Dear Fellow Democrats,
As with every family and institution in our country and state right now, the Gloucester Democratic City and State Committees are affected by COVID-19 mitigation efforts. We canceled our monthly March meeting and the annual Brunch scheduled for May 3. Caucuses for the state convention scheduled for May 30 have been canceled for now, and the convention itself may not take place as planned. The failure of Republicans and the Trump administration to prepare adequately for anticipated pandemics has been on full view every day for the last three weeks, and we must do all that we can to continue Democratic Party activities here and strengthen our political as well as public health responses. To that end, we will be conducting a virtual meeting on Saturday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. for the purpose of reorganizing our local committee. Please read the guidelines outlined below carefully if you live in Gloucester. Our sister communities on Cape Ann will be holding similar meetings.
As you will notice in the following sections, there will be some changes in leadership for the GDCC. Our party must renew its leadership and agenda periodically, and to that end, I have decided not to run for re-election this year after four years and two terms in this role. We have very strong candidates for each office and I hope that we will have robust participation in this important meeting.
Democratically yours,
Karen N. Bell
Reorganization of the GDCC
The City Committee will convene virtual organizational meetings on Friday, April 10 and Saturday, April 11 to elect Ward Chairs, add new members, and elect Officers of the City Committee (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Affirmative Action Officer. We plan to use Zoom to do this, and the voting will be done by roll call.
Membership in the GDCC
Members are elected every four years (except for 20-year members) and candidates are listed on the presidential primary ballot by ward. The members who join the GDCC at our monthly meetings are also elected by ward, and their term lasts until the next presidential primary election. Seventy persons were elected to 4-year membership terms in March of 2020. Each of these individuals received a letter from the Gloucester City Clerk informing them of their election a few weeks ago.
Any Gloucester Democrat who wishes to become a GDCC member this month should email Karen Bell at chair@gloucesterdemocrats.org with your ward and contact information and also plan to join their respective ward meetings as explained below.
Ward Meetings – Friday, April 10
If you are a newly elected member of the GDCC, you will receive a separate email from capeanndemhq@gmail.com asking you to sign up for the Zoom meeting corresponding to your ward. These are open meetings, and the links below will enable you to join your ward meeting on Friday, April 10 at the announced times. Current Ward Chairs and candidate(s) for each Ward Chair are listed below. Contact your Ward Chair for the Zoom meeting information.
- Ward 1 – Friday, April 10 | 5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Deanna Fay, Chair; Candidate for new Ward 1 Chair: Jeremy McKeen - Ward 2 – Friday, April 10 | 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Patrick Thomas, Chair and candidate for re-election - Ward 3 – Friday, April 10 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Dru Tarr, Chair and candidate for re-election - Ward 4 – Friday, April 10 | 7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Liz Murray, Chair and candidate for re-election - Ward 5 – Friday, April 10 | 7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Dave Marro, Chair and candidate for re-election
Citywide Meeting to Elect Ward Chairs and Officers – Saturday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. – Zoom Meeting
There will be a Zoom meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 11. If you have not received the email with the Zoom login information, email capeanndemhq@gmail.com.
This meeting is open to all Democrats, but only GDCC members will be allowed to vote by roll call. If there are contested offices we may need to conduct an email verification vote in addition to the roll call to make sure that each person’s choice is captured accurately.
Individuals who have expressed an interest in running for these positions are listed below. If any other GDCC member is interested in running for one of these positions, please contact Karen Bell immediately at chair@gloucesterdemocrats.org.
Candidates for Office
Chair: Matthew Murray
Vice-Chair: Deanna Fay
Secretary: Lisa Smit
Treasurer: Lacey Cominsky