History of Kingwood Area Democrats
To understand what is special about the Kingwood Area Democrats Club, it is important to know that it thrives in VERY Republican territory. Going against the majority, this group of dedicated political activists won't accept that Democrats can't organize and make a difference. Originally there were two clubs -- The Forest Cove/Kingwood Democrats and The Humble Democrats. Both were hard working groups but fell into dormancy at different times.
In 1994 Susan Gates got involved with the then active Humble Democrats club. She wanted to have a group like that in Kingwood, but discovered that, although there had been one, it hadn't met in two years. She called a meeting at her home and those seven formed the Kingwood Area Democrats.
KAD began meeting monthly, raised money from garage sales and sponsored annual luncheons at the Kingwood Country Club. It published regular newsletters, originally produced by Anne Mullins and later by Jenni Strader and Lee Ann Hamilton. It was one of the first local clubs to do so. The Medellin family -- Toni, Stace and Sylvia -- became mainstays of KAD, doing everything from getting out the newsletter, maintaining the Club's important database to anything needed.
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Susan Gates stepped down as KAD President in 2003, and Senate District 4 Chair Charlene Tanner took the reins. Since 2003, Toni Medellin, Gary Binderim, Wil Williams, Egberto Willies, Kevin McManis, and Charlotte Reinemeyer have served as KAD presidents. In 2020, Ellie Porras assumed the club presidency.
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In 2000 Charles Hixon introduced a website, and KAD became one of the first clubs to have its own website. Fortunately, when Hixon ran for County Commissioner in 2003, the webmaster job was very ably taken over by Sarah Reinemeyer. What talent in one club!
In 2011 the club updated its website, added a blog, and became more active on Facebook and joined Twitter. Jane Leckey built up the club's Twitter following in the early 2020s and wrote the monthly KAD Alert newsletter for a growing email audience. After a technical breach of the KAD website in 2019, Elizabeth Stern began from scratch to rebuild it in 2020.
The Club has been active in voter registrations and in local, state and national campaigns, and has been particularly supportive of KAD members who have chosen to run for public office. Continuing to grow, and with more than 100 members, the Kingwood Area Democrats has proven that, with work and organization, anything can happen. It is living proof of what Margaret Mead said so well, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
KAD is a non-profit organization. The organization does not endorse Primary candidates, but strongly works for the election of Democrats to all levels of government.