Letters: Princeton Democrats to Host Open House Jan. 18 for Potential Council Candidates

As Chair of the Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee and as President of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, we are writing to encourage all Princeton Democrats to consider serving their community by getting more involved in the local Democratic Party or the local government.

As we enter 2015, year three of the recently consolidated Princeton, we invite you to join us at an open-house meeting on Sunday, Jan. 18, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 210 Moore Street to learn more about the different ways that you can get involved.

This is an informal opportunity for Democrats who are considering running for Princeton Council in the future to get advice and learn about the process including how to get on the ballot, and the local party endorsement process.

At this event you can learn about role of the Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee, learn how its members are elected, and get connected with the representatives for your voting district. You can also find out about the important, but distinct, activities of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, a club open to all registered Democrats that works to elect progressive candidates and meets to discuss issues affecting all of us on a local, state, and national level.

Information will be available about the municipal government’s boards and commissions. Serving one of those bodies is a good way to both learn about and help the local government.

For those who can’t attend, information on becoming a member of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization is available at www.princetondems.org/join. You may email municipal-chair@princetondems.org if you would like more information about the municipal committee or running for local office.

Peter Wolanin, Chair, Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee
Jon Durbin, President, Princeton Community Democratic Organization

One Comment

  1. I would be interested to know if people really think there is a consistent Democrat vs. Republican split on key local issues, eg, downtown development, issues regarding public schools, transportation priorities, parking, zoning, business relationship with University, etc.

    I don’t think opinions and approaches on our key Princeton local issues settle on traditional national party lines. And by continuing to have municipal offices filled by elections via the party system, what results is that PCDO “in clubbers” are always nominated, and because such nominees run under the national Democratic party line (and Princeton is for national election purposes a Democrat-dominant town) Democrats always win in our local elections for local office. This stifles some of the discourse and debate that we need around local issues. Unless you are a dues paying member of the PCDO and are able to attend their meetings and gatherings, you don’t really get in on the debate & discussion.

    I am a registered Democrat and a PCDO member but believe that our local elections for municipal offices should be non-partisan to encourage diversity of candidates and robust debate about solutions to local issues.

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