Oconee County, GA Politics

Photo by Tobin Russell Russell Edwards is a friend of mine and helped me with several campaigns.  He wrote this editorial for the Athens Banner-Herald today. Edwards: Amendment would hurt public schools

Democrats try to keep eyes on the prize | Online Athens

Tune in this new radio show premiere next Saturday on NewsTalk 1340 WGAU AM on your dial From: Pat Priest ppriest@charter.net Date: May 5, 2011 8:31:25 PM EDT To: dan matthews danjmatt@bellsouth.net Subject: New radio show in Athens Finally we have the press together for the new radio show on WGAU. Here's the press release below. Neal had this to say for your blog if you'd like to use it: "This show is an extension, I think, of the neat things the Oconee Democrats have been doing to inform people about issues and help them develop a sense of place." See you Saturday! Pat ------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE "True South" A new weekly, hour-long show debuts May 14th on radio station WGAU Saturdays from 10 – 11 AM on 1340 AM For more information, contact Pat Priest ppriest@charter.net 706/353-8310 A new local radio program showcasing timely stories in state and national politics and culture with a southern sensibility ...

MINUTES Oconee County Democratic Committee Meeting  7:30 PM THURSDAY, MARCH 17 TH , 2011 @ JITTERY JOE'S WATKINSVILLE Dan Matthews, chair, called the meeting to Order at 7:33.  There was a quorum present and Dan welcomed guests, Ben Emmanuel and Micaela Hobbs. Absent Excused: Ann Stoneburner, Robert Wyatt, Rita Bennett, Tony Glenn Absent: Sarajane Love, Linda Elkins Approval of the minutes for February – Dan made a motion to approve, Diana seconded; all approved Old business – success of amphibian night @ the library; discussion regarding our website.  Jonathan has website name reserved and hosting reserved; discussion regarding website and/or blog.  Standalone website is preferred, in general. New business -- Pat Priest outlined a new project – possible collaboration with the Oconee Republicans to foster better understanding and relationships and opportunities to serve the community.  Pat has been speaking with Tammy Gilland, she is Secretary of the Oconee Repu...

I know it's short notice, but check out this out! Resent-From: ccdc@clarkedemocrats.com From: Karen Solheim ; ccdc.communications@gmail.com Date: January 25, 2011 10:19:40 AM EST To: ccdc@clarkedemocrats.com Subject: CCDC Fwd: State of the Union Watch Party Dear CCDC members and friends, Looking for a place to watch tonight's State of the Union address? Read the email from Russell Edwards below! Sincerely, Karen Solheim CCDC Vice Chair for Communications ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Russell Edwards < russelljamesedwards@gmail.com > Date: Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 8:35 PM Hey folks, I reserved the room upstairs at the Transmet downtown for a State of the Union Watch Party. Let's join in fellowship and fun! When: Tuesday, 8:30 pm Where: Transmetropolitan, downtown, and upstairs,  145 E. Clayton St. Athens, GA Thanks and I look forward to seeing y'all there! -- Russell James Edwards Fighting the good fight in Georgia...

Thank you!  Thank you for having the courage to believe that together we can move mountains.  We took on what turned out to be a Herculean task, and, unfortunately, our side was not strong enough to defeat the incredible anti-Democratic tide.  I still love Georgia though, and am honestly excited about the task of rebuilding a viable opposition party in the South. My immediate plans: I'll take a quick vacation to a Spanish-speaking country to brush up my skills, and then work to build more bridges to the Latino community. I'll take the GA Bar Exam at the end of February, and I have no plans on leaving Athens.  I'll continue fighting to remove what I believe is an illegal requirement on GA's Voter Registration Application which discourages citizens from registering to vote.  If you're interested in reading a brief primer on the subject, Click Here. In the end, all candidates are nothing without the great people who stand beside them.  I feel honored ...

Support Russell Edwards downtown at 5:30 pm today - time to shock the world! From: Russell Edwards Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 11:34 AM Subject: Join us tonight as we come full circle   Tonight, we come full circle. Six months ago, I stood on the steps of City Hall and announced I would be running for Congress to unseat our incumbent representative. Since then, we've built the strongest challenge to a Republican incumbent that Northeast Georgia has ever seen. This evening at 5:30 pm , I invite you to join me again at City Hall for a rally to show the media, the voters, and the world that we are ready to take down Paul Broun Jr. I'll see you tonight. Yours from the beginning, Paid for by Russell Edwards for Congress P.O. Box 80706 Athens, GA 30601 __._,_.___

UGA Law School professor and longtime local political activist Rosemary Bowen and her solar power building husband and redheaded musician Drew Bowen are graciously opening their home at 5231 S M Copelan Road in Watkinsville (actually way south of the city limits and about halfway between Watkinsville and Greensboro) 3:00 to 5:00 pm today Sunday, October 24 for an afternoon of music and politics in support of 10th District Democratic Congressional candidate nominee Russell Edwards. Russell has been endorsed by the 43,000 member Georgia Association of Educators and has raised more than $100,000.00 locally. This strong, sensible candidate to replace the embarrassment that is Dr. Paul Broun hopes that you can donate a $100.00 contribution to attend this event. Please contact Shira Lebow at 404-429-3104 or events@russelledwardsforcongress.com for more information or to RSVP.

