Dear Democrats Abroad Austria Members,
We hope you and your families had a happy holiday season.
Looking back on 2015, Democrats have much to be proud of and thankful for in President Obama. The re-opening of relations with Cuba, the multi-national nuclear deal with Iran, the world-wide Paris agreement to combat climate change, the unanimous UN Security Council agreement on a road map for a cease fire and democratic elections in Syria, the 2016 budget allocation agreement and the legalization of same sex marriage were all successes driven by our president.
In addition to these significant achievements, President Obama continued to preside over declining unemployment, strong GDP growth and improved consumer confidence numbers. Looking to 2016, in his last year in office, I'm confident that President Obama will continue to demonstrate why we should be proud and thankful to have had such a leader over the past eight years. In Austria, we're thankful that we have such a supportive and active membership base. Through our social activities such as the Meet-Ups in Vienna, Salzburg and Graz, the young Dems outings in Vienna, and our Fourth of July picnic and Thanksgiving dinner, our members have shown that they like to get together to talk politics and have a bit of fun.
I'd also like to give a special thanks to members Anne Storey and Janet Cobb for their generous contributions to this year's Global Auction, which helped us raise $2500 for the Democratic Party Committee Abroad and our own Get Out The Vote efforts in Austria. The election in November will offer lots of volunteer opportunities for members to assist us in ensuring that all Americans know how to cast their ballots from Austria. Thanks again for your support and involvement throughout this past year. I look forward to seeing you at the Global Primary and at the Annual Meeting in March. Keith M. Jacomine DAA Chairman |
Matt Stevens Joins Executive Committee
At the December Executive Committee board meeting we welcomed Matt Stevens, as member-at-large responsibile for overseeing our information and technology issues. Matt is replacing Krista Cupich, who is bidding us adieu and moving back to the US. We wish Krista much luck in her new job and return to the States and thank her for her work the past year and a half. To learn a bit more about Matt, please see next month's member profile.
Upcoming Events
Young Dems Pub Night Let's celebrate the new year with a beer in Nufldorf at Brandauer's Bierbogen. We will also be saying goodbye to our Ex-Comm member Krista Cupich, as she is headed back to the States. We are sad to see her leave, but we would love to have you there to give her a warm send-off! Please RSVP to this event. For further questions, contact our Vice Chair at [email protected]
JOIN US: Date: Monday, January 11 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: Brandauer Bierbogen, Heiligenstädter Straße 31, 1190 Vienna www.bierig.at/
DAA Salzburg Monthly Meet-Up Happy New Year everyone! Our next meeting will be Friday, January 22, at The English Center at 5:30 p.m. Members and friends are welcome. So please give me a quick call at 0664 59 23 408 (or send a text) to let me know you are coming.
JOIN US: Date: Friday, January 22 Time: 5:30 p.m. Place: The English Center, Haunspergstrasse 37A, 5020 Salzburg Contact: Mary Ann Balko-Koch 0664 59 23 408
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Democrats Abroad Global Primary and Annual General Meeting
In 2016, we have the presidential election to look forward to. In Austria, we'll start our efforts to elect the next Democratic president on March 3rd and 5th, where you'll have the opportunity to vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Primary which will be held this year at Cafe Museum. (Don't worry, anyone who cannot join us in person in Vienna will still be able to vote in the primary from home!)
Look for further information in upcoming newsletters. We will hold our Annual General Meeting on March 5th, time TBA, so please plan to join us. |
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Issues and Actions
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Members' Corner
Party of European Socialists Debates 2016 Election with Democrats Abroad The Party of European Socialists (PES) and the Viennese Education Foundation of the SP÷, the Social-Democratic Party of Austria, invited Democrats Abroad Austria to participate in the public debate "United States Presidential Elections 2016" on Friday, December 4, at the SP÷ Wiener Bildungszentrum.
On the panel were the Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party Labor Caucus Daraka Larimore, former Young Dems of America Chief of Staff and current Hillary Clinton for President campaign worker Heather Brown, Casper Tolstrup, media consultant for Democrats Abroad Austria, and Julius van de Laar, who is a digital media strategist and communications expert who served on President Obama's winning presidential campaign as regional GOTV director in the battleground state of Ohio during the 2012 US presidential election. We thank them for reaching out to us and for introducing us while promoting our main initiative www.votefromabroad.org.
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