Time for "Tea Party" in Douglas

It's "Tea" time in Douglas as the city prepares for its first Tea Party meeting .

This first meeting will be held on Saturday, July 17, at the Gadsden Hotel. It will be held from noon to 3 p.m. and the public is invited.

Local Tea Party organizer Dorothea Packard-Watkins said, “I wanted to start a Tea Party in Douglas because this is where the horror is happening with the border and it is time for change.

“The Tea Party is a spontaneous gathering of local people who want to see a change.”

Jesse Kelly, a candidate for U.S. Congress will be one of the main speakers. Also, at the local event will be Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet, Founder and Medical Director of Her Place: Health Enhancment and Renewal for Women and Gabby Mercer, Smart Girl Politics.

Kelly is a former United States marine who moved to Tucson in 2004. His primary policy is to finish the double layer border fence. He has been to Douglas many times and has also toured the border.

Kelly wants to secure the border first and stop the influx of illegal immigration, then work towards building up legal immigration policies and funding, Director of Communications, John Ellinwood, said.

He became involved with the Tea Party in 2009 in Tucson and has been involved in Benson, Wilcox, Bisbee, Green Valley, Sonoita and more. The Tea Party will be hosting an event July 17 at the Gadsden Hotel from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. the public is invited.

What is the Tea Party?

The reason for the Tea Party movement is to stop excessive government spending and taxation, the Tea Party Patriots Web site said. Their mission is to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with their three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets.

The Tea Party movement started in 2009 as a reaction in large part to the Obama administrations health care reform, the Website said.

For questions, email dorotheawatkins58@gmail.com