of grassroots organizing, local visibility and community awareness. According to the Caucus bylaws:

The Regional Directors shall organize chapters in selected counties in their regions, shall coordinate Caucus activities within each region, shall maintain close collaboration with county Democratic Executive Committees, and shall represent the President, at his or her request, in functions and meetings within the region. A regional director shall maintain residency within the region from which elected; notwithstanding any other provision of these bylaws, failure to comply shall result in immediate forfeiture of office.

A few rules:

1. Each region will elect a Regional Director, Deputy Director, and Alternate Director to serve on the Board of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus for a period of two years.
2. Any Caucus member in good standing is eligible for election to one of these positions.
3. Nominations for these positions shall be made from the floor on the day of the election.
4. Absentee and proxy voting are not allowed under Caucus bylaws at this time.
5. The term of service begins when the convener certifies the election at the close of the regional meeting, at which time the elected directors and alternates must sign the Florida Democratic Party-prescribed loyalty oath. A PDF copy of the Oath will be sent to each convener. They will then forward it to the newly elected Director(s). Arrangements will be made to get them filled out. Once filled out, they should be sent to secretary@lgbtqdems.org to prepare the Caucus for recertification with the FDP.
6. Newly elected Directors should mark their calendars for the January 27th Board of Directors meeting.
7. For more information about the election rules and process, please refer to the Caucus bylaws or email info@lgbtqdems.org with specific questions.

Caucus members must be in good standing on the day of the election to be eligible to run for the office of Regional Director, Deputy Director or Alternate Director. Caucus membership fees for 2021 are due and payable by December 31, 2020. New members are eligible to vote and run for regional director if 2021 membership dues are paid and received by the Treasurer by the day before the regional elections. Our bylaws require that all current officers must renew their membership by December 31.

If you have not already renewed your membership, please visit the our Membership page for information and options for payment. Thank you for your participation!

Respectfully,

Dave Cutler, Secretary
Ricki Bauman, Assistant Secretary