 Evan S. Lederman, President |
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| Summer 2005 Edition | September 6, 2005 | |||||
| SPECIAL
MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT Dear Fellow
YDs, NYC DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL DEBATE WATCH PARTY Wednesday, September 7, 2005 6:30pm (Debate 7pm - 8pm)  San Marcos Restaurant 12 St. Marks Place, NYC Lots of TVs, Great Mexican Food and Drink Specials!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! rsvp@youngdemsny.org Cost: $5.00 (All NYS Young Democrats proceeds raised will be donated to the American Red Cross for the Victims of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief efforts.) Additionally, the New York State Young Democrats launched a comprehensive jobs listing resource to help young democrats connect to legislative, campaign and political organization opportunities. Check them all out at www.youngdemsny.org. Democratically Yours, Evan S. Lederman, President |
In
this issue: » Happy Hour Fundraiser » New Executive Boardmembers » San Francisco Highlights » Caucus of Color » Disabilities Issues Caucus » Labor Caucus » GLBT Caucus » Rural Caucus » Women's Caucus » Jobs! Internships! |
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Featured Event - First Happy Hour 
In July, the NYS Young Democrats held their first Happy Hour fundraiser at the White Rabbit in NYC. Young Democrats had an opportunity to meet other Young Dem professionals as they wished members of the New York Delegation good luck on their trip to the 2005 Young Democrats of America Convention held August 3 to 7 in San Francisco, CA. Look out for our next Happy Hour event coming this fall. |
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Jobs! Internships!
Jobs! Here are a number of great opportunities below: DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING: In the New York Office of Senator Charles E. Schumer DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE: Full Time In the White Plains District Office of Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey FIELD INTERNSHIP: Andy Spano for Westchester County Executive CAMPAIGN INTERN: New York City Congressional Campaign Office seeks interns VOLUNTEER WITH THE FRIENDS OF CRAIG 2005! Democratic candidate for the 51st NYC Council District Whether you are just starting out and looking to get more involved in the political process or a seasoned professional seeking a change in scenery. Check them all out at: Legislative Opportunities: Legislative Jobs Campaign 2005: Campaign Opportunities |
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President Evan Lederman Vice Presidents Executive, Downstate, Michael Arvanites Upstate, John Byrne Central, Ron Quartimon Western, Demone Smith Executive Directors Edgar R. Santana Kenneth G. P. Agosto National Committeewoman Tara L. Martin National Committeeman Patricio Barrientos Secretary Michael Gilberg Treasurer Michael Schnall Press Secretary Michael J. Morey Communications Director Frieda Menos Chapter Development Director Marthe JB Ngwashi Finance Director Lindsey Rossler Social Director Leigh Wolinsky Webmaster Brian Switzer Caucus Chairs Caucus of Color, Ron Quartimon Disability, Michael Harris Labor, Joe McNearney GLBT, Brian Switzer Rural, John Byrne Women's, Anahita Ahmadi Williamson College Democrats Ethan Porter President Emeritus Dan Cohen (2002-2004) |
Featured
Young Democrats - New Executive Board Appointments The NYS Young Democrats are happy to announce 4 new appointments to the Executive Board, Lindsey Rossler our Finance Director, Leigh Wolinsky our Social Director, Edgar R. Santana III our Executive Director and Brian Switzer as Chair of the LGBT Caucus. Lindsey comes to us with a wealth of experience as the former Deputy Finance Director for US Senator Christopher Dodd and is currently a Political Science graduate student at Columbia University. Leigh currently works for a Public Relations firm where she is primarily responsible for coordinating the set up of special events in NYC. Edgar presently works on developing special programs for the New York State Democratic Committee - specifically with the coordination of youth outreach organizations for the state party. Our talented Webmaster Brian, who primarily maintains our terrific website at www.YoungDemsNY.org, is a senior currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Public Policy at Baruch College, NYC. All appointments will become final upon the advice and consent of the NYSYD Executive Board. |
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| Featured
Young Dem Chapters The New York State Young Democrats has 30 active Young Democrats chapters throughout this Great State. Read about 2 of our featured Young Dem Chapters below: Queeens County Young Dems 
This past May the recently reformed NYC based chapter, the Queens
County Young Democrats (QCYD) presently headed by Acting
President Matthew Silverstein held their first recruitment
planning meeting to fill Executive Board positions and to organize several
young dem social events. In June, the QYCD hosted their first annual METS
Baseball Game social held at Shea Stadium, Queens - where close to 25
Young Democrats attended this great event. Back by popular demand, the
QYCD will be hosting their next METS Baseball Game Social (METS vs Washington
Nationals) Thursday, September 15th, 2005. For more information on this
upcoming event or to learn how to get involved with the QCYD, contact
Matthew Silverstein at Msilverstein@hotmail.com.
