The Freestone County Democratic Party Forum will hold its monthly meeting at Sam’s Restaurant on Thursday evening, September 23rd.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 with dinner and conversation. At this meeting, several new officers will take their oath of office, starting a new year of service.
The Forum will fill the positions of Precinct Chair for the first time in several years. A Precinct Chair’s responsibilities include facilitating voter registration and absentee ballot access; leading Get-Out-The-Vote, or GOTV, outreach efforts; distributing campaign and party literature; promoting the party; and addressing voter concerns. In some precincts, the Precinct Chair is also eligible to establish committees for fundraising. On Thursday, the Forum will introduce three new Precinct Chairs.
Ms. Leslie Harper will become the Chair for Precinct 1. This Precinct includes Fairfield and currently has its voting location at the Fairfield Civic Center (Green Barn). Since many of Fairfield’s businesses are centered in the downtown Fairfield area, Leslie will be working with the Chamber of Commerce to understand the issues of the business owners and ensure the voting privileges of the residents of Precinct 1.
Mr. John E Fry will serve as the Precinct Chair for Precinct 2. This Precinct includes that part of Fairfield located around the Dogan School. The voting location is in the Dogan Cafeteria. John has worked with several community organizations, including the local cancer society, and is looking forward to meeting many of the Dogan alumni and learning the needs of that community.
Precinct 11 is honored to have Ms. Opal Oliver serve as its Chair. Opal served as the County Chair for the Freestone Democratic Party for several years, retiring from that position in 2019. During her term in office, she led the efforts to improve the voting conditions for the voters in the Liberty area. She was also instrumental in getting the Butler Community Center repaired after damage during a recent storm left it unusable. The Community Center now serves as the voting location for those voters in the Butler area. Opal will take on her duties as the Chair of Precinct 11 on Thursday.
Ms. Ann Parks will assume the office of Forum Secretary on Thursday. Ann is a teacher in the Fairfield School District. Her organizational abilities as a teacher will serve her well as she works to keep the Forum functioning efficiently during the upcoming election cycle.
Of course, all of the Precinct are subject to change during the redistricting due to the latest census data. At the meeting on Thursday evening, the redistricting will be on the agenda. The discussion will include why we have to draw new borders and maps, what gerrymandering is, and how the average voter can be a part of the redistricting process.
The Forum invites the general public to join us on Thursday. During the meeting, you can meet the local Democrats who are working to protect the voting rights of the citizens of Freestone County and striving to help our communities benefit from the new infrastructure bill recently passed by Congress.
The Thursday evening’s meeting will be in Sam’s Restaurant’s East meeting room at 6:30. For more information, you may write democrats@freestonecodemocrat.com or call 903-390-6886
