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Who We Are
Our Goals
Meetings
Our Committee
Political
Contacts
Calendar
of Events
Contact
Us
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Welcome
to the
Stoughton
Democratic Town
Committee
Web Site!
What Is The Stoughton Democratic Town Committee?
The Stoughton Democratic Town Committee (S.D.T.C.) is established
under the authority
of the General Laws of the Commonwealth
of
Massachusetts
and the Charter
of the Democratic
Party of
Massachusetts.
Under this
authority, the
Stoughton Democratic
Town Committee
is charged
with furthering
the ideals and aims
of the Democratic
Party locally, in Massachusetts
and nationally.
Our Platform, as approved at the 2011 convention, may be viewed at
Massachusetts
Democratic
Party Platform.
The Goals of the Stoughton Democratic Town Committee are:
- to
enhance
the democratic
process
by engaging
more people
in political
activities;
- to bring
issues of
social, economic
and political
importance
to public
awareness;
- to work
through the
electoral
process to
get Democratic
candidates
elected to public
office in
county, state
and national positions.
Meetings
When you join the Stoughton Democratic Town Committee, you become
an active
part
of the local voice
of the Democratic
Party. Instead
of watching events
unfold, you
become a part of the
team that makes
events take place. These
events affect
your life
and the lives of people
around you. Our
monthly
meetings (except during
summer) feature
well-known and fascinating
guest
speakers from the
world of government
and politics. You
will learn
about the latest
developments on Beacon
Hill, how to get
involved in campaigns,
how the best campaigns
are run (and won) and
more. You
will have the opportunity
to discuss
the most newsworthy
and pressing issues
of the day with acknowledged
experts and outspoken
leaders, close up,
one-on-one. You
will have a chance
to make a real difference,
be heard, work
toward Democratic victories
and even run for
office yourself. If
you are a Democrat,
you probably believe
in most of the things we
do. You probably support
the same positions
and care about the same
challenges.
So, why not take the next
step, do something
about your concerns and
apply for Associate Membership
in the Stoughton
Democratic Town Committee
today?
Composition
of the Committee
The Stoughton Democratic Town Committee is the local branch of the
Democratic
Party. Our
members
are elected
every four
years (during
the Presidential
Primary Election). We,
also, have a number
of Associate
Members, who
enjoy most of the
rights and responsibilities
of regular
Elected Members,
as well as Lifetime
Members (who
have served for at
least 20 years as regular
Elected Members). Vacancies
in the Elected
Member body are
filled by nomination
and vote of the
Elected Members and are selected
from the current
Associate Members. The
Committee
conducts activities
such as the endorsement
of enrolled
Democratic candidates
in partisan
and nonpartisan primaries,
preliminaries
and elections,
financial support
of the State Committee and
Democratic nominees,
adoption of resolutions
and platforms,
fundraising for political
purposes,
voter registration
campaigns, caucuses
for endorsing candidates,
adopting resolutions
or conducting
other Party business. In
compliance with the rules
of the Massachusetts Democratic
Party and to reflect the diverse make-up
of Stoughton, we actively recruit
minority, female, gay, lesbian,
young and disabled Democrats to
join us. Any Democrat
in Stoughton is eligible
to join. All of
our meetings are held
in handicapped accessible
locations.
Registered Democrats and those who are unenrolled ("independents")
are
invited
to attend S.D.T.C.
events.
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee for the Stoughton Democratic Town Committee
for 2011 to 2012 includes:
John Kavin, Co-Chair, 53-61 McCormick Terrace, Stoughton,
MA 02072, (781) 344-6748,
johnkavin@comcast.net
Donna Smith, Co-Chair, 282 Seaver Street, Stoughton,
MA 02072, (781) 344-8741
Roberto Soto, Vice-Chair, 35 Rogers Drive, Stoughton,MA
02072, (781) 341-3238, rrsoto@verizon.net
Lester Davis, Treasurer, 557 Park Street, Stoughton,
MA, 02072, (781) 341-9626
Linda Hickey, Secretary, 3 Manor Drive, Stoughton, MA 02072,
(781) 344-9570, HickeyL@comcast.net
Steven Wilkinson, Web Site Manager, 145 Smith Avenue, Stoughton,
MA 02072, (781) 341-0609, stvnwlknsn@hotmail.com
ADDITIONAL POLITICAL CONTACTS
To send an electronic mail message to the following individuals,
click on their highlighted electronic
mail address. If
their name
is highlighted,
clicking
it will connect
you to their
Home Page.