Washington County Young Dems 
The growing Washington County Young Dems (WCYD) is located in the Northeast
New York lead by 2005 Greenwich Village Democratic Council Candidate and
President Lisa Manzi. Lisa Manzi and WCYD member Kameron
Spaulding, recently met NYS Democratic Attorney Candidate Andrew Cuomo
at the Democratic Rural Conference. The WCYD began with High School students
regularly meeting in Greenwich led by Young Dem Nikki Dowling where they
 successfully organized such events as their Food
Pantry concert benefit, a voter registration day and an art exhibit fundraiser.
Shortly after Greenwich formed they started a chain reaction and Young
Dem Kameron Spaulding began organizing Democrats in Argyle. We can only
predict great things to come for the WCYD. If you reside, work or go to
school in Washington County and want to learn how to get involved with
the WCYD, contact Lisa Manzi at lisamanzi@gmail.com.
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2005
Young Democrats of America Convention Highlights
· In an effort to promote gender equality, New York successfully sponsored and passed a rule change that would for the first time hold the voting for DNC Male and Female Young Democratic Representatives, concurrently. · One of New York's local Young Dem chapters, the Young Democrats of Richmond County (YDRC) received the "Outstanding Local Chapter" award from YDA for exceptional chapter 
performance. Congratulations to YDRC President Michael P. Schnall
and all of its members on receiving this prestigious
honor.· DNC Vice Chair & California Congressman Michael Honda, Young Democrats of America (YDA) Convention welcoming reception featured speaker, grants the New York Delegation a private meeting to discuss the future of the Democratic Party and role of Young Democrats. · DNC Vice Chair Susan Turnbull also grants the New York Delegation a private meeting and discusses ways young democrats can help communicate the democratic message in the upcoming elections within New York. · New York captured National YDA leadership positions in the Disabilities Caucus (Donald Graff as Secretary), Northeast Regional Caucus (Michael A. Harris as Alternate Judicial Delegate) and Women's Caucus (Frieda Menos as Secretary). Check out our daily convention wrap ups and photos at http://www.youngdemsny.org/events/sanfrancisco2005.html |
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Chapter Presidents
For more information, contact the Chapter Development Director at marthe.ngwashi@youngdemsny.org with questions and check out our Chapter Building Manual. |
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The NYS Young Democrats has several caucuses and are always seeking bright, hardworking young democrats willing to promote and protect their respective constituencies. Caucus of Color  The Caucus of Color counts 225 New York State Young Democrats as members and still counting. The Caucus originally named the "Minority Caucus" was created in May 2002 at the NYS Democratic Convention in NYC to address issues affecting communities of color in the State. To join the caucus, visit us http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nysyoungdemcaucusofcolor. |
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Disabilities Issues Caucus  Over the past few months our membership has grown by leaps and bounds. We have seen an incredible eighty percent increase in membership and look forward to growing even further. The Caucus recently joined three coalition groups advocating for inclusion of individuals with disabilities. The Ferries for All Campaign recently achieved a major victory with the passage of the landmark Waterborne Ferries Act, which guarantees persons with disabilities equal access to all ferry service operating or docking within the five boroughs of New York. The Taxis for All Campaign advocates for a fully accessible NYC Taxi and Livery fleet - a cause the Caucus is proud to support actively lobbies elected officials and looks forward to the passage of an accessible Taxi bill in the coming months. In the dawn of the MTA’ recent fare increase and token booth closings, I formed the Disabled Riders Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated to promoting greater access to public transportation for New Yorkers with disabilities and while less than a year old, the Coalition’s membership includes nearly 1,000 individual members as well as countless advocacy groups. The Caucus and the Coalition work closely together to maximize effectiveness, despite limited financial resources. For more information please contact us disabledriderscoalition@nysyddic.org or call (914) 323-1725. The Caucus has also actively worked to raise our public profile through the media and have been featured by numerous news outlets, including CBS, NBC, ABC, RNN, FOX News, Able News, the NY Times, Newsday, the NY Sun and even the