Lou

Thousands of Democrats from all over Massachusetts converged on the DCU Center in Worcester Saturday at the MassDems Convention. The primary purpose of the convention was to nominate and endorse Senator Elizabeth Warren for reelection.

It was a large enthusiastic crowd of Dems delegates. The Convention opened with an extraordinary performance by Worcester students leading us in the Pledge or Allegiance and the National Anthem.

Sec of State Bill Galvin was the opening speaker. Secretary of State William Galvin said “some people” have taken the approach of reminding voters of “all the bad things that Trump did.” But Democrats, he said, are a “party of hope, not a party of fear.”

Local officials including the Worcester Mayor Joe Petty, City Councillors, State Reps and Congressman McGovern led the convention touting the accomplishments, advantages of the city of Worcester, and how the Biden Administration and Dems help the area and the urgency to win in November.

Worcester Mayor Joe Petty argued Democrats needed to stack up behind Biden because Trump is “guilty of leaving his fellow Americans behind as he works for … himself and other wealthy people.” “Here in the City of Worcester, we welcome the people that Donald Trump is trying to keep out. Racism, hatred, homophobia, xenophobia have no place in the United States of America,” Petty said.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said the upcoming presidential election is “about more than Donald Trump.” “It’s about what he represents, a political movement that is completely detached from our values, a movement that uses political violence and threats of vengeance and retribution to maintain power. If Donald Trump and his MAGA allies win, they will continue to push for a national abortion ban,” McGovern said.

Every state official starting off with Sec. of State Bill Galvin to Auditor Diana DiZoglio to Treasurer Debra Goldberg to Lt Gov Kim Driscoll and Gov Maura Healey spoke.

Even as each speaker touted the gains for Massachusetts and the nation achieved by elected Democrats, speakers from state Democratic Party Chairman Steve Kerrigan to Gov. Maura Healey urged the delegates in the audience to reach out to family, friends, neighbors in Massachusetts and beyond to urge them to vote in November and to support the reelection of Biden. All progress achieved by the current administration — the passage of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, forgiveness of student debt, creation of a climate change job corps and even the reduction in the price of insulin to $35 a month — are at risk of being reversed and undone by a Trump presidency. We’ve accomplished a lot, there is more to do and we MUST win in November.

Each had a similar message, except for Diana DiZoglio who sang to her 2 minutes.

In the runup to the Nov. 5 general election, those on the left in Massachusetts, like Gov. Maura Healey, cast a potential second Trump presidency as likely “far worse” than his first time in office. “Donald Trump would be more vengeful, more divisive, more dangerous than he was ever before. But don’t just believe me, believe Donald Trump. Donald Trump said he’ll launch the largest deportation operation in American history and tear apart millions of families. He said he will use his Department of Justice to prosecute his political opponents,” Healey said.

Gov. Maura Healey and Lt Gov Kim Driscoll congratulated the Worcester North High School basketball team on their state championship at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention. On the way off stage, Gov Healey showed her basketball props by spinning the basketball on her finger as she departed.

Senators Markey and Warren closed the convention continuing the theme of we’ve accomplished much, there’s more to do and we cannot ever let Donald Trump near the White House. I don’t know who wrote Markey’s speech but he had a lot of good GOP zingers. One was: “We all know that Donald Trump’s got 34 problems and being rich ain’t one. So here’s the truth, we all know that the only man electable in Massachusetts who wears 34 will always be Big Papi David Ortiz,” U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, said “Democracy is on the ballot.” “Donald Trump cozies up to racists and white nationalists. He posted a pro-Nazi ad calling for a unified Reich and the convicted felon says he wants to be a dictator on day one. Listen to him,” Warren said.

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The conviction of Trump hung over the meeting but the convention did not dwell on it. Just about every speaker on the stage discussed the Thursday jury decision that made Trump a convicted felon, some mentioning him by name and others eschewing it. Each time the delegates responded with cheers or boos. They then dwelled on remembering why we are Democrats, what are values are and why we must defeat the MAGA Republicans.

However, “Lock Him Up” rolled through the building as Warren discussed former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who was convicted on 34 felony counts Thursday by a New York jury of his peers. “Give Democrats a trifecta in the White House, the Senate and the House and we will deliver,” Warren said, promising to codify the Voting Rights Act to ensure all Americans can exercise their civic duty with ease and to eradicate the filibuster, the mechanism used to prevent action on controversial measures, and to ensure statehood for the District of Columbia.

The convention ended with the delegates endorsing Senator Warren by affirmation.

