Democratic Club

Leisure World Democratic Club’s monthly voter education sessions will begin again on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. These sessions are being relaunched as a component of the club’s efforts to help voters better understand the importance of down-ballot races in the upcoming 2024 elections. They will continue throughout the year to deal with issues of importance to club members.

This first session of the new year, to be held in Clubhouse 3, Room 3, will focus on current attempts to censor reading material. Unfortunately, this attempt has become more common in recent years. According to data released by the American Library Association, there were nearly 700 attempts to ban library books in the first eight months of 2023. President Biden has created a role within the Department of Education specifically focused on the practice.

Carol Daus, board member of the Friends of Huntington Beach Public Library, will be the resource person for this Jan. 17 session. With a long career in corporate communications and publishing, she is well positioned to bring attention to this subject of book censorship. She has also been working behind the scenes with nonprofit groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), PEN America and First Amendment Coalition.

The Democratic Club’s first membership meeting in the new year will be on Wednesday, Jan. 24, in a new location—Clubhouse 3, Room 2—and new time: 1:30 p.m. Dom Jones, the Democratic Party endorsed candidate for the California Assembly in the March 2024 Primary Election, has been invited to be the featured speaker. There will also be information available on Proposition 1 which will be on all Leisure World voters’ March primary ballot.

In order to have time to socialize with one another before the meeting begins, club members are invited to bring their own bag lunch and arrive as early as 12:30 for the meeting. Coffee, water and individually wrapped snacks will be available. Access to the meeting will also be available by Zoom.