Who We Are

Our Goals

Meetings

Our Committee

Political Contacts

Calendar of Events

Contact Us

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:

1. to enhance the democratic process by engaging more people in political activities;
2. to bring issues of social, economic and political importance to public awareness;
3. 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.

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

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Monthly Meeting

Our January meeting will take place on Thursday, the 19th, with dinner to be held at Ikea, 1 Ikea Way in their Community Room, off the main dining room on the 2nd floor, starting at 6:30 p.m..  A chicken and ribs buffet will be available for $12.00 per person, tax and tip included.   The scheduled guest speakers, for the evening, are our State Representatives Bill Galvin and Lou Kafka.  R.S.V.P. by Wednesday, January 11th, indicating if you plan to attend the meeting and/or dine, by sending electronic mail to johnkavin@usa.net or telephoning Donna Smith at (781) 344-8741 or John Kavin at (781) 344-6748.  We need to let the kitchen know how many to expect by January 12th.

The Stoughton Democratic Caucus will be held at the Stoughton Public Library, 84 Park Street, 2nd floor, French Room, on Saturday, February 18th.  This is handicapped accessible via the rear door off the parking lot behind the building. Doors open at 9:30 a.m..  Registration closes at 10:00 a.m..  Caucus will be called to order at 10:00 a.m. .  It is very important that you arrive on time to be considered for delegate status.  Delegates will be elected to attend the 2012 State Convention to be held on Saturday, June 2nd, in Springfield.

To run, be nominated, elected or seated as a Delegate or Alternate, a person:

1. Must have been a registered Democrat in Stoughton by December 31, 2011.
2. Must be present and give his or her written consent to nomination except that a person serving in the Armed Forces, who advises his town chair in writing or by electronic mail of his/her desire to be considered for election prior to January 18, 2012, shall be eligible.
3. May be placed in nomination, despite the candidate's absence, provided that the candidate has notified the chair, in writing in advance of the caucus, of his or her interest in running and only if there are not enough candidates present to fill all Delegate and Alternate positions and two-thirds of those present and voting at the local caucus move to have the candidate's name placed in nomination.
4. May not have publicly supported and or endorsed any candidate whose announced intention was/is to oppose the nominee of the Democratic Party, in the current or a previous partisan election.  This applies for United States President and statewide offices for four years from the date of the election in question. This applies for all other offices for two years from the date of the election in question.
5. May make a two minute speech and/or distribute materials on their behalf.
6. If elected, must mail the $75.00 registration fee, for both Delegates and Alternates, by April 13th, 2012 to the Massachusetts Democratic Party.   A late fee of an additional $25.00 will be due with each registration that is postmarked after April 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

The Stoughton Democratic Holiday Party was held at Centerfields in Canton center on December 15th at 6:30 p.m.  The cost this year was $10.00 to raise money to pay for political ads for the next election.  Participants were asked to bring a non-perishable item for the Stoughton food bank.

Photographs, from past events, may be found at Stoughton Democratic Town Committee Webshots.

Contact Us

This page was last updated on January 5, 2012.