The sole purpose of City/Town Committees is to elect Democrats. As such, conventions are always a call to action for the delegates but this year the imperative for all of us to so whatever we can to defeat the GOP was louder and more urgent than in years past for obvious reasons.

We must remind people about the importance of voting, we do have to make sure that they don’t stray off to fringe third, fourth, and fifth party candidates as some kind of a protest to nowhere. There’s too much at stake. There’s too much that has to be done,”

The message is clear. All progress achieved by the current administration — the passage of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, forgiveness of student debt, creation of a climate change job corps and even the reduction in the price of insulin to $35 a month — our very democracy – are at risk of being reversed and undone by a Trump presidency. We’ve accomplished a lot, there is more to do and we MUST win in November. Get to work!

Senator Joan Lovely, State Committee Members Marilyn Hazel and Julie Curtis and Danvers Dems Lou Bernazzani, Phil Bolduc, Tom Meagher and Ted Speliotis attended

A Manhattan jury found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 charges of falsifying business records Thursday, an unprecedented and historic verdict that makes Trump the first former president in American history to be convicted of a felony.

Trump was convicted on all counts. The evidence was overwhelming but I didn’t really think that he would be convicted. I thought that a hung jury would be a more likely outcome but the jurors showed extraordinary courage and did their duty.

Trump immediately broke out the same speech he did after he lost the election. The trial was a disgrace and was rigged. Of course, Trump again did not testify in his defense just as hE didn’t testify during the impeachments, the sexual assault trial, the defamation trial and the fraud trial. We all know why.

The United States of America continues to fight for the rule of law and to save our country from those who want to do away with our democracy. About half the country thinks that it’s OK to pay off a porn star, that it’s OK to commit fraud, that it’s OK to not pay taxes, that it’s OK to sexually assault a woman, that it’s OK to separate children from their parents and lose them, and that it’s OK to to steal top secret documents. They tried to overthrow the government when they lost an election and stormed the Capitol. The insurgency continues. The fight is not over. It is just beginning. November is coming and we must be ready!

Lopes was chosen as the new chair after last year’s chair, Robin Doherty, chose not to run for re-election.

Gabe Lopes, an East Boston native and global financial executive who was elected to the Danvers School Committee in 2022, will chair the Committee for the next year.

Lopes was unanimously chosen to guide the Committee this week at the first meeting following the annual town election in which Robin Doherty, last year’s Chair, and Alice Campbell chose not to run for re-election.

For more information, see the Patch article at Danvers Patch.

Service on the Salem Skipper — a low-cost minibus ridesharing service introduced in the Witch City in December 2020 — is expanding to Beverly and Danvers as part of a pilot program starting this spring.

In Danvers, the on-demand public transportation will allow for rides to downtown, the Liberty Tree Mall, North Shore Medical Center, Cherry Hill Business Park, Beth Israel Health Center and North Shore Community College, with connection locations in Beverly and Salem, including the commuter rail stops to Boston.

This will be the first public transportation in Danvers since the MBTA suspended bus service in 2022.

Riders can book a ride using a mobile app or by calling in ahead of time 

Most passengers will walk less than a block or two to their ride. The Skipper will provide those with accessibility needs with door-to-door service.

From Danvers, residents can ride across the entire service area Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Rides cost $2 each, or $1 for senior citizens, teens (13+), and people with disabilities. The person booking the ride can bring up to two additional passengers — each additional friend costs $1 extra.

“The town looks forward to partnering with Salem and Beverly to launch this proven ride-share service for the benefit of our residents and businesses, and those across our subregion,” Town Manager Steve Bartha said. “This service provides a critical connection across the North Shore and fills a gap in existing public transportation services.”

Residents are invited to take part in this year’s Memorial Day week event to honor fallen veterans.

Danvers residents are encouraged to take part in this year’s Walnut Grove Cemetery flag-placing honoring the town’s fallen veterans for Memorial Day.

The flag-placing will be on May 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. The Danvers Veterans Services officer will be distributing flags at the Sylvan Street entrance to the cemetery.

All are welcome to help with this important civic activity.

Dee Djoko and Michael Bean were sworn in on Thursday after their successful challenge bids during the annual town election.

Two new Danvers Select Board members were sworn into office on Thursday after a transformative election in which challengers Michael Bean and Dee Djoko successfully unseated a pair of incumbents amid a strong voter turnout for a local election.

Bean was the top vote-getter with 2,243 votes and Djoko was second with 2,206 in Tuesday’s results, besting Gardner Trask (1,849) — who had served the town for the previous 18 years — and Matthew Duggan (1,116) following his first three-year term.

