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Our 2nd Annual Post-it Poll at the County Fair

For a second year, the Mariposa Democratic Club surveyed Fair attendees to find out their thoughts about Freedom. The question we posed this year was:

“Which Freedom is Most Important to You? Why?”

Attendees wrote their responses on post-its and stuck them to a flip chart. We collected the post-its and entered them into a database to find out what Fair attendees thought and wanted to tell us.

Here are 5 takeaways.

#1. It’s not easy to delineate between freedoms, rights, and wants. Is “Bodily Autonomy,” a freedom, a right, or a want? We classified it under Reproductive Rights. “My 2nd Amendment Rights,” was assigned to the “Right to Bear Arms.” Here are some of the post-its.

#2. People mix candidate support with freedoms. Some posted “Trump”… not a freedom. Some posted defaming drawings of Harris… not a freedom (well, maybe of ugly free speech). 

#3. Kid will be Kids. Kids came by and posted many responses… some totally inappropriate. We still counted them.

#4. Kids can be Adults. Several posted responses that spoke to their needs and anxieties: “To be myself.” “To Be Respected for Who I Am!” “To Live My Life Free.”

#5. Everyone has an Opinion – and the Mariposa Democratic Club respects all of them.

The Results of Our Unofficial Poll!

We got about 185 post-its… many visitors did not “post-it,” but talked to us and so we got about 300 visitors.

Each response was assigned to one of the following categories:

  • The Right to Bear Arms
  • The Right to Vote
  • Freedom of Speech
  • Freedom of Choice
  • Justice & Equality for All
  • Reproductive Rights
  • The Right to Vote
  • The Freedom of Religion
  • The Freedom to Live & Love without Fear

Some interpretation was required… it was tricky, but we did our best.

  • “Free to criticize one’s government,” was assigned to Freedom of Speech.
  • “No Book Banning,” was assigned to Freedom of Choice.
  • “My Body! My Life!” was assigned to Reproductive Rights.
  • Some, as Melanie Trump said about the Access Hollywood tapes, were “inappropriate. Boys talk. Locker room talk.” We categorized this one as “Other.”

The results, in percentages of post-its cast:

  • 21% The Freedom to Live & Love without Fear
  • 16% Reproductive Rights
  • 16% Freedom of Speech
  • 12% Freedom of Choice
  • 9% The Right to Vote; Free Elections
  • 9% Other; Could not Classify
  • 6% The Right to bear arms.
  • 5% Justice & Equality
  • 3% Freedom of Religion
  • 3% The Right to Healthcare

Surprisingly — only 3% of respondents said that freedom meant access to affordable health care; and none said that freedom meant protecting our environment and planet for our kids, grandkids, and future generations. 

People were pretty clear: the freedom to live and love without fear of government intervention was most important to them. If you combine that data with the number of people who said reproductive rights, 37% said, “Stay Out of Our Business!”

Last year in 2023, we recorded 250 responses with these results

  • 47% Freedom of Choice
  • 16% Freedom of Speech
  • 12% Right to Vote

The Mariposa Democratic Club is committed to ensuring that local citizens are informed about issues. We invite policy makers, candidates for office, local officials, and all interested parties to address these issues at our monthly meetings on the second Saturday of each month.

The Fair and The Parade: Labor Day Weekend 2024

It was an honor for the Mariposa Democratic Club to participate in the Mariposa County Labor Day Fair events and to host a booth at the Fair, to share what we value and believe, and to meet so many members of the local community. We were proud to be there and proud to be a part of this great community!

As happens every year, there was the opening day of the Fair, the Labor Day Parade, and the Fair itself – 4 days of fun, good food, good exhibits, great discussions, and engagement with citizens young and old.

As with any multiple-day, countywide event, there’s always the good, the bad, and the ugly… but mostly the good.

The Good

The Labor Day Parade was great. We met early to decorate our float and join so many others celebrating the Labor Day weekend and the Mariposa County Fair. Our float looked great.

Once the float was done, members of the Club climbed on board and were ready for the parade.

Jaye Howes! Madame President!

Kim Monson, Club President, dressed as the Statue of Liberty and led our float down Main Street.

She held the torch high and spoke our message to the crowds: Freedom! The crowds cheered!

The booth at the fairgrounds looked great, too. It takes some effort to build the booth and get set to welcome Fair attendees. Real grass roots work built a booth that we were proud of.

And we had some wonderful visitors: members who stopped by for photos, new individuals who joined the Club for the first time, people who completed voter registration forms and made donations and had pictures taken with Kamala and Tim.

The Bad (but not so bad…)

High school kids engaged us in heated Trump vs Harris discussions. They were mostly for Trump. 🙁 But, those were good conversations.

Some posted responses to our survey question, “What Freedom is Most Important to You?”

