I looked up the hyper-local town and ward committees and there isn’t one for where I am. I emailed the address on that page asking if they knew of anything not listed or if I should try to form a local committee; but that was a week ago and I haven’t gotten an answer. (That’s also the general contact email.)
So, what next? Who do I talk to to get involved? Why is this hard? Why isn’t the MA Democratic Party excited to have me join all fired up and ready to go?
Please share widely!
harmonywho says
Is there a progressive mass chapter near you?
I agree that navigating the party structure as a newbie is not Grady .so sorry….
Christopher says
…but you did choose the right time of year to ask. It just so happens that this weekend is the beginning of our annual caucus season which lasts until the first weekend in April. Each town and ward will be electing registered Dems (including pre-registered Dem teenagers to match the new state law) to attend the platform convention, which will be held Saturday June 3rd in Lowell. As this is not a nominating year chances are good that committees will be begging people to go and it gets you known for future years like next year when caucuses will likely be competitive. The link in this comment is to the list of caucuses with dates, times, and locations and it is important to be on time if you go to yours. I too would be curious as to your town or city as it may be helpful to get you more specific info. Also, sign up for the party email list and interact on social media for more information.
jconway says
Someone new is saying it’s hard and you are berating them for feeling that way. Not particularly welcoming. The substance of your comment was very informative-but I do have to say someone at MDP should’ve been on top of this. This is how we keep voters engaged 365 days of the year to volunteer on building the party back up from the grassroots.
Also Harmony is right about PM chapters-we tend to be more active than the MDP in most areas.
Christopher says
…but the thing is, when I moved back to MA from college having been in College Dems I knew I wanted to remain involved and I went looking. Nobody in DC pointed out how I should proceed. I just Googled things like Mass Democratic Party, Young Dems of MA, signed up for their email lists and started receiving info. From there I attended convenient events and by so doing learned even more about party activities and the cycle continued. For the record, we DO make the effort to maintain active town and ward committees in the districts we represent, but it requires people to step up.
jconway says
Whether to vote or volunteer, and not everyone has the patience to do the self directed route as you do. Look at it another way-what’s the downside to making it more accessible and easier to join? I don’t see any. And bolson did find their way here to honestly ask questions.
Reminds me of the Dig piece where the occupiers felt unwelcomed st the 2014 convention. They don’t look like lifers-but maybe that’s a good thing and maybe we need them to helps us reach new voters.
Christopher says
…and I for one have consistently advocated through my state committee work that there be more communication about our events and procedures.
bolson says
Thanks for the caucus link. I’ll try to get to that at least.
JimC says
More useful than party structure.
kbusch says
It would be better if the party structure were at least as useful as a campaign.
sabutai says
You may have some mild utility as a voter. Arguably a bit more as a funding source.
However, the Massachusetts Democratic Party has little evident interest in building a 351-community organization talking to voters and engaging with Massachusetts citizens. Think of the MDP as H&R Block. Sure, they’re open all the time, but it’s mainly quiet days with the less-favored types on the desk. It’s only during tax/election season that there’s money to be made, commercials to be run, and a chance for the usual players to feather their nests. If you’re outside Route 128, there’s no interest in you. Zero.
Find a good state rep or senator, or a good Democratic selectman or school committee member, and commit to them. Work with them and support them. The MDP is interested in the MDP, first and last.
bolson says
I get it. But I’m trying to get into the party and change some of those shortcomings. 50 state strategy, even this one.
jconway says
And I’m glad you’re here. The lifers may like it opaque and the cynics question the value of working inside the party structure, but we need more outsiders to come in and shake it up. So I applaud your enthusiasm. And there are a ton of areas where the party and progressive values are poorly represented right in our backyard.
fredrichlariccia says
Our motto is: “Persuade the persuadable. Activate the persuaded.”
Welcome to the fight !
Fred Rich LaRiccia
sabutai says
I spent a solid year trying to get involved with the Plymouth Dems, and that group of eight people had no interest. So now I help campaigns worth helping.
markbernstein says
If there are only eight active Democrats in your town, and they’re blocking progress, don’t agonize — organize. Get a bunch of people behind you — a bunch in this case meaning a dozen — and get them onto the committee. Then you’ll be the Committee.
sabutai says
This argument only goes so far. I barely had the time to work for the committee — that’s why I didn’t have much time to travel and find the committee. As fun as it would be to Chair a town committee, I wouldn’t do a great job. Perhaps I’m just criticizing from the outside, but it’s a shame to see the party die in my hometown. They aren’t obligated to provide a space for a volunteer (well, they kind of are), but one would wonder if there was an interest. I guess the state party isn’t obligated to trying to make something happen in each town. More the shame.
