GARFIELD COUNTY FINAL RESOLUTIONS
APRIL 3, 2021
ENVIRONMENT
- Involve environmental organizations such as Indian Tribal Nations, The Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, etc., in all decisions and policies that impact the environment or its inhabitants.
- Keep all state parks fully operational and funded. Support same for national parks, forests, wilderness areas, etc.
- Protect the natural world and all its inhabitants.
- Support appropriate and environmentally protective regulations governing all corporations and operations and including oil, gas, and other exploration and production activities in state parks.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
- Increase pay for public school teachers to a minimum of regional average.
- Support the use of public funds for public schools.
- Support science-based curriculum in public schools.
- Support an emphasis on civics and history curriculum with critical and free thinking in the public school.
- Utilize direct input from classroom teachers in decisions on best ways to invest in education (e.g., more money for supplies and field trips, etc.; smaller class sizes; resources for special-needs students).
- Oppose laws that give tax credits or vouchers for tuition payments to private education entities.
- Oppose laws that disallow recognition or acceptance of gender non-conforming people and transgendered people, including students
HEALTH CARE
- Support the Affordable Care Act with the ultimate goal of establishing universal health care with single-payer system.
- Demand that the Medicaid expansion initiative approved by the voters of the state of Oklahoma be addressed in meaningful legislation forthwith, insuring that quality affordable health care is available and accessible to all Oklahomans, including those in rural as well as urban areas.
- Support legislation that allows Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.
- Support mental health care and coverage, including re-establishment of residential health facilities (such as NORCE, SORC) for developmentally disabled or mentally impaired individuals, or other individuals whose mental capacity causes them to be unable to care for themselves.
- To address health care separately from health insurance – establish patient-centered medical decisions in which the patient’s treatment is not constrained by insurance company oversight, to put the patient in charge of his/her own health decisions.
- Support women’s reproductive rights. The Garfield Count Democrats vehemently oppose being characterized as “pro-abortion”. That is completely untrue. We are not in favor of forcing anyone to have an abortion, anymore that we are in favor of forcing someone to endure an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. We are pro-choice and fully supportive of a woman’s right to control her own body. We support eliminating the reasons for anyone needing an abortion through sex education and freely available birth control information and supplies. We support a woman’s right to make independent medical and healthcare decisions with her doctor.
STATE BUDGET
- We support accountability and strict regulation in expenditures of tax funds and other state monies, and transparency in the budgeting process.
- A tax structure that sets a progressively higher rate of income taxes based upon income (that is, the higher the tax bracket, the greater the percentage of income tax), in which the wealthier taxpayers pay a proportionally larger share of their total taxable income, while the lowest income taxpayers pay a smaller share, or even zero. Increase corporate tax rates, including those on oil and gas operations.
- Re-establish inheritance tax on estates of $5 million or greater, with the tax to apply only to estate values above the $5 million.
- We oppose any tax plan that burdens lower and middle-class families by imposing additional taxes on services.
- Consider increase in property taxes, but in such a way as not to harm the elderly or renters.
- End reliance on corporate welfare, including but not limited to oil and gas and related operations.
- We support creating incentives to encourage continued expansion of renewable energy sources and support development of programs to train workers who are displaced because of the development of renewable resources.
- Disallow excessive profits and predatory practices by corporations and other entities doing business in the State of Oklahoma (e.g., pharmaceuticals, financial firms, “payday loan” providers). such as creating caps on APR for payment plans.
- Strong, enforceable, and enforced ethics regulations for all public officials, with emphasis on fairness and honesty.
- Ensure sufficient tax revenue and other resources to fully fund child and adult protective services, social safety net programs, state parks, and other services for all Oklahoma citizens, especially for those in need.
- Support a pilot program of the creation of tiny-house communities for the homeless, with preference for homeless veterans.
- Creation of homeless shelters that are open 24-7, especially during extreme heat and cold, that are equipped with nourishing food.
- Pay raise for all state employees and full staffing to ensure their safety and ability to perform their duties.
JUDICIAL REFORM AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
- We support the continued filling of court vacancies by a non-partisan committee of the same or similar to the method being used as of April 6, 2019.
- Support the current nonpartisan method of voting for judges where this is in place. Representation on the Oklahoma Supreme Court should come from all areas of Oklahoma.
- State questions 780 and 781 were voted into law on November 8, 2016. We demand full implementation forthwith.
- We support the eventual elimination of the use of private prisons.
- Fund body cameras and protective body armor for law enforcement persons, and protective body armor for K-9 officers.
- We support mandating that body cameras be operative during all encounters with citizens to protect both law enforcement officers and the public.
- We support the public’s right to observe and record law enforcement officers.
- We support screening and training of all law enforcements officers to prevent unnecessary brutality by law enforcement officers. We demand meaningful sanctions for the few law enforcement officers who use brutality instead of necessary force.
- Vigorously oppose any effort to curtail the rights of the people to assemble for peaceful protest or to otherwise curtail freedom of speech or assembly. We oppose any legislation to legalize use of force to prevent peaceful assembly and protests.
DIVERSITY (INCLUDES IMMIGRATION)
- Support the right of local police and other law enforcement to investigate and process crimes free from coercion or interference by federal or other immigration officials or agencies.
- Support protection of “dreamers” and a path to citizenship for them, and legal status for their non-offending parents or guardians.
