MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR - JANUARY EDITION
By Kim Savage
We looked forward to starting
the new year with a clean slate and the promise of a new direction. We started
off in a frenzy of phone calls to Georgia, once all the postcards were in the
mail. We held our breath as the Georgia Senate race votes came in and then we
rejoiced when they achieved the unthinkable, winning two Democratic seats in
the Senate.
Suddenly, six days into 2021,
our joy was shattered by a violent terrorist attack on our nation’s Capitol. We
watched in horror as armed mobs breached the Capitol with the intention to
disrupt the lawful certification of the election, destroy public assets, and
threaten the lives of the first three people in the line of succession to the
President, as well as the Vice-President Elect and the entire legislative branch
of government. Donald Trump publicly incited the insurrection, supported in his
efforts by Members of Congress. I could go on with the rest of the story, but most
of you are still watching it unfold in real time, and it will keep changing by
the minute until this newsletter is published.
While we are all excited about
the upcoming inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris, the
events of the last week have us on edge in anticipation of more violence. It is
a real possibility. However, we must focus on moving forward, knowing that we
have more opportunities to elect Democrats locally. It is essential that we
continue to talk to our neighbors and assess how they align with our values.
Where we can win over disaffected Republicans, we should try. More importantly,
we need to ensure that our sporadic Democratic voters come out in EVERY
election, not just in the Presidential years. It is inconceivable that anyone
can vote for a Republican now.
Many of you will be shocked to
know that loads of Democrats sit out the Gubernatorial Election years. Even
when they come out, they vote for the top of the ballot, but stop even before
they get to the state legislators and certainly before they get to the county
level races. You will be less shocked to know that Democrats are not voting in
the local elections for municipalities, school districts, park districts,
library districts, and fire districts. You are not surprised because chances
are you are one of the 80% of people who fail to cast a ballot in Spring
elections.
Most of your tax dollars go to
support your local units of government, yet people regard them as unimportant
when it comes to choosing leadership. One reason is that it is more difficult
to learn about local candidates due to the demise of community-based newspapers
and the difficulty candidates have in raising enough money to educate the
public. We need to fix this vicious cycle and get Democrats out to vote for
good government candidates in both partisan and non-partisan races.
How can you help? First, you
need to commit to vote in every election and make sure your family members
vote. Please vote by mail or vote early, because you never know what will
happen on Election Day. In addition, please commit to talking to three friends
about the election and get them to commit to vote. You can help amplify
outreach to voters by participating in our Friends and Family program.
Candidate information will be on our website early in February.
The most important task for
Democratic voters this year is to end the 146-year Republican lock on the
Downers Grove Township Government. The Democratic candidates were selected by
caucus in December and are fired up to serve you on the Township. You may not
be familiar with them yet, but there will be virtual opportunities to meet them.
No matter what, please trust your Democratic neighbors who caucused to choose
the slate. Also, be aware that most of the Republicans running this year have
NO experience in Downers Grove Township, nor have they attended meetings to see
what happens. When you don’t vote, you have trusted someone else to choose your
elected officials.
It is time for a change. This is
not a random moment; it is a movement that you need to stay engaged with. It is
YOUR TOWNSHIP, YOUR VOICE, A NEW CHOICE.
Request your Vote by Mail
ballot today.
