Roosevelt Reception

Welcome Democrats!

I’m David Henry, Chair of Your Monroe County Democratic Party

Welcome to, our 2024, Roosevelt Reception.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking - didn’t we just finish a primary around here? Can’t we take a break?

The answer is “NO!”

Welcome to the General election, folks. Before we dig into our program this evening, I would like to welcome and honor some folks in the room this evening.

First, if you are an elected official, please give everyone a wave and hello! And if you have been an elected official, thank you! Let us know you are here too!

For our out-of-town guests, I know it might be a strange situation to see so many darn elected Democrats. But for over 50 years, Monroe County and Bloomington have trusted our Democratic leadership for the whole community. We build on a legacy that takes risks, has the spirited debate, and comes out better. 

If you are a Precinct Committee member, And if you are a state delegate let folks know you are here.

On that, we have about 12 more slots to fill for convention. I need to appoint those by June 5 if you want to get the official - collectors edition one of a kind right from the hands of the Indiana Democratic Party on High call to convention in the mail, but otherwise, we have about until the end of June to settle it.

If you are a first timer to an MCDP event, let us know you are hear - give them a warm welcome everyone.

I’d also like to recognize the party officers who put this together

Efrat Rosser

Karen Wrenbeck

Ashley Pirani

And our vendors with Chef’s Table, One World and Popkorn! Give them some thanks everyone.

I’d also like to thank you, our sponsors and attendees. I’d like to especially thank our Gold sponsors this evening - Ed and Claire Robertson, Tim Peck for Congress, Thomas Horrocks for House, Senator Yoder, the MC Dems Club and the Stonewall Dems. 

And I thank our other level sponsors who have been listed on the wall here too. Your contributions lay the foundation for our coordinated campaign, support of our HQ on 2nd Street, and the mailers and texts to come to get out the vote.

I’d also like to recognize some new and returning faces to party stewardship who are going to put in the work to get us victories in November:

Sam Ujdak as Deputy for Party Strategy and Infrastructure.

Sydney Zulich as Coordinated Campaign Director

Shay George as Political Outreach and Advocacy Director

Ryan Still as Deputy Chair for Rural Engagement

Wes Martin as Deputy Chair for Labor Relations

Chrissie Geels as Deputy Chair for Precinct Committee

This team has the energy and enthusiasm to support or nominees, build our bench, and get us where we need to go in November. 

We have some nominees here tonight. Please let folks know you are here. I’d like to thank all of our candidates in the primary here - Penny, Peter, Steve, Matt - it is no small thing to run in a Monroe County Democratic Primary, and I thank you and your families for stepping up and into that contest of ideas. 

Ok…

Welcome to Townie Summer everyone. Some years I wax on eloquent up here and quote poetry or song lyrics or appeal to the wisdom of our Party sages, but tonight I got nostalgic as our college students left for the summer.

For some 25 years ago I was one of those folks off to internships. I picked up a copy of Michael Koryta’s new book, under his nom de plume “Scott Carson” - Lost Man’s Lane. It is set in the 1990’s Bloomington that I moved to some years back, and Michael has some fun distorting Bloomington into his mystery genre. We are contemporaries in a way.

Back then the internet meme du jour was a website known as the ‘Oracle of Kevin Bacon” - who remembers it?  It would postulate how many degrees of separation you were from this actor, who has been in everything from Animal House to Guardians of the Galaxy and assign a “Bacon Number” - how many degrees removed you were from Kevin Bacon.

Now, I had two friends in college that were in films - the LGBT cult class Edge of Seventeen, filmed in my old high school no less, and the remake of Miracle on 34th Street - two completely different films.

And they were in a movie with an actor, who was in a movie with Bacon - this gave them 2 degrees of separation - and gave me 3. Which gives you all 4 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

You’re welcome.

At this point, some of you rightly are raising eyebrows at me, asking what does Kevin Bacon have to do with tonight?

I’ll tell you. Aside from a tasty last name, I got to thinking about degrees of separation and the power of a network.

For tonight, if each of the 150 people in this room tell 10 people what you heard tonight from our candidates - that is a powerful voter block. That all but assures our county elected officials will clear the margin in November.

Here is the trick, getting those 10 folks you talk to to tell 10 more folks. Now we are cooking with Bacon - we’d have 15,000 votes to get. 

That would send Thomas Horrocks and Michelle Higgs and Kurtis Cummings to the Statehouse. 

What about a 4th degree of separation - your current Kevin Bacon Number everyone? 

Well that means we will get in striking distance of a Governor McCormick, Senator McCray and Representative Peck.

It seems simple enough, it is just math. But I have real hope here. Voter turnout in the primary wasn’t great. And clearly Republicans aren’t energized. But we are. Because we know what is on the line tonight.

And if you are not happy about how personal this has become for our community. If you are not happy with Eric Holcomb’s IU Trustees. If you are not happy with a statehouse that spends all summer studying how to erode the rights of everyone who doesn’t look like, or love like, or believe like Mike Pence, then we have reason to tell 10 people. 

And to tell them to tell 10 people.

And when we do that, we can win this thing. The way we were taught here by those in our party who came before us, like Charlotte and Jeff and Tomi and Iris and Vi - person to person, face to face. 

For we are not going to outspend the Republicans but we can out work them.

It isn’t enough to just vote, Monroe County. 

Listen to our candidates tonight. 

They need you time, you cash if you have it, your feet at the doors and your ears to the phones, your thumbs texting away and your time away from home. 

We can do this. 

Let’s get after it.