- The Democratic Party IS “The Party of Inclusion.” We continue to welcome all “marginalized” new members, voters, and candidates (minorities, LGBTQ, gender-fluid or nonbinary individuals).
- Support protection of the rights of the LGBTQ community, to include but not limited to opposing discrimination in the community, protecting transgender rights, and supporting vulnerable LGBT youth.
- Recognize the existence of systemic racism and work to end it. Encourage all advocacy groups, such as Black Lives Matter and others that promote racial justice, to participate in the creation of plans, policies, and laws directed at judicial reform. We support efforts to recognize and confront implicit bias and protect those targeted by hate groups.
TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY IN GOVERNMENT
- All candidates for state office including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and their appointees must provide the past 6 years’ tax returns, must disclose any arrest records or convictions.
- All state candidates and other public officials, elected and/or appointed, will disclose domestic and foreign business interests, donors, and potential conflicts of interest. Failure to do so will result in removal from office.
- All public officials, elected and/or appointed, must conduct themselves in such a way both in action and words as to foster trust by the public, and support the public’s expectation of honesty and integrity.
- Must understand and support the policy of separation of church and state, and be respectful of others’ religions.
- Elected officials should be personally liable for any court costs and/other expenses necessitated in defense of the Oklahoma Constitution, caused by authoring, co-authoring, supporting, and/or voting for any law that is clearly unconstitutional or has previously been found to be unconstitutional.
- We support publicizing donations by private prisons and others to any elected or appointed officials.
REVITALIZATION OF THE PARTY
- We resolve to be bold, proud, and unapologetic Democrats.
- We will craft our positions and arguments to define ourselves and refuse to allow the other side to define us.
- Reach out to inactive Democrats and actively work to find ways we can all participate and contribute.
- We support inclusion of diverse political input from all sections of the party.
- Actively seek ways to contribute (donate to disaster relief, or donate time and effort locally such as yard clean-up, food bank, soup kitchen, etc.).
- Actively develop connections with local service organizations to create opportunities for local Democrats to help in local situations.
JOBS
- We support the creation of an aggressive jobs-creation program to update the state’s infrastructure and to lessen our dependence upon nonrenewable energy sources by creating jobs in renewable energy.
- Support increasing the minimum wage. Establish a living wage for all workers adjusted yearly to reflect increases in the cost of living.
- Support equal pay for equal work.
- Support higher minimum wage for wait persons and others dependent on tips.
- Support efforts to repeal “Right to Work”.
PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT
- We resolve to increase citizen participation in government by encouraging citizens to follow the actions and votes of their elected officials. We demand elected officials to regularly explain their votes and how those votes will affect the individuals they represent through easily accessible public forums and other means of communication.
- We resolve to continue to have voter registration events and to encourage voter turnout through precinct official contacts, as possible. We encourage the establishment of automatic voter registration.
- We support policies that make possible reasonable opportunity for all eligible citizens to vote, including mail-in ballots, and shall protest any policies that have the appearance or result of voter suppression.
- We support the continued use of verifiable paper ballots used by voters at the polls.
- We support statewide campaign finance reform to eliminate “dark money” contributions and establish “caps” or maximum per-candidate contributions.
- We support legislation to eliminate straight party voting
- We support legislation to eliminate winner-take-all system concerning the Oklahoma Electoral College votes and support division of the state’s Electoral College votes in accordance with the percentage of the popular vote received by each candidate.
- We support the eliminating of gerrymandering by creating a committee of an equal number of members from each major party and at least one person not affiliated with a party.
- We vigorously oppose any effort to make the initiative petition process more difficult or complicated
- We support the US House of Representatives “For the People” bill (HR1) and pledge to make our support known to our elected officials.
INFRASTRUCTURE
- We support budgeting actions that immediately alleviate the deplorable conditions of Oklahoma’s roads and bridges
- We oppose any legislation that deprives communities of control over oil and gas operations (including but not limited to wastewater injection wells), telecommunication/cell towers, and/or telecommunications industry infrastructure (such as 5G availability).
- We support the expansion of passenger rail service in Oklahoma including Enid.
- We oppose the privatization of any public utility.
- We support broadband access and dependable service to all Oklahomans.
OTHER ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE
- We support decriminalization of recreational marijuana for persons age 21 or over.
- We support the right of terminally ill patients and patients with degenerative conditions to self-determination in the form of “death with dignity” legislation
- We oppose any legislation that deprives communities of their choice to establish a minimum wage higher than the state minimum wage.
- We support legislation to unconditionally ban dogfighting and cockfighting in Oklahoma, as well as the breeding and/or housing of animals intended for this purpose, and designation of same as criminal felonies.
- We oppose an operational/industrial practice that adversely affects the quality of air, water, or other resource in Oklahoma, specifically that dealing with the food animal industry. We support legislation to provide humane treatment of chicken, swine, beef, veal, dairy, or any other food animals. We oppose any “ag gag” legislation making it unlawful for information to be collected on farming operations, particularly “factory farms”.
- In protest of perceived maltreatment of the Palestinians by Israel, some organizations have adopted policies of BDS (“Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions”) against the government of Israel, including its policies and some products from Israel. We oppose any anti-BDS action by the Oklahoma Legislature that appears to be punitive.