Djoko, a native of Cameroon and a 13-year Danvers resident, used his time to thank Danvers residents for putting their trust in him to serve their interests on the Board for the next three years.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as a member of this board,” he said. “And I promise to uphold the values of civility and transparency. As I embark on this new chapter, I am committed to listening to the concerns of all Danvers residents. And working tirelessly to address them.

“Together, we will strive to ensure that our community remains vibrant, inclusive and affordable for generations to come.”

Challengers Michael Bean and Dutrochet “Dee” Djoko will be replacing incumbents Gardner Trask and Matthew Duggan for their three-year Select Board terms, according to unofficial results posted at the Danvers High School Tuesday night.

“This is a big responsibility that the people of Danvers have given me,” Djoko said. “I’ll celebrate tonight, enjoy the moment, and put my feet up. But tomorrow it’ll be time to get to work, because this was never about winning for me, it’s been about governance.”

A total 7,280 Danvers residents voted in the Select Board race. Unofficially, Dee Djoko finished second to Bean by 30-40 votes.. Gardner Trask was not re-elected for the first time in 18 years, and Duggan finished fourth after just one term.

Bean was the top vote-getter in the four-person race for two seats with 2,202 votes, with Djoko second with 2,171 votes in unofficial results. Incumbent Gardner Trask was third with 1,799 votes and incumbent Matthew Duggan was third with 1,090 votes.

Many members of the DanversDems were out there supporting Dee.

In the six-way bid for the three-year Library Trustee terms, all three incumbents, Dana Michael Hagan, Donna Hopkins, and Jessica Cargile, held onto their positions against challengers Caroline Pomakis, Michael J. Shannon and David L. Elzey.

In the uncontested School Committee race, Michael Shannon and Sean Doherty took the three-year terms left open by former School Committee members Alice Campbell and Robin Doherty, who did not seek reelection.

Our own Marilyn Hazel was re-elected as Town Meeting Member Precinct 6 and Phil Bolduc running for the first time was elected in Precinct 2.

The candidates elected to three-year terms as Town Meeting members in Precinct 1 include Paul Eovacious, Lauren Deluca, Christopher Dembowski, Glenn Dagley, Janet Bennett and Matthew Aquaro.

In Precinct 2, it’s Nancy McNulty, Paul McNulty, Robert Cummings, Elizabeth Stockman, Donna Marden, Mark Hannon, Philip Bolduc, and Patrick Kelliher. Kyle Bryce Hopkins was elected to a twoyear term.

In Precinct 3, the winners are Sandra Lane, Sally Calhoun, Kathleen Turcotte, Suzanne Elovecky, Peter Clement and Douglas Daley.

In Precinct 4, Richard Parker, Richard Bolduc, Marissa Costello, Donna Hopkins, Corinna Grace and Richard Stoney.

In Precinct 5, Tenley Bevins, Robert Leshin,MatthewByrne,MichaelTrainor, Mary Depamphilis and Christen Tipert.

InPrecinct6,MarilynHazel,Lawrence Chisholm, Corinne Doherty, Linda Flaherty, Angela Pyburn, and Theodore Kontos.

In Precinct 7, Eileen Harriss, Martha Driscoll, Lisa Silva, James Ciman, Steven Murphy and Allen McCarriston.

In Precinct 8, William Hersey, Mitchell Abbatessa, Tim Gray, Charles Lincicum, Michael Morris, David McKenna. Gregory Tremblay was elected for a two year term.

A caucus was held this Saturday (4/27) at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School to elect delegates to represent the 6th congressional district for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.  

Our Joe Caiazzo was elected as one of the three male delegates. Congratulations to Joe!

Other delegates are:

Michael Lis, North Andover

David Seaton, West Newbury

Eileen Duff, Gloucester

Rani Jacobson, Gloucester

Diann Slavit Baylis, Marblehead

Tram Nguyễn, Andover (alternate)

Several members of the DDTC have been joining the sign holders for Dee Djoko who is running for Select Board.

There are four candidates seeking election to two positions. Michael Bean, Gardner Trask (i), Dutrochet “Dee” Djoko, and Matthew Duggan (i).  Dee has attended our meetings and many of us are holding signs in the square on Saturday mornings.  If you haven’t seen the Candidate Forum, you can view it here: DCAT Select Board Candidate Forum.  

There are also elections for School Committee, Library Trustee and Town Meeting Members for all 8 precincts.  Our own Marilyn Hazel is running for Town Meeting Member Precinct 6 and Phil Bolduc in Precinct 2.  See the ballot here: Danvers Sample Ballot.