National Journal, just to name a few. The Caucus recently confirmed two new officers Nassau County's Christopher Riggs and Manhattan's NYS Democratic Committeeman Micah Kellner in the positions of Caucus Secretary and Downstate Vice-Chair, respectively. Both Chris and Micah are very talented individuals and we are excited to have them on board. Additionally, the Caucus congratulates long time member and NYS Young Democrats Secretary Michael Gilberg who was recently elected Northeast Regional Director for the Young Democrats of America. We are a statewide organization and want to expand our efforts to reflect that. In an effort to achieve this goal, we seek applicants to fill the following positions: *Upstate Vice-Chair* *Western Vice-Chair* *Central Vice-Chair* Applicants need not be individuals with disabilities, but must only support the inclusion of such individuals with in all aspects of the Democratic Party and reside or attend school in their respective regions. All interested parties should contact us eb@nysyddic.org or call (914) 323-1725. On behalf of the Caucus I thank you for your past and continued support and look forward to working with you going forward. Democratically yours, MICHAEL A. HARRIS, NYSYD Disability Issues Caucus Chair Mharris@nysddic.org |
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Labor Caucus If you are a member of the Labor Community or identify with the mission of protecting the rights of workers or even regularly finding yourself pulling up your sleeves to pitch in to right injustices, contact me at joemcnearney@gmail.com. Sincerely, JOE HENRIQUEZ MCNEARNEY, NYSYD Labor Caucus Chair joemcnearney@gmail.com |
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GLBT Caucus As the new Chair of the GLBT Caucus, I am thrilled to be able to follow in the steps of former chairs Dirk McCall (President of the NYC Stonewall Democrats) and Alfonso Quiroz. I would like to especially thank my predecessor Alfonso, for all of his hard work over the past year in promoting the democratic message within the caucus and the GLBT community at large. I also serve as the New York State Young Democrats webmaster and the President of the Baruch College Democrats. I look forward to building upon our past efforts to revitalize the caucus within the next couple of months and attempt to implement the following plans through: • The launching of a fully interactive caucus website. • Increasing caucus recruitment by reaching out to the local chapter presidents. • Working with elected officials and candidates and GLBT political organizations throughout the state to address and promote issues affecting the GLBT community. After the upcoming elections, the caucus will focus on the reformation of our executive board and begin to put together a plan for Campaign 2006. I look forward to hearing from GLBT elected officials, members of the GLBT political/health and legal activist organizations. It would also be great to hear from members of college and high school democratic organizations. If you would like to share ideas, comments, have questions or would like to jump on board please email me brian@bswitzer.com or give me a call at 917-653-2918. Additional information available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYSYDGLBT Sincerely, BRIAN SWITZER GLBT Chair & NYSYD Webmaster brian@bswitzer.com |
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Rural Caucus Upstate Democrats like their barbeques, and as Upstate VP and YDRC Chair, I’ve had the pleasure of attending nine of them this summer. It’s been great learning about what Young Democrats are doing in counties that a few years ago, we didn’t know there were any YDs at all. Over ribs and corn on the cob, I heard from Young Democrats in Washington County; they’re growing a new chapter quickly, and they enjoy solid support from their county leadership. I heard similarly good news from leaders in Franklin County, Essex County, Chemung County, and Chenango. We’re making progress statewide, and not-that-young Democrats are taking note. The Young Democratic Rural Conference enjoyed a great weekend at the DRC Annual Convention in Schenectady in the spring. New York State President Evan S. Lederman joined us in the Capital Region, and Lt. Gubernatorial candidates Leecia Eve and Joe Ruggiero sponsored a reception for the YDRC. Young Democrats also sponsored a very well received session on running for local office led by Hon. Tedra Cobb. It was an outstanding event, and I extend my thanks to those who attended, and most of all, to those who helped organize the event. Looking forward, the YDRC’s annual campaign invasion has become a force in upstate politics. Each year, rural Young Democrats focus our energies on electing providing grassroots support for one Democrat in a close race. We trek from around the state to do lit drops, phone calls, and canvassing for