Davie County Democrats met Saturday, Feb.  17 at the public library in Mocksville to organize precincts leading up to the 2018 elections.

Chair Pamela Faircloth  welcomed the group and proceeded to the business of organizing precincts. She gave out folders with information for each precinct and maps of the newly-drawn NC House and Senate districts. NC Senate District 31 covers all of Davie and a portion of Forsyth.  The NC House District 77 covers all of Davie and a large portion of western Rowan.

John Motsinger Jr., a Democratic candidate for NC Senate District 31 from Winston-Salem, spoke.  He introduced himself and told why he was running for this NC Senate seat.  He remained after the meeting to talk with individuals about issues of concern such as education and gun control.

Barbara Owens, school board member, spoke briefly expressing her concerns of partisan school board elections. She planned to retire from the school board, but now thinks it’s important she seek reelection.   

“Parents send their children to school to be educated, and I don’t think school board members should be partisan. Members work cooperatively together for the best interests of children,” she said.  Since she is registered as unaffiliated, Owens must get a large number of signatures on a petition in order to have her name on the ballot.  Several members were interested in knowing what the schools of Davie County were doing to protect the children from possible mass shootings, as just witnessed in Parkland, Fla. Owens said the system is working and updating its plans for preventing something like this happening in Davie County.

Faircloth has worked with other leaders in the 13th District to plan strategies for upcoming elections. She introduced Kenneth Stutts, a Democrat from Rowan County,  who spoke about strategies to use in 2018.

He pointed out the values that the residents of Davie and Rowan counties share, and how it is best to talk about shared values when speaking with friends and neighbors. He also stressed the importance of using technology to reach the electorate and turning them out to vote.

Faircloth ended the meeting with a calendar of upcoming events, which will be held at the  public library in Mocksville.

• March 1: Scheduled meeting to elect a new vice chair of the Davie Democratic Party. Doug Seaford resigned from that position due to medical issues.

• March 24: The Davie County Democratic Party will hold its Annual County Convention at the library from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Lunch will be catered.  Cost is $10.

• April 10: The party will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Adam Coker, candidate for 13th District Congressional Seat will be the guest speaker.

• May 5: District Convention.