Message from the Chairman

Hello Fellow Democrats of Lee County,

As Chair of the Democratic Party of Lee County I have been asked many times, "Why does the Democratic Party have a JJ dinner, other than it being a fundraiser, and what does JJ mean and why do we celebrate in this manner?"

Thomas Jefferson, the first "J" and our third president, was a great champion of democracy and the rights of man, often speaking on the founding principles of an American self-government. He was also a powerful advocate of liberty and at the age of 33 drafted the Declaration of Independence. In the following years, Jefferson wrote a bill establishing religious freedoms that was enacted in 1788.

Andrew Jackson, the other "J" and our seventh president, did not come from aristocracy, but a working class family from the Carolina's. He believed in a strong union and created a solid executive branch of government. He knew what it took to secure liberty and the sovereignty of our country. Along with this strong belief in unity, Jackson believed that the decisions of the presidency were to be based on the will of the people. He truly believed in Freedoms of Religion, Freedom of Elections and also to counteract the abuses of each.

President Andrew Jackson shared the principles of Thomas Jefferson. They both believed true democratic progress could be achieved by only extending political and economic liberty, religious freedoms and educational opportunities for the ordinary man. Jackson's conviction was, that government should be controlled by the "rank & file", not by "special interest groups."

These great Presidents that we honor at our JJ Unity Gala each year , believed in the proper uses of our nations resources and wanted those resources to benefit all. Opposing cheap labor, Jackson worked to bring new opportunities to our nation for the ordinary man and was always promoting the interests of not just the privileged, but of all groups and individuals in our country. Both Jefferson & Jackson gave all Americans a chance to have a government respectful of the peoples' wishes rather than a government manipulated by the rich and powerful.

Their ideals, much like piecing together a lasting quilt, gave us the Democratic Party. It will be our privilege to honor these two great Americans, who have inspired the people of our country to assert their rights, and to adopt a philosophy and tradition "Of the People, for the People and by the People."

Ray Troy, Chair