Michael Swayze's Community Resources

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  • Democratic Presidential Candidate List – Update #5

    Updated: March 19, 2020

    A lot has happened in the past few weeks. The world has experienced a full blown pandemic, COVID-19, the U.S. stock market is in a tailspin and the list of Democratic Presidential candidates is down to two. Here is an updated list.

    The active Democratic contenders are, in alphabetical order:
    Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States
    Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont

    A total of twenty-four candidates have dropped out, withdrawn or suspended their campaigns to date. They are, in chronological order:
    Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman from Hawaii, March 19, 2020
    Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts, March 5, 2020
    Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, March 4, 2020
    Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota, March 2, 2020
    Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, March 1, 2020
    Tom Steyer, former hedge fund executive, February 29, 2020
    Decal Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, February 12, 2020
    Michael Bennet, Senator from Colorado, February 11,2020
    Andrew Yang, tech company executive, February 11, 2020
    John Delaney, former Congressman from Maryland, January 31, 2020
    Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey, January 13, 2020
    Marianne Williamson, author, January 10, 2020
    Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, January 2, 2020
    Kamala Harris, Senator from California, December 3, 2019
    Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana, December 2, 2019
    Joe Sestak, former Congressman from Pennsylvania, December 1, 2019
    Wayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, Florida, November 20, 2019
    Beto O’Rourke, former Congressman from Texas, November 1, 2019
    Tim Ryan, Congressman from Ohio; October 24, 2019
    Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City; September 20, 2019
    Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator from New York; August 28, 2019
    Seth Moulton, Congressman from Massachusetts; August 23, 2019
    Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington State; August 21, 2019
    John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado; August 15, 2019
    Eric Swalwell, Congressman from California; July 8, 2019

    Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is technically still a contender, although she last appeared in a presidential debate on November 20 and currently has two pledged delegates to July’s Democratic National Convention.

    Be a voter, even if you have to get a mail-in or absentee ballot.

  • Today Is EITC Awareness Day

    Today is EITC Awareness Day, a day to promote a program of benefit to working families and individuals.

    EITC is a tax program although it acts very much like a safety-net program. It puts over $1 billion in the hands (or checking account) of New Jersey residents each year. However, it needs publicity every year, too. About 25% of state residents do not taken advantage of the program at tax time, even though the average EITC tax credit is more than $2,000.

    This year the Earned Income Tax Credit page of the New Jersey Community Resources website has had a major revamping. Easy to find links are listed below. Please do what you can to spread the word about EITC to working families, constituents, and co-workers.

    • Find a Location for Free Tax Help
    • NJ Free Tax Assistance Locations
    • Free Tax Site Locations in South Jersey and Philadelphia Area
    • EITCoutreach.org’s Get It Back Campaign
    • IRS’ EITC Assistant
    • MyFreeTaxes
    • Free File
    • AARP Foundation Tax-Aide
    • IRS Publication 596
    • Notice 1015 – “Have You Told Your Employees About the Earned Income Credit (EIC)?”
    • IRS Notice 797 – “Possible Federal Tax Refund Due to the Earned Income Credit (EIC)”
    • IRS2Go
    • NJ EITC Page
    • NJ Statement to Employees
    • NJ EITC Informational Flyer

  • Democratic Presidential Debates – Update #4

    Updated: February 13, 2020

    The next three Democratic debates are scheduled for February so as to coincide with upcoming Presidential primaries. These debates will be held February 7 in Manchester, New Hampshire, February 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada and February 25 in Charleston, South Carolina. As of January 29, according to a New York Times article, seven candidates, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang, have met the eligibility requirements set by the Democratic National Committee.

    Upcoming Democratic Party primaries and caucuses are: Iowa caucuses – Monday, February 3; New Hampshire primary – Tuesday, February 11; Saturday, February 22 – Nevada caucuses; and Saturday, February 29 – South Carolina primary. Then comes “Super Tuesday” on March 3 with primaries in Texas, California and fourteen other states.

    The active Democratic contenders are, in alphabetical order:
    Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States
    Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City
    Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
    Tulsi Gabbard, Congresswoman from Hawaii
    Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota
    Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont
    Tom Steyer, former hedge fund executive
    Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts

    A total of nineteen candidates have dropped out, withdrawn or suspended their campaigns to date. They are, in chronological order:
    Decal Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts, February 12, 2020
    Michael Bennet, Senator from Colorado, February 11,2020
    Andrew Yang, tech company executive, February 11, 2020
    John Delaney, former Congressman from Maryland, January 31, 2020
    Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey, January 13, 2020
    Marianne Williamson, author, January 10, 2020
    Julián Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing & Urban Development, January 2, 2020
    Kamala Harris, Senator from California, December 3, 2019
    Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana, December 2, 2019
    Joe Sestak, former Congressman from Pennsylvania, December 1, 2019
    Wayne Messam, Mayor of Miramar, Florida, November 20, 2019
    Beto O’Rourke, former Congressman from Texas, November 1, 2019
    Tim Ryan, Congressman from Ohio; October 24, 2019
    Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City; September 20, 2019
    Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator from New York; August 28, 2019
    Seth Moulton, Congressman from Massachusetts; August 23, 2019
    Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington State; August 21, 2019
    John Hickenlooper, former Governor of Colorado; August 15, 2019
    Eric Swalwell, Congressman from California; July 8, 2019

    The requirements to participate in the upcoming New Hampshire debate were released in mid-January by the Democratic National Committee.

    The number of Democratic presidential candidates continues to shrink with the withdrawal of three in December, four in January and three in February. There were two dozen plus contenders in July, 2019. The current cast is down to eight.

    Be a voter.