CHAIR’S CORNER
Chair Roslyn Ridgeway
GET OUT THE VOTE (GOTV)
As celebrations of Black History Month comes to a close and we begin Women’s History Month, we have witnessed the historic nomination of the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. While this nomination is symbolic, we have on the horizon a very important race that will make history for Georgia and Rockdale County voters this year and we must do our part. Get Out The Vote (GOTV) will be our primary activity between now and November 8th, 2022.
So, as spring unfolds the path forward for the 2022 Mid-term Election, we of the Rockdale County Democratic Committee (RCDC) are taking this moment to reorganize how we are structured.
We are doing this to conform our structure in accordance with the Georgia Democratic Party, its requirements for county parties, and our own by-laws.
Below you will find our Mission Statement, our new organizational format of precincts by Cluster Groups, and the activities we will undertake to ensure Rockdale County delivers another big Blue Wave to help overcome Republican efforts to suppress our votes and limit our participation as citizens in a thriving democracy.
This election will be more critical to Georgia than was even the 2020 election that rid us of the most dysfunctional and dangerous Presidency we have ever known.
We have a chance to elect our first Black, female state Governor; to re-elect our first Black Senator and send him back to Washington for a full six-year term; and to re-elect Representative Hank Johnson to the House on our behalf.
We also have pick-up opportunities for the offices of Lt Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State that can help offset the legislative damage done to voting rights by the Republican-led legislature under the Golden Dome these past few months.
The future of our state is in our hands and those of Georgia’s voters.
As Speaker Pelosi is fond of saying, we Democrats don’t agonize, we organize! And that is exactly what RCDC is doing for 2022 and our electoral future beyond!
==============================
Our Mission: is to serve the local community and the public by promoting equal social and economic opportunities for all people through the election of candidates committed to Democratic Party ideals.
About Us: The Rockdale County Democratic Committee is a county committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Under the leadership of the Executive Board, we have a total of 16 precincts which are organized with a Cluster Coordinator (serving county-wide) and three Cluster Teams, each led by a Cluster Chair, Co-Chair and Member At-Large (MAL). Within each cluster, there are Precinct Captains representing their respective precincts.
The Cluster Coordinator and Cluster Chair (Post Holders) are elected in a gubernatorial year and the Cluster Co-Chair and Member At-Large (Post Holders) are elected in a presidential year.
Anyone meeting the requirements in the Rockdale County Democratic Committee Bylaws may apply to serve as a Cluster Coordinator, Cluster Team member or Precinct Captain.
Our Activities:
▪ We engage in Get-Out-The-Vote activities year in and year out, especially during election years;
▪ We find opportunities to increase Democratic performance and improve Democratic participation;
▪ We work to support our democratic elected officials during difficult legislative battles; and
▪ We strive to become the machine Democrats need us to be.
Above all, We stand for social and economic justice.
It’s time for you to stand with us in this important work. To make a real difference, we need Democrats from all walks of life throughout our county.
Yours in Blue Solidarity, 💙
Check Your Voter Registration
Check to make sure you are registered to vote.
If not, then please take time to register.
The deadline is April 25th!
We Are Working To Get Out The Vote
We have a total of 16 precincts which are organized with a Cluster Coordinator (serving county-wide) and three Cluster Teams, each led by a Cluster Chair, Co-Chair and Member At-Large (MAL). Within each cluster, there are Precinct Captains representing their respective precincts.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
Sheriff Eric Levett
“Believes In Building Community”
Growing up in Rockdale County, Sheriff Eric J. Levett played a lot of cops and robbers games with his boyhood friends.
That childhood pastime and a family tree of law enforcement officers led him to become a member of Rockdale’s Law Enforcement Explorer Program.
Upon his Rockdale High School graduation in 1992, he became a full-time Sheriff’s Department dispatcher in the Communications Center.
He has been rising through the ranks ever since.
Sticking with things is something he learned watching his own father spend 48 years in the first job Levett’s father ever had.
Levett plans to stick here in Rockdale as his family’s home, and with the law enforcement career he planned out for himself as that 14-year-old Explorer.
Despite its population and economic growth over the years, Levett says he likes that Rockdale County still has a down home feel to it.
He wants to keep it that way and still be a welcoming community for those first experiencing its restaurant, entertainment and retail services growth. And for economic investments, as well.
Rockdale gets “skipped over” by investors looking for safe communities, he notes.
Levett was elected to his Sheriff’s position in 2013.
Over the past 18 years, crime in Rockdale County has gone down by 17 percent, says Levett, who, in addition to several Sheriff Department certifications, is a graduate of the Columbus State University’s Professional Management Program.
Most of the crime in Rockdale County fits under the statistical umbrella called “larceny,” says Levett. This includes things like burglaries, auto and petty theft.
While domestic violence calls are part of a Deputy’s remit, in Rockdale those are accompanied by few shootings, he adds.
Rockdale experiences five or six murders per year, a number Levett wishes were fewer, but is still far lower than Atlanta and some of its other suburbs to the west and east.
In fact, most of the shootings happening in Rockdale are accidental and committed by gun owners who are not well-trained on handling those guns. Which is one of the reasons the Sheriff’s Department offers free gun training classes three times a year.
Background checks are necessary to ensure only law-abiding citizens are allowed to carry guns, he adds.
Sheriff Eric Levett
Permit-less carry laws put law enforcement and the general public in a more vulnerable position, says Levett.
While law enforcement is trained how to handle weapons in crowded situations, even a “good guy with a gun” can put themselves in a bad position if they accidentally shoot a civilian in a cross-fire shooting.
Hence his department’s emphasis on how to safely maintain, carry and use a personal weapon.
Levett also believes in a community focus on school-aged children. While Rockdale has no real gang activity like other parts of Metro Atlanta, there are some students with gang affiliations.
If his department were ever granted unspent COVID relief funding, as President Biden has suggested be released to police agencies, Levett said he would like to create a dedicated Gang Task Force to the Sheriff’s Department. Its focus would be prevention and conversion of teens from gang affiliation into productive members of society.
Levett would rather they be affiliated with his Sheriff’s Activity League (SAL) or the Boys and Girls Clubs, for which he is a board member and mentor in Rockdale County.
In addition to physical activities, the SAL program will offer STEM, nursing and other career related opportunities, says Levett.
Much like the Explorer program taught Levett himself how to turn his childhood dream into a career reality.
And to stick to his path.
[Note: Levett has been married over 24 years to his wife, Lavette. They have been blessed with two children, Christian and Colin. Levett and his family are members of Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers. His other professional and community affiliations – which are numerous – can be found in his biography.
NEWS FROM YOUNG ADULTS
Young Adults Sub-Committe Co-Chair
The Young Adults Sub-Committee (YAC) is excited to engage young voters in Rockdale County in the electoral process!
This year we’re focusing our efforts in the following categories:
Increase our membership by motivating young adults to join the Rockdale County Democratic Committee;
Conduct voter registration which includes partnering with the Rockdale County Board of Elections and Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office to ensure incarcerated people have a voice in our democracy;
- Adopt a polling location; and
- Conduct Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) mobilization in conjunction with other sub-committees to ensure Rockdale residents are informed when casting their ballot.