Here are some more details for the Political Caravan/Whistle Stop for next Saturday From: "Jonathan R. Veit" jveit@bellsouth.net Date: October 23, 2010 12:09:00 PM EDT To: Oconee Dems oconee@yahoogroups.com Subject: [oconee] Political Caravan/Whistle Stop [1 Attachment] Reply-To: oconee@yahoogroups.com [ Attachment(s)   from Jonathan R. Veit included below] As many of you already know, on Saturday, October 30th there will be a Democratic political Caravan touring the 10th District. Each county in the district has been asked to host a caravan stop.  The Oconee Democrats will host a caravan stop from 11:00 – 11:45 am. It will take place at the courthouse in Watkinsville. The candidates traveling with the caravan will include Russell Edwards, Keith Moffett, and Darryl Hicks. All the statewide candidates have been invited. No word yet on whether others will be participating. Keith Moffett - candidate for PSC Some committee members have volunteered to provide light refres...

Come attend the Democratic rally in Watkinsville from 11:00 am to 11:30 am Saturday, October 30 in front of the Courthouse on Main Street. Woven brightly,  Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. From: jveit@bellsouth.net Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:13:38 +0000 Subject: [oconee] District 10 Democratic Whistle Stop Rally   The District 10 Democratic committee chairs comprising Putnam, Morgan, Oconee, Clarke, Jackson, Banks, Habersham, and Rabun counties are in the process of organizing a Democratic Candidate Whistle Stop Caravan along HWY 441. The Caravan would take place October 30th. Russell Edwards along with other local Democratic candidates and perhaps some statewide candidates will stop along 441 to get out the vote and invigorate and inspire base voters. The Oconee stop will be in front of the Courthouse in Watkinsville from approximately 11:00 am to 11:45 am. Each county is being asked to provide: light refreshments, a crowd, and an emcee. I am looking for vol...

You should attend this show this evening Woven brightly,  Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. To: oconee@yahoogroups.com From: ppriest@charter.net Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 08:42:13 -0400 Subject: [oconee] A concert to benefit Russell Edwards' campaign   Tonight several great musicians (such as Patterson Hood) and bands (The Packway Handle Band, among others) will be performing at a concert to raise money and get out the vote for Russell Edwards, the UGA law school grad and former public school teacher who is working hard to defeat Paul Broun, Jr. The show is at Last Call, a bar in Athens that's a couple of doors down from Junkman's Daughter's Brother on Clayton. (450 East Clayton) The concert features Patterson Hood of The Drive-By Truckers, Futurebirds (acoustic), The Packway Handle Band, Booray, Matt Mickinney of The Incredible Sandwich and special guests! Tickets are $10. The show starts at 9. Hope to see you! Pat and Neal Priest __._,_.___

Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr.  To: oconee@yahoogroups.com  From: ppriest@charter.net  Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2010 15:49:32 -0400  Subject: [oconee] October book: Frankenstein  Our October book for the discussion group sponsored by the Oconee  Democrats is fun (well, and sad, too): "Frankenstein."  Here's some info about the book below.  Thanks!  Pat Priest  P.S. Take time to get out the vote so we can sweep out Paul Broun, Jr.!  ----------------------------------  October 27  The community book group sponsored by the Oconee Democrats will discuss  Mary Shelley's classic "Frankenstein" for its October book.   First published anonymously in 1818, the book is considered one of the  earliest works of science fiction. Some critics contend that the book  is an allegory of the French Revolution. Most see it as a cautionary  tale about science and ethics.  ...

Dear Friends in Clarke and Oconee Counties,   As we head into the November midterm elections, voters in Georgia's 10 th  Congressional District will be faced with the prospect of extending the term of our current U.S. Representative, Republican Paul Broun Jr., a favorite of the Tea Parties and the John Birch Society, who first gained national attention for himself and our district by comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler.    Because of his purported ideological opposition to “Big Government,” he has refused to seek federal funds that would benefit our small businesses and schools and has fought against regulation of the banking industry. We think our district deserves better.    The Oglethorpe County Democratic Party throws its wholehearted support behind Democrat Russell Edwards , who urges us to work together to send responsible leadership to Washington.    Read more about Russell’s campaign platform at his website,  www.russelledwards...

