PLEASE NOTE CHANGE: The location of the Alliance/MNW gathering has changed. It will be held at the Nobscot Café at 847 Edgell Road in Framingham. From Rt. 9, take Edgell Road heading north and the Café is in a shopping plaza just before the intersection with Water Street. (Please share this information with anyone else who worked on the campaign and who may not be getting our email notice.)
COORDINATED CAMPAIGN PARTY
Sunday, November 24 from 2 to 4 PM
Nobscot Café – 847 Edgell Road – Framingham, MA
The Coordinated/Alliance/O’Brien Campaign will celebrate the hard work of the volunteers who devoted their time and effort to the cause, with a party on November 24th from 2:00PM – 4:00PM at the Nobscot Café at 847 Edgell Road in Framingham.
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The next Democratic Town Committee meeting is Sunday, January 12, at 7:00 PM at the Union House.
Minutes – Democratic Town Committee – November 17, 2002
MEMBERS ATTENDING: Debby Blumer, Pat Dunne, Bill Haberman, Barbara Magovsky, Rene Mandel, Rob Meltzer, Stephanie Mercandetti, Chris Ross, Norma Shulman.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS (and Others) ATTENDING: Bob Edwards, Mathew Helman, Steve Joyce, Tom Mahoney, Karen Spilka, Nancy Coville Wallace.
MINUTES (Norma Shulman): Will vote on minutes and treasurer’s report next meeting (need quorum).
TREASURER’S REPORT (Bill Haberman):
In the past we have sent a nice letter asking if people are still interested in being
Cash on hand 10/20 $1,539.46
Deposits (dues) $190.00
Subtotal $1729.46
Expenses-
O’Brien mailing $960.75
Coordinated Committee $200.00
Cash on hand 11/17 $568.71
5 still owe dues for last year.
Old Business:
Election de-briefing
Thanks to Barbara Magovsky for her work in the coordinated campaign office.
We had a discussion about the process and the results of the campaign. (The following is a sampling of the comments.)
Barbara thinks the Democrats are not defining themselves well; letting the Republicans define us. Also, there is a double standard for a woman candidate (including by the media). Also, the high number of phone calls to individuals may be an issue to review. A lot of time was spent to raise visibility and to get out the vote. Debby Blumer pointed out that the Democrats were outspent 3 to 1 on ads, and saw an unprecedented amount of negative advertising. The thinking has been that you stop negative ads two weeks before the election. Did not happen this time.
Karen Spilka suggested that we should build on the efforts and involvement of all the volunteers and keep them involved toward future elections. Rene Mandel mentioned that there was not much substance included in the campaigning. For example, the O’Brien campaign had a lengthy position on children with special needs, but the public did not know about it. Steve Joyce mentioned that the ads were almost all negative messages, not the messages of what we stand for. People are sick of the nastiness. Maureen Dunne agrees with the lack of an articulate message. We needed to hear what the Democrats would do on the main issues. She suggests we need to do focus groups with independents. And we need to start now for the next election.
We had an animated discussion about the issue of Speaker Finneran as a perceived head of the party, and how perhaps he may or may not be perceived this way with a more assertive Republican Governor. There does not seem to be another representative to run against Speaker Finneran.
Speaker: Rick Holmes (Editorial Page Editor, MetroWest Daily News)
(A sampling of his comments follows.)
He first commented that he didn’t know that he’d be speaking at a wake (after hearing our de-briefing discussion). Debby replied that wakes are happier.
Nationally the Democratic Party may be sicker than the last two election results would appear. Maybe they were beaten down in the 80’s and haven’t come back with a new identity. Back then, the Republicans were in their cars, listening to cassettes from Newt Gingrich, and getting the party message. Then Clinton was a strong leader with Dole as contrast. After Clinton are we using small proposals, not big ideas? There isn’t a strong leader, and George W. Bush is very different from Dole.
People didn’t know what Shannon stood for. The unenrolled don’t want people to “fight for working families” – they don’t want fighting, and who are working families? (Is it unions?) There’s no party loyalty anymore. Candidates need to take bolder steps. (One example – Al Gore coming out for universal health care.)
A back and forth discussion then followed about what went wrong for the Democrats in MA. One concern is how candidates seem over-rehearsed. Rick mentioned that John McCain was the most interesting candidate in 2000 – because people found him genuine and sincere, as opposed to over-rehearsed. Reich did his own ads, didn’t go negative, and caught on with the college students, and didn’t spend as much. Would he have done better with more time and money? Mario Cuomo said there wasn’t a message or messenger in this election. On a national level Democrats could push for tax reform, tax simplification, payroll tax cut, and get back into the game. On a state level, Democrats could reclaim the issue of cleaning up state government. And who do you have campaign with you (McCain vs. Hillary Clinton)? Is it the message or is it the individual candidates? He thinks the ideology has to be there. Why are Democrats afraid to use the word liberal? Get over the labels and stop letting your opponents define you. The ballot questions added some weight to the election for Governor. What is the role of the “outsider”? And what about the negative attitude toward an “insider”? Are the candidates like movie star personalities – told what to wear, they are managed and lose the genuineness? Who do your trust when you are feeling in a situation where you are insecure? The question was raised whether we need someone as a candidate to inspire voters.
New Business
Report from the Hill
Karen – deadline for bill filing is 12/4. New reps don’t have much staff to do all the research on all the issues, but can work with other reps, etc., to get something filed. Also bills are filed throughout the year. Alliance for Educational Equity (AEE) is holding a statewide organizing meeting at the Statehouse next week. There is recognition that things are unfair, but not clear how it can be changed. Many groups are paying attention to this issue now.
Debby – In 2001 there was acknowledgement of the inequity in the formulas, especially with the role of the LWV in showing the inequities. There are going to be cuts in local aid, so the fairness issue is important in resolving before cuts are made. There are bills being talked about now.
Discussion: How to keep the DTC energized?
Come to the volunteers’ get-together (see notice at the top of the minutes). Do people have ideas for speakers we should invite? How about bringing in college students to join the DTC? How about a survey, fun events, policy discussions? The next generation is not feeling any affinity to a party. Should we try focus groups? This discussion will continue.