Christopher says
…but the state party does consider part of its charge to support and develop town and ward committees mostly through the Field Services subcommittee, though I will concede a gap between theory and practice.
fredrichlariccia says
of your local newspaper. I try to write one a week on local, state, national and international issues from a progressive point of view. I’ve been taking advantage of this free forum for the past 50 years since high school and it continues to mystify me why more Dems don’t use this platform to speak out.
Fred Rich LaRiccia
paulsimmons says
The State Committee web page concerning creating such committees is here, along with a list of existing committees.
Should an existing committee exist in your town, the list contains contact information for the local committee chairman.
On the page are also links to pdf files that should be filled in and sent to the Secretary of State’s Office (a Statement of Organization) and the Democratic State Committee (Town Committee Declaration Form), as well as sample by-laws.
The Town Committee Declaration Form has not been updated to reflect new leadership, so the salutation should be “Dear Chairman Bickford”.
Christopher says
…that the local committee list on the party website should not be taken as gospel. It may be better now, but for a long time many committees were missing which as secretary of the Lowell DCC I can personally attest since I sent in the paperwork the day after we organized and it was several weeks before the correct information appeared online. The other list is of DSC members for your district whom you might contact to double check on the status of your town’s committee (and, for that matter to ask other questions regarding local involvement).
johntmay says
See who is there, how they operate, ask if any of them know of Democrats in your town. Ask them for their help. They ought to be more than willing to help you the entire way.
Christopher says
Some legislative districts or other appropriate geographic groupings have regional committees. These are created by the local committees rather than the state party and do not cover the entire state, but they are good places to start showing up to if they exist. I regularly attended meetings of my regional group for quite some time before I was finally officially added to my town committee.
Peter Porcupine says
We have a Lower Cape Republican Council, a Cape Cod Republican Club, etc. I am sure there are parallel groups.
Years ago, I filed a bill to allow the creation of regional town committees areas, which would allow towns in rural areas to participate in party structure, serve as convention delegates, etc. At the time, I was concerned about Martha’s Vineyard, which would need 5 town committees to allow full participation by MV residents. To his great credit, the then-Chair Sen. Augustus was very interested and his committee gave the bill a favorable report. It was then that I learned that this was a problem for the Democrats as well as the Republicans.
I had included a suggested formula for dissolution when/if the committee membership was able to sustain various groups, or the criteria for adding another town to the regional committee, etc. Needless to say, after the favorable report the bill went nowhere as Beacon Hill saw no virtue in a bunch of rural bohunks suddenly being able to vote at conventions, but at least I tried.
Christopher says
…but there are ways to call a caucus in towns without active committees so that such towns can be represented at convention. We also consider under represented areas when selecting add-on delegates. While they are not legal entities the way town and state committees are, they are a good way to get involved and learn about the party. Many states do have official county parties, but those also tend to be states where counties are more significant generally.
Peter Porcupine says
Identity blocs, special interest delegates, etc. are not on our side. That is why there are only 80 SC members- man and woman per state law. There are candidate appointed delegates and elected official delegates as well. But if you are a temporarily abled, straight, white male I don’t think you have any special slots
And this person seems to want to be involved overall, not just go to the convention. That is what the bill was meant to address, even though getting islanders to the convention as regular delegates was the inspiration
jconway says
I know from my UIP experience that OCPF wouldn’t allow regional committees. Our South Shore meeting drew a decent number from several different towns. Of course, it wasn’t that hard to get them all to file town committees in their own municipalities. Fortunately those folks and the Fitchburg team are still active in other organizations.
Mark L. Bail says
County, feel free to contact me. I can put you in touch with any number of people who would be glad to help you.
kate says
I’m not here as often as I used to be. I apologize for the delay in responding. The group here has give you good advice.
1) The MDP is in transition. I apologize that no one reached out to you sooner.
2) As Paul and Christopher indicated, if there is no committee, you can start one. Sometimes because paperwork isn’t filed there is no DTC/Ward/City Committee listed.
3) Even if a committee didn’t file paperwork, the caucus link is a good way to see if there is a group in existence.
4) It sounds like there is a caucus, but not a DTC listed. I am at 508-404-8531 or KateDonaghue AT aol DOT com . If you call me I can provide more information. Kate