Progressive Club of the Islands

Sanibel Lighthouse
Welcome to PCI!

Welcome to the Progressive Club of the Islands (PCI) (formerly named the Democratic Club of the Islands) website.

Our mission is to provide information on important issues confronting our community, and to promote organizations and candidates which offer progressive solutions to these issues.

Click on this Contact Us link to add your name to our mailing list. To join PCI or to renew your mebership please visit the Join/Renew page and you can pay online or by mail (annual dues are $35 for an individual, $70 for a family). You can also support our efforts through a donation or by giving your time. 

Progressive Club of the Islands installed its new Board at the March annual meeting.  Pictured left to right:  Diane Cook, Vice-Chair,  Elaine Parente, Chet Sadler, Treasurer, MaryAnn Wilbur, Annette Pacyga, Chair, Ron Green, Howard Lorsch, Gina Nolan, and foreground Allison Goldberg. Not pictured is Joann Reese, Secretary.  

Put Abortion on the Florida Ballot – Waiting for Court decision on ballot item

Politicians in Florida have signed the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. It bans abortion before most women even realize they are pregnant. Help put these decisions back in the hands of Florida families and their doctors, not extreme politicians!

Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF) is a statewide coalition of organizations and concerned citizens working together to protect Floridians’ access to reproductive health care and defend the right to bodily autonomy.  Their citizen-led ballot initiative, the “Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion,” seeks to further codify that right into Florida law by creating a Constitutional Amendment that explicitly blocks the implementation of laws that prohibit, delay, or restrict abortion access. They have acquired 910,946 signed petitions from Florida registered voters and expect to get the proposed Constitutional Amendment on the 2024 ballot.  Then 60% of 2024 Florida voters must approve.  Polls show that 67% of Floridians support a woman’s right to choose.

The coalition supporting the proposed Constitutional Amendment includes groups such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Florida Rising, and Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida. The Progressive Club of the Islands is actively supporting this effort.

If you would like to register with Floridians Protecting Freedom as a volunteer, go out to www.flfree.link/volunteer.  There are weekly online training sessions for volunteers every Tuesday from 5:00 – 6:00 PM. To register for a volunteer training session, go out to www.flfree.link/events

If you would like to make a donation to the effort or get more information, go out to www.floridisansprotectingfreedom.com.

We, at PCI, plan to make generous use of your dues payments and donations to support this effort.  This will be a daunting task – but something we can and must win statewide in Florida.  In addition to the most important result of saving women’s lives, success will send a powerful message to Ron Desantis, his enablers, and the entire nation!

Voting by Mail

Florida makes it very easy to vote by mail (sometimes called “absentee ballots”). Democrats who register to vote by mail are much more likely to vote than those who don’t.

If you would like to request a vote by mail ballot, please call the Supervisor of Elections office at 239-LEE‐VOTE  (239-533‐8683) from 8:30-5:00 Monday through Friday.  Your request to vote by mail must be received by the Elections office no later than 5 PM on the sixth calendar day preceding the election.

Enrollment in Vote-by-Mail is now only good for only one general elections. If you are not sure you are still enrolled, call the Supervisor of Elections office at 239-LEE-VOTE (239-533‐8683). They can check and re-enroll you over the phone.

If it has been over five years since you last registered to vote, please re-register to assure your current signature is on file 

For information on early voting, visit the Election Dates page of the Florida Elections website.

PCI Happy Hours Have Returned – New Location

We continue to have our PCI Happy Hour the first Thursday of the month at the fabulous TRADER’s Restaurant, 1551 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. 

Our next Happy Hour will be Thursday, April 4th  @ 4:00 PM


Special Program & Potluck Thurs, April 18
Our potlucks are back! Mark your calendar for Thurs, April 18 when PCI will host a special program and potluck at 6 pm at the Sanibel Community House.  Details to follow.  
Membership Approves Significant Changes to Club’s By-Laws

At our February 21, 2019, monthly meeting the membership of the club approved the by-law changes recommended by the Board of Directors.  The club will now be named the Progressive Club of the Islands (PCI).  We are looking forward to the greater opportunities for activism that our new by-laws allow.

Please click here to view the new club by-laws.For your reference, please click here to view Frequently Asked Questions on the changed by laws

Also, please click here to view the slide presentation on the changes.