No Kings Road Side Sign Rally

Tuesday January 20, 2026 

No Kings 1/20/26 Slideshow

No Kings 1/20/26 Video

All Members Meeting

Saturday, Jan 10, 2026

Colony Cottage Rec Center 510 Colony Blvd

The Villages Democratic Club had their January meeting at the Colony Rec Center in The Villages, FL. The featured speaker was retired Foreign Service Officer Marilyn Holleran. She spoke of how Trump is decimating the State Department.

Marilyn Holleran

Audience at the Jan. 10 meeting

Below is bio on the two keynote speakers.  

Slideshow of meeting

Video of meeting

Contact : Bill.knudson@yahoo.com

Fun at The Villages Democratic Club Holiday Party

Join the Blue Crew

Jan. 21 - 5:00 PM - Lake Sumter Landing - Band -  Live Effect

Jan. 28 - 5:00 PM - Brownwood - Band - Mpire

For When and Where:  Contact Bill.Knudson@yahoo.com 

Todd Bogue is back and more entertaining than ever!

Tickets are selling fast and his show was a sellout the first time. 

Don't wait! Click the link below to order your tickets TODAY!

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Rohan Recreation Center

Tickets are $26

Doors open at 6:00 pm

Show begins at 6:30 pm

BYOB and Snacks

NO VILLAGE ID REQUIRED
OPEN TO EVERYONE

Click here for tickets

(please ignore this email if you have already purchased tickets!)

Ron DeSantis is at it again - Property Tax Reform

by Ash Marwah

For more, please visit my website: AshForSD11.com or my Facebook page: Facebook.com/AshForSD11

Support Ash

The idea is to lower Property Taxes for homeowners by increasing the Homestead Exemption. 

In Sumter County, the Homestead Exemption is $50,000 for the County, $25,000 for School Board and $50,000 for SWFWMD (Water Management District).

The plan is to increase the Homestead Exemption to $250,000 , thus lowering the property taxes for all homeowners. This sounds good on the surface but it will deprive all three entities of their major source of revenue. There is no way for the County, School District or the Water Management District to make up the shortfall in revenue. They can raise the millage to maximum 10 mils by state law and the County can raise sales tax by 1% more to 8% but these measures would not be adequate to make up for the lost revenue.

The only option they will have is to layoff employees. Since the County has the largest pool of employees in Firefighters and Police Officers, they will bear the brunt of these layoffs.

ARE WE READY FOR LOWER PROPERTY TAXES AND LAYOFF OF POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS IN SUMTER COUNTY?

TVDC Membership Annual Renewals

$25 per person

• The renewal period runs through 1/1/26.  
• Memberships renewed will be valid through 1/1/27
• New members who sign up during the renewal  will be valid through 1/1/27
• Watch for email being mailed this week.

Join the Wine Society

The Villages Democrats are forming a wine society. Members will meet once a month to socialize and share their favorite wines.

For more information contact Laura and Paul Scannevin at lscannevin@gmail.com

Please note The Villages Democratic Club does not supply any alcohol.

Meet, Greet & Eat with like minded Singles

The Club's "Meet, Greet & Eat Singles" group welcomes new members. Visit with coordinators Linda Ballou and Mary Ferguson at the monthly membership meetings, or email them.

Email

It’s official: David Jolly is a

Democratic candidate for governor in ’26

Following the exploratory phase of his campaign this spring, David Jolly says he’s ready to go and has officially entered the Democratic primary for governor of Florida. He acknowledges the challenges about running in an electoral landscape that hasn’t elected any Democrat to a statewide office since 2018, but says the environment is ripe for that to change in 2026.

“We will be in every community, building trust and building relationships and building a coalition that will ultimately and successfully win an election where a Democrat hasn’t won in 30 years and where the voter registration rolls are against us,” he said in a phone interview with the Phoenix on Wednesday.

Watch the Announcement

By Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix

“In Florida we are in the midst of a generational affordability crisis,” he added. “Everybody feels it. I mean this has been affirmed everywhere I’ve gone, every group I’ve sat with.

Read more

CHANCES TO DO SOMETHING THIS WEEK AND BEYOND

We're rounding up petitions for Barbie

and a Medicaid ballot measure

Barbie for Congress website

All of Sumter County is in Congressional District 11 and we are collecting 

Barbie Harden Hall petitions to get her on the ballot again for 2026.

We also are actively collecting petitions for a Florida Constitutional Amendment to expand Medicaid. 

You can find information and request a petition form at

https://floridadecideshealthcare.org/

Turn completed forms in the Sumter Democratic HQ on Wednesday afternoons or Saturday mornings.

You also can pick up the forms at the headquarters.

Oops, you've got to do it again!

Thanks to Florida Republicans trying everything they can to suppress our votes,

we all must reapply for Vote By Mail ballots.

Scores of legal actions have been filed to block and challenge President Trump, Elon Musk, and others in the administration. Here's a one-stop nonprofit site, Just Security, where you can keep track.

Trump litigation tracker

Food pantry donations are always welcome

The Club and its generous members support multiple local food pantries. The preferred donations include food in cans, boxes, and jars, toiletries, and laundry and cleaning supplies.

Knudson's analysis of economic data and policies

Economics in Perspective