State
Senator Brian Joyce, State House, Room
413A, Boston, MA 02133-1053, (617) 722-1643,
Brian.A.Joyce@masenate.gov
State Representative
Louis L. Kafka,
State House, Room 185, Boston, MA 02133, (617)
722-2960, Louis.Kafka@mahouse.gov
(Stoughton Precincts 2, 3, 4 and 6)
State Representative
William C. Galvin, State House, Room
448, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2582, William.Galvin@mahouse.gov
(Stoughton Precincts 5, 7 and 8)
Governor
Deval Patrick, State House, Room 280,
Boston, MA 02133, (617) 725-4005 or (888)
870-7770 in state, GOffice@state.ma.us
Lieutenant
Governor Tim Murray , State House, Room 280,
Boston, MA 02133, (617) 725-4005 or (888)
870-7770 in state,
GOffice@state.ma.us
Attorney
General Martha Coakley, One Ashburton
Place, Boston, MA 02108 -1518, (617)
727-2200, Attorney.general@ago.state.ma.us
President
Barack Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, (202) 456-1414,
president@whitehouse.gov
or http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Senator John F. Kerry,
218 Russell Building, Second Floor, Washington,
DC 20510, (202) 224-2742, john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov
or http://kerry.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Senator Scott Brown,
359 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington,
DC 20510, (202) 224-4543, http://scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Congressman Stephen Lynch,
2348 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515, (202) 225-8273, stephen.lynch@mail.house.gov
or http://lynch.house.gov/contact/
Massachusetts Democratic Party,
77 Summer Street, 10th Floor, Boston, MA
02110, (617) 939-0800,
staff@massdems.org
National Democratic Party,
430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC
20003, (202) 863-8000, http://www.democrats.org/page/s/contact
Monthly Meeting
The Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
May 17th, at 6:30 p.m. e.d.s.t. at Stoughton Media Access Corporation,
421 Page Street, Suite 2 (telephone 781-341-1708, web site at http://www.stoughtontv.com/).
The building is Lappens Business Center, a gray, two story business
strip mall, and the entrance is the second door from the right. Pizza
and salad with soda, coffee or tea will be available for $10 per person.
Our guest speaker will be Sarah Bradey, Policy Director of MassVote,
to speak about voter suppression. If you wish to attend for dinner
and/or the meeting, contact Donna Smith via telephone
to (781) 344-8741 or John Kavin via telephone to (781) 344-6748
or via electronic mail to johnkavin@usa.net before Monday, May 14th.
The Committee's Fundraiser Cookout is scheduled for
Saturday, June 16th, at 12:30 p.m. e.d.s.t. at the home of Roberto Soto,
35 Rogers Drive. Hot dogs, hamburgers and all the trimmings will
be available for $20 per person. If you wish to participate,
contact Donna Smith via telephone to (781) 344-8741
or John Kavin via telephone to (781) 344-6748 or via electronic
mail to johnkavin@usa.net or Roberto Soto via telephone to (781) 608-4238
or via electronic mail to rrsoto@verizon.net before Wednesday, June 13th.
Questions may be directed to Donna Smith via telephone
to (781) 344-8741 or John Kavin via telephone to (781)
344-6748 or via electronic mail to johnkavin@usa.net.
Our Last Meeting
Our last meeting was held on Saturday,
April 21st, at Ikea. A full buffet breakfast was available for
$11.00 including tax and tip. The agenda included nomination and
election of officers, planning for the coming year and discussion of what
you would like the town committee to be doing (elections, outreach, voter
registration, et cetera). The minutes of the meeting are as follows:
27 people participated. A buffet breakfast
was available for $11.00 per person. Presentations were made by
Brian Clinton and PatMcCabe, candidates for Governor’s Council. Both
candidates are from Hyde Park, not lawyers and asking for votes in September’s
primary election. Clinton expressed his history as a strong Democrat.
McCabe promised an open, transparent process with his election.
