Registration open for 2024 DRC: One Blue New York!

Dear DRC Members and Friends,

The Officers and Board of Directors of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State are pleased to announce that registration for our 2024 DRC is now open! Programming will begin at 2 pm on Friday, April 26, and run through lunch on Saturday, April 27. We will be convening at the Crowne Plaza Albany — The Desmond Hotel.

The DRC is a great way to network with the most active Democrats in upstate New York, to hear from (and possibly buttonhole!) our elected officials, and to learn about the roles we all can play in this most vital political year. