All Members Meeting

Saturday, Jan 10, 2026

Colony Cottage Rec Center 510 Colony Blvd

Doors open at 9:00 am

for socializing and exchanging information.

Meeting begins at 10:00 AM

Below is bio on the two keynote speakers.  

Pick up name tags, buy shirts and umbrellas

Donate non-perishable food items to

Central Tri-County Indivisible/North Lake Presbyterian Church

Contact : Bill.knudson@yahoo.com

Saturday, Dec 13, 2025

All Members Meeting

Key note speakers included:

Royal S. Webster II--Candidate for Congressional office: FL-11

Rosemary Nilles---League of Women Voters: Redistricting Congressional Districts

Bill Knudson gave a presentation on grocery price inflation

Slide Show of the Meeting

Video of the Meeting

Bill Knudson's Grocery Prices Link

Contact: bill.knudson@yahoo.com

At an All Members Meeting 4 months ago, Bill Knudson warned about Trump replacing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics--the folks who compile and report on the US Inflation and New Jobs.  We are now seeing the outcome.

Below is the screen shot of the Bureau of Labor Statistic's CPI for November 2025 as reported on December 18, 2025.

Basically there is NO DATA which is being blamed on the government shut down because no survey's were funded. That did NOT stop prices from changing.

CPI was last reported for September and was reported at 3.0%. With no data for October nor November-----the annual changed to 2.7% on December 18.

Keep in mind the annual CPI calc is based a running total of preceding 12 months. The lack of data for Oct & Nov will effect the annual CPI calc and will carry into November 2026.

With the economy shaping up to be a focal issue in the 2026 midterm election, this lack of data will cause material credibility and reliability issues. This will have implications for both the Fed and the desirability of holding US denominated instruments---not good for the US dollar

 No Partisan Coalition

Was Held on Thursday, December 4, 2025

The Republican Leadership in Tallahassee is trying to gerrymander Florida

again to get rid of all or most Democratic Districts.

There was a hearing to ram through the radical changes.

A huge protest rally in Tallahassee showed not only fellow Floridians that Florida is worth fighting for

but it  showed the Nation that we are not a helpless and lost cause.

The Select Committee for Redistricting meeting was held in a small room downstairs.

Many applications to speak were completed but no speakers were called.

The hearing was adjourned after a brief reading of the rules.

See video from WKMG,  the local Orlando, Florida CBS affiliate for  interviews of

The Village Democrats Club members and highlights of the meeting.

Video of WKMG coverage

Giving Thanks Rallies 11/29/25 

Congratulations to LaRae and her team in making this rally a success. 

I was at the Spanish Spring event and the flags and signs looked great

both on the golf carts as well as the many folks holding them.  

A very good message on this holiday weekend.

Golf Cart Rally to turn in ballots

Video of Golf Cart Rally

Fun at The Villages Democratic Club Holiday Party

Information at:

liberalindependentvoices@gmail.com

Villages Democrats Meet for Lunch

Olive Garden 3680 Wedgewood Lane

Contact: Susan Houston 352.217.2626

Join the Blue Crew

Jan. 12 - Spanish Springs - Band - Studio 77

Jan. 21 - Lake Sumter Landing - Band -  Live Effect

Jan. 28 - Brownwood - Band - Mpire

TVDC is now taking nominations for a Membership Director

• Responsibilities include:
• Create Name tags using TVDC prototype
• Display newly created name tags at monthly meetings (2nd Sat at 9 am)
• Contact Phyllis Leopold 203-731-1432.

Lost and Found items

November 8 All Members Meeting at Colony

Women's hooded sweater

Contact Bill Knudson : bill.knudson@yahoo.com

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.

The tab for Florida's immigrant prison in the Everglades is $250 million

- and counting

by Jason Garcia as published on Substack

Florida taxpayers are on the hook for at least a quarter of a billion dollars in spending tied to the slapdash immigration detention facility the DeSantis administration opened this month in the middle of the Everglades.

And the public tab for the built-in-eight-days prison camp — where hundreds of immigrants, many without any criminal charges, are being locked up in group cages at a site popularly known by the sociopathic pseudonym, “Alligator Alcatraz” — keeps growing.

Read more.

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

Love planning events?

Join the Hospitality Committee and lets have some fun. We need boots on the ground for upcoming social events. Contact: Sue Houston

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.

View Club President Bill Knudson's analysis of economic data and policies

Economics in Perspective