a Democrat who can win with just a little extra help. Last year, as the clock struck midnight on Election Day, three YDRC members and I cruised through Central New York in a convertible (top down) in 38-degree weather, distributing copies of the Syracuse Post Standard’s endorsement of David Valesky for State Senate on the doorsteps of voters in swing precincts. That’s grassroots politics. Our group distributed more than 4000 copies of that lit piece that night, and Sen. Dave Valesky defeated Republican incumbent Nancy Lorraine Hoffman by fewer than 500 votes. Sen. Valesky’s victory brought us one step closer to a Democratic majority in the State Senate, and rural Young Democrats made a difference. Our Campaign Invasion’s track record is perfect, and we’ve helped Democrats pick up seats in Congress, the State Senate, and in regional races around the state. This year, we’re going to do it again. While we won’t know which candidate we’ll be helping until October, the planning starts now. This is one way that Young Democrats can make a significant and very visible impact. To help with our upcoming campaign invasion and to learn more about the YDRC, please visit us http://www.nysydrc.org. Stay in touch. JOHN BYRNE Young Dem Rural Conference Chair & NYSYD Upstate Vice President john@nysydrc.org |
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Women's
Caucus This past May, Democratic Manhattan 2005 District Attorney Candidate Leslie Crocker Snyder addressed the Caucus at their Downstate Planning meeting held at Baruch College in co-sponsorship with the Baruch College Democrats and Women in Politics (formerly Women for Kerry) in New York City. Look out for upcoming dates to be announced for regional caucus meeting to be held in Albany and in Upstate New York this Fall 2005. Woman's Caucus Mentor Program It’s time we ‘close the gap’ between women of all levels in New York State politics and form a networking team! If you are a woman and interested in getting involved in politics join the WC Mentor Program. If you are working professional or a seasoned campaigner consider becoming a mentor. The main goal of the Woman's Caucus Mentor Program is to bring together progressive women and match potential mentors and mentees through a mutually beneficial mentoring interaction. During the 2004 Presidential election, the Caucus brought together progressive women through co-hosting the Young Democrats of America Women's Caucus Fundraiser with special guests New York activist Peggy Kerry (John Kerry's sister) and one of the highest-ranking New York State women legislators Assemblywoman Helene E. Weinstein. Additionally, the Caucus conducted voter registration drives, hosted house parties and various GOTV efforts through New York State. At present, the Caucus is seeking progressive and talented young democrats to fill the following leadership positions: * Conference Chair * * Secretary * * Treasurer * To apply for above positions, please contact me at ahmadia@clarkson.edu. To learn more about how you can get involved with the Caucus visit us online http://www.youngdemsny.org/women, call (315)212-9806 or contact us at ahmadia@clarkson.edu. Democratically yours, ANAHITA AHMADI WILLIAMSON, Woman's Caucus Chair ahmadia@clarkson.edu |
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Ensure a Successful
Campaign for all NY Democrats this November!!!
Last year, in the 2004 Presidential election, your support made it possible for Young Democrats to register 10,000 new voters, place thousands of calls to swing state voters and send 125 Young Democrats to Akron, Ohio for the final 5 day "Get Out the Vote" efforts for John Kerry. Additionally, Young Democrats helped Brian Higgins win an open Congressional seat and State Senator David Valesky unseat an incumbent Republican in Upstate New York. This year as we gear up for Campaign 2005, we ask for your critical support to ensure a successful season for New York Democrats this November. To make a contribution, please visit us at: Donate to NYSYD. Democratically yours, New York State Young Democrats Executive Board |
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To submit story ideas for future NYSYD newsletters,
email: communications@youngdemsny.org
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This
year has been a year of many firsts for the NYS Young Democrats as we
go forward into Campaign Season 2005. For the first time three local
NYC chapters, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island Young Democrats
sponsored NYC Democratic Mayoral Candidates forums featuring Democratic
Candidates Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, Former Bronx
Borough President Freddy Ferrer, NYC Council Speaker Gifford Miller
and Congressman Anthony Weiner. Hundreds of Young Democrats along with
members of local non-profit and democratic clubs participated in these
forums.