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Dec 12, 2022Liked by Richard Thripp

The GOP has become a dangerous Party, no matter where it has embedded itself. Unfortunately for us in Florida, it seems to be embedded deeply. Yet when "new" energy comes along, at least in Volusia County for the Democrats, it wasn't accepted. I just watched a video about Idaho, and it is scary there also.

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I was really looking forward to being the party chair particularly when the school year ended in early June 2021 (as I intended to do it full-time as a volunteer from that point out). Also, there was the opportunity to meet in-person again (which quickly went away due to delta variant in late July). It really was a missed opportunity for the party. Although I am also cognizant of the fact that I didn't have a long track record of party activism and had only been a Democrat for under 2 years (as a mitigating factor for being brutally resisted), at the same time the local leadership talks of converting people to the Democratic party and passing the torch to new, young leaders, but when the opportunity presented itself they rejected it. At the same time, we ended up having another baby in 2022 and discovering that Jonah has a significant and challenging brain disorder, so I am grateful I did not continue as party chair under these circumstances.

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Dec 17, 2022Liked by Richard Thripp

For you and your family with Jonah's challenges, it was for the better. However, it was a missed opportunity, as you say, for sure for Volusia and the others that had stepped up in various capacities to breathe in some new life. You are still a young man; maybe other youth will roll sleeves up and take another try at it down the road. Covid came at a bad time, not that any time is a great time, and in future you'll know more about Jonah and his condition. Thanks for what you did do, wasn't for lack of trying.

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