Message from DA Spain Chair and Vice-Chair 

According to the old song, June is bustin’ out all over, and DA Spain is just as busy.

For starters, several of your Executive Committee members attended the virtual Global DA meeting last month. We voted on changes to the organization’s bylaws and considered several resolutions. But the highlight of the meeting was the election of new DA Global officers, and we’re happy to report that the organizational leadership is experienced and already getting started on preparations for the midterm elections next year. As a bonus, the new Global Chair, Candice Kerestan of Germany, met with the DA Spain Executive Committee just a few days ago to talk about her plans and to solicit feedback on potential projects.

The other current big push in DA Spain is the staffing of our new teams. In May, the Executive Committee authorized the creation of five teams: Strategic Communications, Get Out the Vote, Finance, Bylaws Revision, and Member Onboarding and Training. You’ll hear more from these bodies as they begin their work, but all of them will play essential roles in helping organize and grow DA Spain. And each team is welcoming new members, so lots of opportunities are available if you’d like to get more involved.

Our focus on these two occurrences is in no way intended to downplay the other great work being done in DA Spain. Chapters continue to offer high quality programs, the Women’s Caucus is growing in membership and is hosting interesting events, we’re celebrating Pride Month…. You get the idea. Please take a few minutes to read through the newsletter and find out if there are opportunities you’d like to take advantage of.  And let us know if you have questions or comments.

Democratically yours,

Daniel James, Chair, DA Spain
Kathy Tullos, Vice-Chair, DA Spain

Message from DA Spain Chair and Vice-Chair 

And you thought New Kids on the Block was a boy band

Greetings from your new DA Spain Chair and Vice-Chair! Although we are both relatively new to DA, we are both very happy to be involved in this great organization and committed to making the most of our time in office.

Here’s a bit of background. Daniel worked in public service for 34 years and worked in The US House of Representatives and USDA. Kathy is a retired lawyer and law professor who splits her time between Central Texas and southeastern Spain (specifically, Torrevieja, near Alicante). She’s also a murder mystery aficionado, wife, mom, and relatively recent grandmother. 

Although we are very different people, we share a single, overriding goal for DA Spain: to elect Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. We both believe that Biden’s victory in 2020 can lead to complacency on the part of Democratic voters. In the meantime, Republican voter suppression measures in several states will make it more difficult to elect Democrats to support and enhance Biden’s agenda. 

Our team is rounded out by our recently elected secretary, Katharine Giery who hails from San Sebastian and Christina Samson of Madrid who is assuming the role of treasurer that she previously held in her home chapter. 

Next week we will be joined by our newly elected Voting Reps Jo-Angela Touza Medina of Vigo, Laura Rostowfske and Chris Reilly of Barcelona and Jim Mercereau of Madrid as we attend the virtual Global Annual Meeting in the Asian time zone. Meeting start time is 3AM our time. We will be voting for the new leadership of Democrats Abroad Global and a series of Resolutions and By-Law changes. We will be drinking a lot of coffee.

So thank you for entrusting these offices to us. We’re hoping to make you proud in the coming months. And please contact us if you have ideas or feedback! Our inboxes are always open. 

Daniel James: [email protected]
Kathy Tullos: [email protected]