Every fall, the Johnson County Democrats host a barbecue that attracts constituents from all over the county, and even throughout the state. Johnson County Supervisor Janelle Rettig has been going to the function for many years.

“It’s like a big family reunion,” Rettig said. “Sometimes you only see [certain] people at the barbecue, some of the older Democrats.”

The event takes place right before the elections and serves as a platform for candidates to speak with the community and each other.

“It’s right at the election cycle, it’s kind of a breather and a good time for everyone to hang out and celebrate and reenergize for the next couple of weeks,” Rettig said.

In addition to politicians from the state, each year, the Johnson County Democrats bring in guest speakers from around the country. This year they included Andrew Yang, a 2020 presidential candidate from New York, Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon, Governor Jay Inslee from Washington, and Representative Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, another 2020 presidential candidate. Gabbard has spoken at the event for the past two years, and she continues to be impressed by Johnson County’s Democratic party.

“I have been so inspired by all of the energy that I have been surrounded with here in the different count[ies’] Democratic parties and really all the candidates running for office at every level,” Gabbard said. “The folks who I’ve met, at least, are really focused on putting people before politics, really talking about listening to the challenges that people are facing and then talking about how do we work together to find solutions.”

She talked about many topics, including how the funds delegated to war affect the United States.

“The trillions of dollars that we spend on these destructive regime change wars of choice, that are not good for us, actually end up making the problems worse in the countries where we rage wars, and we end up with a deficit of resources that we need for our schools, for our roads, for our healthcare systems, for the things that are in dire need here at home,” Gabbard said.

Gabbard also mentioned that she believes many prevalent issues also affect non-voting high school-age citizens, including healthcare, the cost of education, the kind of education available, criminal justice reform, and the federal prohibition of marijuana, among others.

When she was in high school, Gabbard was passionate about environmental issues, and she encourages students today to find what they are passionate about and try to make a difference.

“Everyone has different kinds of issues that they’re passionate about…the main thing is, as I did as a teenager, there are so many things you can do to get involved right now as we head into the election. Making sure that people who are eligible to vote are voting is a tremendous way to do that,” Gabbard said.

Gabbard is glad she was able to come back to the barbecue for the second year in a row.

“I was glad to be able to come back again this year,” Gabbard said. “We have a unique culture and unique people in every single state but again I’ve been so impressed by the kind of leadership and proactive energy that I’ve seen here especially as we head into the election.”