This newsletter was sent to all of our email subscribers on January 14, 2026.
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Dear friends,
This has been an insane and awful way to start a new year, hasn’t it? Venezuela, Renee Good, ICE, expired ACA subsidies, and still no full Epstein files release. We have so much work to do!
Please continue to do everything you can to keep our elected officials accountable. I know the phone calls and letters can be tiresome, but it is important that our elected officials hear our concerns and even our outrage. To simplify the calling process, remember 5calls.org or sign up for Joan Slonczewski’s Daily Calls list (email slonczewski@kenyon.edu). Attend as many protests as you can (To keep up with what’s happening locally, follow Knox County Ohio Indivisible or Signs on the Square on Facebook). Elected folks have their job, and we have ours – which is to hold the elected folks’ feet to the fire when necessary. And now that is needed more than I can ever remember previously.
Will you be able to help us work toward a successful election in 2026? Here are a few things you can do now, and what’s coming up:
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Make sure you have signed ALL of the candidate petitions. The petitions have been coming to us in dribs and drabs, so even if you have stopped by the office and signed everything that was there that one day, there are likely more petitions needing signatures now. You can sign candidate petitions on Wednesdays and Saturdays this month, between 11 am and 3 pm, 9 E. Vine Street, Mount Vernon. Most recent arrivals include the following candidates, and they need every signature we can get in order to be on the ballot:
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Amy Acton and David Pepper for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
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Jerrad Christian for U.S. Congress
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M. Scott Grund for District 98 Ohio House representative (eastern Knox County)
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Vincent McGrail for District 61 Ohio House representative (western Knox County)
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Janet Wagner for District 19 state senator
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Become a volunteer. Here’s our signup form. We’ve recently been contacting people about writing letters to the editor and helping us with clerical and data entry tasks. Many other activities will gear up when the weather is a little more predictable and warm. But you can sign up now, and then you’ll be all set to help as soon as we get going.
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Come to the Democratic Party Dinner, Renewing the Promise: 1776 – 2026, on February 20. You should have received an invitation via email earlier this month. In case you’ve lost track of it, here’s a link to it on our website. You’ll be able to meet several of our 2026 candidates, and hear from keynote speaker Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, the only current Democratic Party statewide officeholder; she is running again for Ohio Supreme Court in 2026. RSVPs to attend the Dinner are due January 31, and all of the details are on the invitation.
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Attend any of our monthly Executive Committee meetings to learn more about what’s going on. If you want to attend, please send an email to info@knoxcountydems.org. The next meeting is Tuesday, January 27 at 7 pm, and it will be held via Zoom. If you email your request to attend, we will send you a link to join us via Zoom.
Be safe but be courageous. We need everyone to do whatever is possible to save our country. If you ever want to just sit and chat, stop by the office for a visit – Wednesdays and Saturdays, 11 am to 3 pm. We have just finished re-painting and are working on further changes. We’d love your input – on decor, or on anything you think we should be doing to help Knox County.
I can’t say it enough: We are so grateful for your help in saving democracy in the U.S.
Sincerely,
Kathy Tate
Chair, Knox County Democratic Party
P.S. Want to feel warm and fuzzy about how Knox County reacts when the news is bad? Here’s a video of a vigil on the Public Square honoring Renee Good, organized just over 24 hours after her horrendous murder by ICE in Minneapolis. Thank you, Knox County, for your good hearts!