Dear Sir:
I was recently elected to a two year term as Chair of the Westfield Democratic City Committee and I wanted to take this opportunity to urge Westfield residents who support Democrats in local, state and national races to attend our meetings and to become a member of the committee.
The terms “politics” and “political parties” have become negative rallying cries for those who believe the current political system does not meet the needs of the people. While we might believe that we are the first generation to make this observation, at the time our country was organizing itself in 1788 many were concerned about the negative effects of political parties and most deplored the state of political discourse. Politics were just as controversial in the past as they are now. But politics and political parties constitute the bedrock upon which our system of government is built. Political parties bring together diverse individuals around a core of common beliefs and those beliefs help distinguish one political party from another and YOU the individual voter, the most important part of the whole system, greatly enhances YOUR individual power by becoming a part of a large organization.
The MA Democratic Party as stated in its Platform Preamble states:
- We want health care to be a basic human right;
- We want everyone to be able to work for a living wage and have the right to organize;
- We want a high-quality education to be accessible to every person;
- We want to play an active role in addressing climate change;
- We want everyone to have a clean and healthy environment, including open spaces;
- We want to promote clean energy technologies, conservation and efficiency;
- We want safe and crime-free communities;
- We want all persons to be treated as equals;
- We want equal treatment for women in the workplace and support efforts to recruit more Democratic women candidates;
- We want immigration policies which are fair and sensible, and which neither allow for the exploitation of immigrants nor turn away those with needed skills;
- We want a transparent and ethical government;
- We want taxes to be reasonable and expenditures to be fairly distributed;
- We want roads, bridges, and public transportation to be safe and reliable;
- We want affordable, high-quality housing to be available to all who need it;
- We want strong national defense, security at home and abroad, and pledge to support veterans and all who have put themselves in harm’s way on our behalf;
- We want strong diplomacy and support nonviolent conflict resolution as a first resort in our domestic and foreign relations and call for a reduced military budget that allows for investment in human needs;
- We want voter equality and access to government for all; and
- We respect people across the spectrum of beliefs.
I am proud of the MA Democratic Party platform. It reflects what I believe.
In our political system which is based on one person-one vote, YOU are the most important member. It is not “them” that elects a person; it is YOU who elects someone. YOUR one vote may be the decisive vote. YOUR one vote may be the vote that puts a candidate over the top. YOUR one vote counts. On the other hand, if you do not vote, YOUR opinion meant absolutely nothing in the election outcome. The only change that can come about is through YOU. YOU can make the term “politics” be a term of respect rather than derision.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Westfield Democratic City Committee, please join us in our next meeting on October 13, at 7pm in the Dolan-Ely Apartments community Center. Thank YOU for giving me the opportunity to invite you to our next meeting.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Martin, Chair
Westfield Democratic City Committee
