The President’s Corner

Now it’s official: on January 1, Bea Rodgers will become my successor as President of the Democratic Club of Riderwood. I can’t think of anyone better qualified by temperament and experience for this position, and I’ll be proud to serve with Bea and other members of the Board of Directors in the next two years. As you see in the listing below of the complete set of new officers, I will continue to serve as “Member-at-Large” in various capacities to be determined. However, this will be my last “President’s Column,” although I may submit guest columns from time to time.

This happens to be a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. With your help and your votes, we helped elect a new Maryland Governor (Wes Moore) and Lieutenant Governor (Aruna Miller), “flipping” these positions to the Democrats and bringing the first persons of color to both offices. Democrats also made a sweep of such positions as Attorney General, which should enable a unified approach to state government, matched by a solid Democratic majority in the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates. In this era of divided government at the federal level, we in Maryland have an opportunity to show what can be accomplished by a strong, unified Democratic administration.
At the federal level, we Marylanders can take pride in re-electing such fine public servants as Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Jamie Raskin, both of whom addressed us recently in Encore Theater. Maryland continues to be one of the most Democratic states in America, as both of our Senators and five of six U. S. Representatives are Democratic. The Democrats also did well nationally on November 6, and in the re-election of Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock on December 6.
Your Democratic Club colleagues will continue to do everything we can to give you a voice in Annapolis and Washington, largely through continued engagement with representatives whom you helped to elect. We want to keep hearing from you about the issues you regard as most important, to provide ways in which you can actively participate, and – before too long – to begin preparing for the next round of elections. I look forward to a continuing dialogue with you in the years ahead.

— Tom Neu

Greetings From Your Incoming President

Happy Holidays to all our members as we move into the holiday season! I am honored to have been elected to be the next President of the Board of Democratic Club of Riderwood, joining a number of returning board members and two new members: Nettie Baldwin and Lois LaGrange. We have started planning and look forward to developing informative and relevant programs for our membership starting in January.
I would like to acknowledge the hard work of so many of our members this past year, helping with program meetings, writing postcards, attending numerous candidates’ forums. Also, we have to be very pleased about the results of this past election, including the recently held special run-off election in Georgia. We did exceptionally well in Maryland and I would like to think our 5,400 postcards helped in the swing states!

Thanks to outgoing President Tom Neu for his great work in leading us through the pandemic and into 2022! Thanks, also, to Ferne Katleman, who has retired from the Board after serving as our outstanding Secretary.

We are seeking input from our members regarding what subjects and/or activities you might be interested in for our membership programs this year. Please send an email or give us a call with your ideas. Our programs will only be as interesting as we make them! Our Vice Presidents, Nettie Baldwin and Sandy Morse, helped by a small committee, will lead the planning as we chart our course for 2023. See the next article for our email contact information!

Again, Happy Holidays and all good wishes for 2023! We have a great new Administration in Maryland beginning in January, and we met many of them at our candidates’ forums. I look forward to hearing from you, our members.

— Bea Rodgers

Results of the Democratic Club Election

The 12 residents named on the ballot for Board of Directors of the Democratic Club for the 2023-2024 term were elected by acclamation at the November 16 Club meeting. No candidate names were submitted at the time of the meeting and none showed up as write-ins. The new Board members are:

• • President: Bea Rodgers*
  • Vice President with focus on Montgomery County: Sandy Morse*
  • Vice President with focus on Prince George’s County: Nettie Baldwin*
  • Treasurer: Trudy Downs*
  • Newsletter editor: Jill Shindelman*
  • Membership co-chair: Carol Elliott*
  • Membership co-chair: Judith Dighe*
  • Environmental committee chair: Anne Riley*
  • Board members-at-large:
  • Dan Sachs*
  • Lois LaGrenade*
  • Joe Davidson*
  • Tom Neu*

* Contact information for Riderwood residents mentioned here can be found in myErickson or in the directory available at your front desk.