Across the nation this spring, Democrats are gathering in the annual meetings of the precinct organizations that are the foundation of their party’s formal structure. Open to any registered Democrats, the meetings provide grassroots opportunity to get involved and work together to advance party values and goals.
For the Cleveland County Democratic Party, the pandemic necessitates innovation, says Curtis Pressley of Kings Mountain, the party’s chair. For the first time, most local precinct meetings will be virtual by means of Zoom, a web-based video conference tool allowing interaction by internet and phone. The party earlier used Zoom, successfully, for its county convention last year and for a number of meetings throughout 2020.
CCDP is setting up and will operate the Zoom meetings, Pressley said. Participants will need only to login. Moreover, most of the meetings will be in three large clusters of precincts. They will share a beginning agenda common to all, then separate into breakout sections for individual precinct business.
Those wishing to attend a meeting are asked to pre-register at CCDP’s website. The site has meeting details including login information for each meeting. See below for the meeting schedule.
On the agenda for each precinct is the election of officers for the precinct committees. Their chairs and vice chairs are by virtue of position members of the CCDP Executive Committee, the county party’s governing body. Other agenda items are the election of voting delegates to the annual Democratic county convention April 10, and adoption of any resolutions proposed to the county convention, for example, on political issues.
Meeting dates follow, and details are on the CCDP website. Note that all meetings except two are virtual. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings begin at 7:00 p.m and are expected to last about an hour.
- March 12: Shanghai Precinct virtual by Zoom
- March 13: Rippy Precinct, 10:00 a.m., in-person at Earl Town Hall
- March 16: Cluster meeting virtually by Zoom for these precincts: Bethware, Grover, Kings Mountain North, Kings Mountain South, Oak Grove, Waco
- March 18: Cluster meeting virtually by Zoom for these precincts: Broad River, Casar, Fallston, Kingstown, Lattimore, Mooresboro-Youngs, Polkville
- March 18: Mulls Precinct, in person at Belwood Town Hall
- March 19: Cluster meeting virtually by Zoom for these precincts: Lawndale, Shelby 4, Shelby 5, Shelby Central, Shelby South
Questions? Email to [email protected] or leave voicemail at (704) 457-9840 for callback.