Thanksgiving 2018
After a weekend with so many challenges – climate change, wars, attacks on all that we hold dear – it is good to remember and appreciate what we do have.
We can appreciate the results of our recent elections, turning DuPage so much bluer than it has ever been, and exceeding our four focused goals: (1) All statewide candidates won, (2) Seven Dems were elected to the County Board, (3) Our voters turned out in large numbers, and (4) All six congressmen representing DuPage are now Dems. In addition, we gained two state senators, three state representatives, and a circuit judge. And our County Clerk candidate, who was an election watchdog for 13 years, was elected and will soon oversee DuPage elections.
To put this in context, the most county board members we ever had before was three. We had never won a county wide office or elected a judge. We are doing far better than ever before with state senate, state reps, and congressmen. We had such good candidates – even those who did not get elected. We had so much support that I never would have expected from groups such as Indivisible, Moms Demand Action, and the Sierra Club, and we were all energized by our best organizer ever, the guy with the orange hair occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
We have been waiting a long time for this win. Don Westlake told me Thursday that he has been active with the Milton Dems for 50 years. But all this did not happen overnight. There were decades of work which often seemed pointless, but which formed a base on which new activists could build. So I want to say that I am so grateful for…
Those who started Dem groups in DuPage and kept them alive during lean times, like Tinker Harvey, a former DPDC chair, and Truman Kirkpatrick, a Roosevelt Democrat who published the DuPage Democrat newsletter. And Bill Andrle, who kept the Milton Dems going through the 80 and 90s until Renee Anderson would grow that group to become so effective. There were many others. And recently, the team of DPDC Chairman Bob Peickert and Executive Director Amy Rohrer (now retired), who did so much over the last 12 years to grow our DuPage Democrats: recruiting PCs, putting us on the map, and getting us ready so that these new post-2016 organizers had some kind of foundation on which to build. Our township orgs did amazing work. They and all the volunteers made this happen.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We ask those of you who can to please consider running for municipal offices. The foundation for county, regional, state, and national politics is local, and we need to have good people represent us there, too. We have a training for those considering running for municipal offices on Dec 1 . Don’t forget the DPDC Holiday Party on Dec 7. And Norman Goldman will pay us a visit on Dec 13. See details for all three events below Thank you so much for your interest and support.
Dan B | | Local Elected Officials (non-incumbents in italics)
DuPage County Linda Davenport (Circuit Judge), Daniel Hebreard (Forest Preserve President), Jean Kaczmarek (County Clerk) County Board Ashley Selmon (District 1), Liz Chaplin (2), Julie Renehan (3), Mary Fizgerald Ozog (4), Sadia Covert and Dawn DeSart (5), and Sheila Rutledge (6).
Illinois Senate Laura Ellman (21), Tom Cullerton (23), Suzie Glowiak (24), Don Harmon (39), Linda Holmes (42)
Illinois House Diane Pappas (45), Deb Conroy (46), Tera Costa Howard (48), Karina Villa (49), Michelle Mussman (56), Kathleen Willis (77), Anna Stava-Murray (81), Stephanie Kifowit (84), John Connor (85)
US Congress Dan Lopinski (3), Mike Quigley (5), Sean Casten (6), Raja Krishnamoorthi (8), Bill Foster (11), Lauren Underwood (14) | | This Saturday December 1 Free Candidate Training for Municipal Elections
The Democratic Party of DuPage County invites potential candidates to a free, highly informative training on how to run for the next set of consolidated municipal elections (focused on 2019 elections but applicable to 2020).
The training will be on December 1st, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Dr, Naperville, IL Here is a link to the sign-up form:
This will be a free training, but you must submit the sign-up form to reserve your spot.
Each municipality has different deadlines for submission of petitions, but the most common deadline is December 10 thru December 17.
If you think you have "the right stuff" or know someone who does and would like to learn more about a position in DuPage County, please attend this important seminar. | | Friday December 7 DPDC Holiday Party 6:30 p.m - 9:30 p.m. Registration starts at 6:00 p.m. Many elected officials attending.
ABBINGTON DISTINCTIVE BANQUETS INDIVIDUAL TICKET - $65 (DPDC Paid Members $55) Includes: Heavy Appetizers, Dessert, Coffee and Cash Bar PROMOTIONAL SPONSOR - $750 - Includes: 10 Tickets, Special Recognition at The Event & Preferred Seating
To RSVP, buy your tickets, and pay online: or pay by check made out to Democratic Party of DuPage County and mailed to PO Box 185, Lombard, IL 60148 | | Norman Goldman LIVE in DuPage County Norman Goldman of WCPT 820 Progressive Talk will be doing his show LIVE. Join us in the audience for this exciting event. Tickets are only $10 to cover the cost of food served. You don't want to miss it.
Thursday, December 13 4:00 p.m. check-in / Meet 'n Greet
5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Norman Goldman Show LIVE
Bricklayers Union Hall 660 Industrial Drive, Elmhurst, IL
Buffet starts at 4:00 p.m.
$10 Sign up here: | | Did you know? Some of our candidates were losing on election day by slim margins? Others were ahead by small numbers of votes which could be reversed by the uncounted ballots. Yet there were still thousands of mail in ballots and provisional ballots uncounted. Many of these required action by the voters to validate their ballots before the election commission would count them. So, after Nov 6, dozens of Dems worked hard to ensure that all mail in ballots and provisional ballots were counted, some by poll watching the daily vote counting at the election commission, and others by contacting voters whose ballots were challenged and sending notaries out to their homes all over the county. At least 2 candidates, who were losing on election day, won after all these votes were counted last Tuesday, Nov 20: Dan Hebread is now President-elect of the DuPage Forest Preserve, and Laura Ellman will be a state senator. | | Paid for by the Democratic Party of DuPage County, which is dedicated to doing the most good for the most residents of DuPage County, Illinois. Through active engagement in all our communities we promote well-being, justice, and democracy. | | | | | | |