Some were great responses… “Freedom to Be Who You Are!” Some were not so great: “Trump,” (not a freedom); “Let’s Go Brando,” (huh? old news); “Guns, Beer, and Trump” (freedoms?); and “Weed!” (maybe the freedom to choose).

One boy placed a piece of tape over the mouth of our Kamala Harris cutout that said “TRUMP.” After removing the tape, Jaye Howes had to repair Kamala’s foundation and lipstick on the day of the parade. Great job Jaye!

But this post-it surprised us… but didn’t. Boys will be boys.

As Melania Trump said about the Access Hollywood tape in 2016, “it’s inappropriate, it’s not acceptable, but it’s boy talk. It’s just locker room talk.” Maybe… maybe not. Not acceptable. We took it down.

The Ugly

There were a few – but very few – confrontations. Some attendees shouted at us. Crazy stuff! “Democrats murdered 2,500 babies during their Convention” (a lie); the President of France, a NATO ally, “married a 14-year-old trans woman” (what?); Democrats led “a coup against President Biden.”

None of it true. All crazy… whacko.

When we responded, they’d say, “Get your facts!” “Go to the Internet!” A pretty sad commentary on the state of information in our country today.

But Mostly, It Was Good

We engaged with more than 300 people over the 4 days at the Fair, and more than 180 people, (including the boys), responded to our survey. [Go here for survey results.]

We showed up and showed out and communicated our messages – Freedom! Democracy! Welcome! — to anyone who walked by or stopped by. We engaged with our community and they engaged with us.

Thank you!

EveryWoman’s March, June 24!

Acknowledging the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade, Ann Hart organized the EveryWoman’s Freedom March on June 24, and Mariposa Democrats showed their support.

Ann Hart said that the march is, “for our sisters,” who can no longer access their reproductive rights. “I believe — like our sisters in the past who fought for women’s equal rights — that birth control and abortion are not criminal. The crime is injecting the government into our healthcare, forcing a woman to go through with a pregnancy” regardless if a crime was committed, regardless of her health, regardless of her age, regardless of her choice, and regardless of her future.

Marchers gathered at the Mariposa County courthouse and at 1:00pm marched from the Mariposa County courthouse to the county jailhouse! As Ann has said, “the metaphor speaks for itself!” More information about the march can be found in Ann’s opinion piece in the June 20 edition of the Mariposa Gazette. Here’s a link.

Ann handed out handmade medallions supporting the march. The marchers carried handmade signs and were proud to march from the courthouse to the jailhouse!

Handmade Ceramic Medallions Celebrating the March.
Jacqui Dozier, Vice President of the Mariposa Democratic Club, at the EveryWoman’s March.
The EveryWoman’s Freedom marchers: “From the Courthouse to the Jailhouse.”

As the march proceeded down the Main Street and up to the jailhouse, residents and tourists honked and waved in support. Only one bad incident: a pickup drove by, honked, and someone leaned out the passenger side with a raised middle finger and shouted, “Your mothers made the wrong fucking decision!” We marched on and held up our signs, knowing we are right. And shouted back, “But they made their decision!”

The Presidential Debates, June 27!

On June 27, President Biden and former president Trump will debate at 6:00PM on CNN. In support of Biden, the Mariposa County Democratic Central Committee in conjunction with the MDC will hold a Debate Watch Party at Steve and Rosemarie Smallcombe’s home.

The debate starts at 6PM, but come early to have appetizers, beer, wine, or ice tea before the start. It’s a fundraiser to support our fall get-out-the-vote efforts, so bring $25 to contribute. If you need directions or more information, contact Kim Monson, president of the MDC, at kimellen13@gmail.com

Hope to see you there!

MCUSD Elections… The Board Votes YES!

Finally, at the June 13, 2024, meeting of the Mariposa County Unified School District board, after months of presentations and reviews and public comment, the Board of Trustees voted to approve electing trustees on a district basis as opposed to county-wide.

The vote was 3 to 2. Voting yes were Board President Kiser and Board Members Morse and Collins. Voting no were members Hill and Harper. 

Mariposa County will now elect trustees in compliance with the guidelines and requirements of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), passed in 2001. Go here to learn more about the CVRA.

This was a major victory for democracy and for fair representation in Mariposa County.

Many thanks to Mariposa Democratic Club members Kim Monson, president, and Lisa Edelheit, and to Barbara Cone for their persistent work and vocal support of this critically important issue.The Mariposa Gazette reported on the long road getting to this vote in the June 20 edition of the paper. You can find that here.

The MCUSD provides additional information about this issue on the MCUSD website. Go here.

A map of districts in Mariposa County based on the 2020 census can be found here.

Again, many many thanks to Kim, Lisa, and Barbara and to everyone else who supported this effort!