Taxes: Practical advice on FBAR and the 2020 IRS personal income-tax return
Jennifer Cederwall of Cederwall's International Law Firm AB will offer practical guidance about filing FBAR and the 2020 IRS tax return. Check back on this space for further details!
DEMOCRATS ABROAD SWEDEN 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE OF DEMOCRATS ABROAD SWEDEN 2021 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
On 24 April 2021, 1pm-2:30pm, Democrats Abroad Sweden will be holding our 2021 Annual General Meeting online via WebEx. All Democrats Abroad Sweden members are invited to attend this important meeting at which the results of the election of our leaders for the next two years will be announced.
Democrats Abroad Sweden members will be sent the link to attend by email. If you are not opted in to receive emails from Democrats Abroad Sweden, please RSVP here and you will be sent the link for this event.
2021 CANDIDATES FOR THE DEMOCRATS ABROAD SWEDEN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Democrats Abroad Sweden Executive Committee elections is being held by electronic ballot. Ballots have been sent by email to all members of Democrats Abroad Sweden opted in to receiving emails, and a blank ballot can be accessed by clicking the link below.
On the ballot, members can vote on the following choices with one vote per office:
| Chair | Cassandra Engeman (f) | |
| Vice Chair | Kelvin Acheampong (m) | Rick Wicks (m)* |
| Secretary | Kimberly Kane | |
| Treasurer | Sheri Eklund | |
| Counsel | Robert Houser | |
| Member-at-Large 1 | Beth Landry (nb) | |
| Member-at-Large 2 | Bill Borden (m) | Rick Wicks (m)* |
*Rick Wicks has withdrawn from all candidacies
CLICK HERE FOR CANDIDATE STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION (PDF)
CLICK HERE FOR A RECORDING OF THE MEET THE CANDIDATES FORUM (WebEx)
Password: dems
Per our bylaws and Democratic Party rules, the Chair and Vice Chair must be of different gender, and the two members-at-large must also be of different gender. If a candidate is running for Member-at-Large, as well as Chair or Vice Chair, and is elected to the Chair or Vice Chair position, they will automatically withdraw from the Member-at-Large race.
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OFFICER ROLES:
Under the leadership of the Chair, the Executive Committee is self-organizing and can distribute specific tasks between the members of the Executive Committee as it sees fit.
Chair: The Chair leads the organization and is responsible for running the Executive Committee meetings. The role involves planning and overseeing of our activities. Chair has control over the bank account together with the Treasurer. The Chair also has a vote representing Democrats Abroad Sweden at global Democrats Abroad
Vice-Chair: The Vice-Chair acts as a stand-in for the Chair, must be prepared to take over the Chair's role, and takes on various tasks as needed. The Vice-Chair is a signatory on the bank account. Like the Chair, the Vice-Chair also has a vote representing Democrats Abroad Sweden at global Democrats Abroad
Note: Per DNC rules, the Chair and Vice-Chair must be of different gender.
Secretary: The Secretary is our principal administrator. They oversee our documents and membership database, and ensure that minutes are taken at meetings. The Secretary is a signatory on the bank account.
Treasurer: The Treasurer oversees our finances and fundraising to ensure we are in compliance with applicable rules and regulations. Along with the Chair, the Treasurer has control of the bank account.
Counsel: The Counsel should be available for any potential legal questions. They also take on various projects and tasks, depending on what is needed and their skill set.
Member-at-Large (2x): Members-at-Large have a vote representing Democrats Abroad Sweden at global Democrats Abroad
Note: Per DNC rules, the two members-at-large must be of different gender.
In addition to the above positions, each of the Chapter Chairs for also serves on the Executive Committee as an ex-officio member with full voting privileges. The Executive Committee also has a non-voting Communications Officer.
2021 DEMOCRATS ABROAD SWEDEN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AGENDA
- Call to order;
- Election of meeting chair and secretary;
- Prepare and approve the voting list, confirm that a quorum is present;
- Approval of the agenda;
- Elect two persons to attest the minutes;
- Determination that the meeting has been duly called;
- Approval of the 2020 AGM minutes;
- Chair’s Report - Year in Review presentation; (Chapter reports will be available online)
- Treasurer’s Report and approval vote;
- Discharge Executive Committee from liability vote;
- Announcement of the results of the Executive Committee election;
- Statement(s) from new Chair and Executive Committee;
- Election of auditor;
- Other business;
- Close of meeting.
Trump Does Not Determine What America Stands For
This is an English-language version of an op-ed article originally published in Swedish on etc.se. To read the original, click here.
There may be nothing more American than the debate about what the United States stands for. The country has had its share of flaws, while also continuing on a remarkable path of long-term progress. That progress has often been a struggle and suffered deep setbacks, like those we are experiencing just a month into the Trump administration. But we have regrouped and begun to organize to defend liberal democracy and our values.
The setbacks remind us that progress is not inevitable, and does not just happen naturally. Instead, progress is actively built by involved citizens, both by those in the United States and also by the millions of Americans who live abroad, many of them here in Sweden.
At the ballot box, through civil society, and by organizing politically, Americans are engaged in what President Barack Obama called the “hard and frustrating and necessary work of self-government”. Since Donald Trump’s election victory, in which he lost the popular vote by more than 2.8 million votes, we have seen the sheer power of what happens when the American civil society kicks into action to protect liberal democracy.
Organizations dedicated to protecting civil rights in the United States like the American Civil Liberties Union have raised unprecedented funds, while millions have demonstrated for what they believe in, and become engaged in the political process. Democrats Abroad, the official overseas arm of the Democratic Party, has signed up thousands of new members and volunteers, including here in Sweden.
On the day after Trump’s inauguration, more than 150 members of Democrats Abroad demonstrated on Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm (Photo: Democrats Abroad Sweden)
Trump’s ban on travel from a number of Muslim majority countries is unconstitutional and contrary to international law. Because it was originally conceived as a ban on all people of one of the world’s major religions, it is also deeply un-American. Even though it has now been halted by the courts, the Trump administration continues to defend it on the spurious grounds that it will keep the country safe. Now he has announced that he wants to deport millions of migrants, even those who have already become an integral part of American society.
We refuse to simply accept that. On the day after Trump’s inauguration, more than 150 members of Democrats Abroad demonstrated on Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm. When the travel ban was announced, many Americans in Sweden sprang into action. Democrats Abroad volunteers lined up to say they were ready to help those affected, and others went to work organizing legal support, lighting up the phone lines of their elected representatives, and recruiting friends and family to find ways to fight back. Similar stories have poured in from around the world.
That is how Donald Trump’s vision of America will be resisted. But the way we will turn the country toward progress again is through the electoral process, beginning with the midterm elections in 2018. That is why right now Democrats Abroad is organizing citizens and dual-citizens who live in Sweden to help them register to vote, get engaged with the political process, and shape the future of the Democratic Party.
Trump does not determine what America stands for. We will continue to fight for an America that is open, tolerant, and just. Nothing is more American than that.
By Alex Lange, Democrats Abroad Sweden, Stockholm Chapter Chair