event

Only two contested races:

Tom Driscoll won Essex County Clerk of Courts

Eileen Duff won Essex County Register of Deeds

My Notes from DanversDems August 15 Meeting

Hello everyone,

My notes from last nights meeting for those who were unable to attend.

Presentation slides are available here: August Meeting Presentation

The transition from Joe Biden to Kalama Harris was top of mind with members expressing gratitude and respect for Joe Biden and enthusiasm, hope and dare I say joy with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

We had three great speakers;

Alex Bausch from the MassDems related the surge in volunteering since Kamala was nominated and discussed what we can do to elect Harris/Walz particularly in NH.

State Representative Sally Kerans informed us of the progress she and legislators made on the maternal health bill this week and is now on the Governor’s desk, the PFAS bill to protect Firefighters has been signed by Gov. Healey and continue to work economic development and clean energy. Also discussed housing for migrant families, the Steward Hospital situation, battling GOP effort to undermine voting and other issues.

Mary Henry spoke on behalf of Eileen Duff, candidate for Register of Deeds citing Eileen’s qualifications and asking for support on September 3 primary.  

Members were very engaged in discussion on Harris/Walz and with all three speakers.  So much so that I abbreviated some of the agenda but it was great to see the enthusiastic discussion.Members discussed interest in doing campaigning as a group with post card parties, phone banking parties and canvassing in NH.  We will work on these.MassDems is making Harris/Walz lawn signs available for $10.  I have until August 22 to place an order.  Contact me at lou@danversdemocrats.org or 978-304-2714, if you want a sign.  I will send out a separate email (sorry, yet another email) specifically for this.

Shout out to Liz Brennan for a very successful Toiletries Drive for the Food Pantry and to Phil Bolduc for negotiating with Town on guidelines for having an information table at the Summer Concerts and other events.

Charlotte Jordan was voted in as the newest member of the DanversDems team.  Welcome Charlotte.

OctoberFest is September 28. (save the date) Theme is “We ChooseFreedom!”   Everyone should have received an email invitation.  Contact me if you did not.  Volunteers to serve on OctoberFest Committee are welcome.

Democratically yours,
Lou

lou@danversdemocrats.org

DanversDems held a Toiletries Drive for the Danvers Food Pantry on Saturday and Sunday August 10 & 11 at the CVS downtown at 1 Maple Street.

DanversDems turned out to collect items for the Danvers Food Pantry. First time we held such an event at a business location. We collected many items from DanversDems and from people visiting the CVS.

If anyone wished to donate but was unable to, you can bring items to Thursday meeting or contact Liz at liz.conrad98@gmail.com

Thanks to Liz Brennan for running this successful event.

3rd Annual LDCC Ice Cream Social!

Join us for a Sunday of sundaes, speeches, socializing, & the ever popular DEMOCRATIC DESSERT CONTEST!

I have attended the last couple of years and there has been a pretty good array of speakers and of course they make ice cream sundaes!  

Sunday, July 28

2pm-4pm 

Lynn Museum Courtyard & Park

590 Washington Street 

$15 per person/$25 per family

Please bring your own chair!

Thank you! 🍨

Our annual OctoberFest event will be held on September 28.. More details as we get closer to the date

The North Shore Race Amity Multicultural Festival will be held on July 13 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM  at the 97 Elm Street parking lot across from the Danvers Town Hall.
Come celebrate our multicultural community with this opportunity to elevate kindness, respect and civility across racial and ethnic differences!
This events features Afro Beats Boston, Tactical Bouzouki, a cross-racial interview with Danvers Residents Emilia and Godwin, a Youth Panel and more!

Rep. Sally Kerans and June Curtis sponsored the public reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 AM at the Library Pavilion. I learned from MaryAnn Kowlowski that this is the 10th year for this event. It was my first time attending and wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

It was a very well attended event with many people taking time out on their 4th of July morning to come to the park to listen to fellow townspeople read our Declaration of Independence. Members of the Danvers Alarm attended to formally notify the people of Danvers that the colonies had declared independence from England. People lined up to read a paragraph or a sentence. The readers were of all ages from 3 or 4 middle or high schoolers to senior citizens. There were quite few DanversDems attending as readers and as part of the audience. I found it to be a more moving experience than I thought it would be. Well Done!!

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photos courtesy of Julie Curtis

Debate Night Watch Party was held on June 27 at the Polish Club.  It was a great event attended by about 25 people including members from Topsfield, Middleton and Peabody. It provided an opportunity for us to discuss what we are doing and plan to work together going forward.

Thanks to Liz Brennan for recommending to do this event and for her effort planning the event and preparing the room.

It was a great time and then the debate started…. Joe Biden needed to do one thing which was to show that he was up to the task and in my view, failed miserably. After the state of the union and his week in Europe at D-Day, this was totally unexpected by me. He looked tired, his answers were low and slow. Trump lied non stop for 90 minutes presenting many opportunities to be shown for what he is and Biden missed every time.

I am a “Joe Biden guy”. I supported him in his unsuccessful runs and volunteered on the day he announced his candidacy for 2020. I spent time in NH. It was heartbreaking to watch this debate for me because of its importance and for his inability to rise to the occasion against the greatest threat to our democracy.

I asked myself how can I knock on doors and respond to the statement that he’s too old and not up to the job due to his age. and I no longer have an answer. Joe Biden is a hero. He rescued us from COVID and from Donald Trump. It pains me greatly but, in my view, for the sake of the country I think that Joe Biden needs to consider stepping down. Once the impact of this debate wears off maybe I will come back to Joe but today I think we need to consider this action.

Photos courtesy of Julie Curtis

Marilyn graciously hosted the DDTC Annual Cook-Out and Scholarship Presentation again this year on June 29.

State Representative Sally Kerans and State Senator Joan Lovely presented the DanversDems Scholarship to Gabrielle Griffin-Fetsch. Gabrielle will be attending Boston College and majoring in Political Science.

The weather held up until the very end when we got a few sprinkles. Lou George did a great job serving as the Grill-Master. Lots of desserts and appetizers. We could hear Traskstock in the background. All and all, it was a very nice day.

The aftermath from Thursday’s debate provided for lots of lively discussion. I think it was good to be able to discuss the debate and the path forward for the party amongst fellow Dems.

Thanks to Marilyn for hosting, Julie for taking photos, Lou for cooking, Sally and Joan for presenting and everyone for attending.

The June Meeting was held on June 24 @ 7:00 in the Gordon Room at the library. It was a hybrid meeting as all future meetings will be.

Justin Glenzer, Out of State Director for the New Hampshire Democratic Coordinated Campaign spoke to us on how we can help the Biden-Harris campaign and to elect Dems in NH followed by questions and answers.

We discussed details on the Presidential Debate Watch Party on June 27 and the Scholarship Presentation Annual Cook Out on June 29. We continued our increase membership discussion using ideas from the MassDems Convention Seminar and some things other committees are doing to assist us in generating our ideas. The link to the document is: increase membership pre work document

Here are the slides used for the meeting: Presentation Slides

Here is the meeting agenda:  DanversDems Agenda

Thanks everyone.   Next meeting is scheduled for August 15.

Lou
lou@danversdemocrats.org