The meeting was called to order. Minutes from our last
meeting were accepted. There was no Treasurer’s Report as the treasurer
was not present. A note from Delores Staton was read and a photograph
of her new home was circulated. Thank you notes from Jackie Benson-Jones
and Janice O’Neil were read. It was noted that Allan Mills was
back and looking healthy after his recent surgery. Somehow, Joan
Spicer fell off our roles. She was voted back in. A list was
circulated on which members could indicate their preference for receiving
meeting notifications by mail, electronic mail or both. Notification
by electronic mail is encouraged to reduce postage costs. Mike
Horan volunteered to establish a Facebook page, coordinated with our web
site, for the Town Committee. Participants introduced themselves
noting associations pertinent to the group. Steve Fradkin presented
the results of the Election Committee that included him, Dick Levine and
Stan Zoll. Nominations were for John Kavin and Donna Smith, Co-Chairpersons,
Roberto Soto, Vice-Chairperson, Lester Davis, Treasurer, Linda Hickey, Secretary,
and Beverly Harris, Affirmative Action and Outreach Officer. No
other nominations were made. The nominations were moved, seconded
and voted for without any negative votes. We discussed ways to
get our committee more politically involved. These included:
1. Allan Mills suggestion to establish a monthly television
program on the Stoughton Media Access Corporation channel. This could include:
a. public relations information; b. encouragement, particularly of those
under 50 years old, to get out and vote; c. encouragement of local civic
participation; d. promotion of government actions and services that benefit
the community; e. presentation of movies that matter e.g. 45 minute "documentaries"
about topics of concern with discussion; f. presentation of the activities
of other committees in town; g. a re-creation of Steve Jerome's "Politically
Speaking" program. It was decided that Steve Wilkinson will chair
a group with Allan Mills, Bob Mullen, Steve Fradkin and Mike Horan to establish
a format for this show then present its proposal back to Town Committee
for approval.
2. Sending birthday cards to our residents as they turn eighteen
years old to encourage them to register to vote, invite them to Town Committee
meetings and provide a coupon for a free meal as part of a meeting.
3. Re-print an article from a respected news source, such
as The Huffington Post, as our Town Committee Article of the Week for submission
to The Stoughton Journal and reference on the Town Committee web site.
4. Establish a weekly or semi-weekly column in The Stoughton
Journal by one or more Town Committee members.
5. Run "Days of Action" as requested by the State Committee.
This involves one person at a central site distributing literature and
voter lists to participants who, then, go into the community, knock on doors,
talk with voters and distribute the literature. The current literature
espouses Democrats' accomplishments. The focus is on getting those
who voted in 2008 to vote this year, particularly toward assuring the re-election
of our president and the election of a Democrat as our United States senator.
Requested dates are April 28th or 29th or May 12th or 13th.
Dolores Cummings, Beverly Harris, Don O'Neil, Joan Spicer and Marylou
Giordano volunteered for this group. It was noted that training,
to assure the safety of participants, is needed before action takes place.
Marylou Giordano agreed to be the central contact for a May 12th
action.
6. Sharon Fradkin suggested and Mike Horan agreed to establish
a YouTube page for the Committee.
7. Mike Horan agreed to establish a Twitter presence for
the Committee.
8. Allan Mills and Steve Wilkinson discussed past efforts
to establish a Young Democrats Club at the High School. It was noted
that the high school principal indicated a need for a teacher to express
interest in running such a group for it to occur. No such interest
has yet been expressed.
9. Steve Fradkin suggested we have an electronic mail list
of Democrats in town. Steve Wilkinson agreed to pursue having this
generated from Votebuilder.
10. John Kavin suggested we have lists of those who voted
in recent elections, voted in 2008 but not in 2010 and SuperDemocrats broken
into chunks that align with the geographical proximity of each Town Committee
member. Steve Wilkinson agreed to pursue having this generated
from Votebuilder.
The Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 17th, at
6:30 p.m. e.d.s.t. at Stoughton Media Access Corporation, 421 Page Street,
Suite 2 (telephone 781-341-1708, web site at http://www.stoughtontv.com/).
Our guest speaker will be Cheryl Crawford, from Mass. Vote, to
speak about voter suppression. Respectfully submitted, Steven Wilkinson.
Photographs, from past events, may be found at
Stoughton
Democratic Town Committee Webshots.
Contact Us
If you want to help with an event
or by working
on the Executive Committee,
please give
Donna Smith or John Kavin
a call at (781) 344-8741 or
(781) 344-6748 respectively.
This page was last updated on
May 8, 2012.
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