  Dear reader of the amazing Oconee Politics blog, Our campaign to send responsible leadership to Congress is in full swing. Over the past month, we’ve hired key staff and worked to share our message with voters of all backgrounds and walks of life, making 1,472 phone calls in just the past week. I am proud to have received endorsements from the Georgia Association of Educators, the AFL-CIO, and community leaders throughout northeast Georgia. Our work has only just begun -- in the coming weeks, we’ll hire additional field organizers, full-service media and polling firms, and we’ll spread our message across the 10th district through various media advertisements. It’s time for our district to send responsible leadership to Congress. We need a representative who will fight to create jobs in our community and support our schools, and we need your support. We have less than two months left to take the fight to Paul Broun, Jr., and we need volunteers to help us spread our...

UGA Young Democrats are always quite welcoming to members of the community as well Woven brightly,  Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:07:15 -0400 From: ugademocrats@GMAIL.COM Subject: Fall kickoff meeting with Russell Edwards! To: YDEM-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU Hey Young Dems! We hope everyone had a great summer. We are gearing up for our first meeting of the new semester and are very excited to announce that Congressional candidate and UGA Law alum Russell Edwards will be joining us to discuss his campaign in Georgia's 10th district. The meeting will be in Room 148 of the Miller Learning Center at 6:15 p.m on Wednesday August 25. As always, we'll have free pizza. RSVP here: http://tiny.cc/firstmtg Bring your friends & questions for discussion!

Dear Reader of the Oconee County Politics blog, As many of you probably know, our campaign has moved into our new headquarters. Thanks to your generous support, we have been able to get a space that is perfect. It is an ideal space that can accommodate many volunteers and supporters so we can run a great campaign. We want to invite you to our Grand Opening Celebration. What: Russell Edwards for Congress HQ Grand Opening Celebration When: Thursday, August 12th Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm Where: 1063 Baxter St., Athens, GA 30606 ( Click here to map it) Come and enjoy refreshments and good company. Check out some pictures here . We look forward to seeing you at the opening. If you cannot make it to the event on Thursday, we would love for you to stop by sometime. Our office is open everyday from 9:00am - 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. If you would like to volunteer your time at the office, please click here to fill out the volunteer form. P.O. Box 80706 Athens, GA 30608 Thi...

Surprisingly high numbers for Edwards Woven brightly,  Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:08:20 -0400 Subject: Challenger to Paul Broun, Jr. Releases First Fundraising Numbers Greeting Dan, I wanted to share some exciting news with you. Our campaign reached our first benchmark in this race by raising $102,248.62 during our first fundraising quarter. This impressive amount largely exceeds expectations and proves the campaign's viability, especially since the incumbent's campaign holds more debt than cash on hand.  I'm so grateful to have such wide-spread and strong support from throughout the District and across the country. This report shows voters are responding to my campaign to send responsible leadership to Congress. Frankly, many in our District are suffering, and our incumbent refuses to help. Together we will send responsible leadership to Congress that supports our community. Together we will win this race!Thanks for supporting this...

Please attend if you can Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Subject: Russell Edwards for Congress Mixer this Thursday Greetings Dan, Russell Edwards here, and I wanted to invite to a mixer this Thursday.      What : Russell Edwards for Congress Mixer      When : This Thursday, July 8th, from 6-8pm      Where : Upstairs at the Downtown Transmetropolitan, 145 East Clayton Street, Athens, GA  View Map      Why : Come for a fun evening at Transmetropolitan Pizza where we'll join in fellowship and discuss our strategy moving forward.  This evening also presents a great opportunity for us all to get together and celebrate how far we've come in fighting to create jobs and supporting our schools and also understand how much farther we have to go. I urge everyone to avoid Paul Broun, Jr.'s grandstanding and instead attend an event to send responsible leadership to Congress.  He ...

Sounds like it will be an interesting forum. Saw Mr. Untermyer last night at the Oconee County Democratic Committee meeting, and I hope he will be interested in giving a speech with specifics at the forum at the Oglethorpe County Library in Lexington next Thursday evening. Woven brightly, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. Edwards & Untermyer to speak in Oglethorpe Co. April 16, 2010 For immediate release: The Oglethorpe County Democratic Committee will host Democrats Sandy Untermyer and Russell Edwards, currently the only two declared opponents to Paul Broun, Jr. for Georgia's 10th Congressional District seat, on Thursday, April 22, 7:00 p.m., at the Oglethorpe County Library. The candidates will introduce themselves and take questions from the audience. Free and open to the public. For more information, call 706-224-2653 or visit www.ogelthorpedemoc rats.org . On the web: russelledwardsforco ngress.com ; www.sandyin201...