9th District Chair's Monthly Report, Dec 2009

By Tim Greimel, Chair, 9th District Democratic Party
Thursday, December 3, 2009

This is the first edition of a monthly e-mail update that I will be sending out to keep everyone informed about what is occurring with the 9th Congressional District Democratic Party and about Congressman Gary Peters' impressive leadership in Washington, D.C.

We are Proud of Congressman Peters' Service

We have been very fortunate to have a congressman who shares our values working for us. Congressman Peters has been fighting to save Michigan jobs and to advance progressive legislation that will protect middle-class Americans.

Less than six months after taking office, Congressman Peters led the successful effort to keep the Orion Township General Motors plant open by persuading GM to build its new small car at the facility.

Congressman Peters introduced the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act, which will provide over $500 million in annual federal funding for vehicle research and development. The bill was supported by a broad, bi-partisan coalition of businesses, labor groups, and environmental organizations, and it passed by the House of Representatives by a wide margin. Once the bill is passed by the Senate, it will provide huge benefits to Oakland County by supporting high-paid jobs in what continues to be the world capital of automotive research.

Congressman Peters cast a courageous and principled vote in favor of the health care reform bill in order to dramatically expand health insurance coverage, curtail the system's out-of-control costs, and reduce the federal budget deficit. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Peters is actively involved in crafting legislation to protect investors and consumers of financial services and to prevent a future recurrence of the banking meltdown that we witnessed a year ago. In pursuit of this goal, Congressman Peters recently led a forum on the topic in Oakland County with congresspeople from around the country.

November Potluck was an Overwhelming Success

Congressman Peters joined us for 9th District Party's first annual November potluck. More than 100 people attended the event to listen to a detailed and candid update on issues from Congressman Gary Peters, to celebrate the first anniversary of his election, and to enjoy much delicious food! Many thanks to Loretta Coleman, Amanda Saoud, and all of the members of the Events Planning Committee for their hard work in organizing this terrific event.

Charity Event on December 12

Please join us for an important charity event from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, December 12, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pontiac. Democrats from the 9th District will be assisting Oakland County Lighthouse in sorting and wrapping toys and gifts for low-income children. If you have any questions, please contact Cathy King at cking1229@gmail.com.

Join Us on Facebook

In order to keep up with all of you young hipsters, the 9th District Party is now on Facebook! Please join us: the name of our group is 9th Congressional District Democrats (MI).

Letters to the Editor

Let your progressive opinions be heard! Please consider writing letters in support of Congressman Gary Peters to the following newspapers:

• Oakland Press (allan.adler@oakpress.com)
• Detroit Free Press (letters@freepress.com)
• Detroit News (letters@detnews.com)

Keep in Touch with the 9th District Democratic Party

Our website is http://www.9thdistrictdems.org/. Please feel free to call or e-mail me anytime with any questions, concerns, or suggestions.

Best Regards,
Tim Greimel, Chair
9th District Democratic Party
(248) 425-7525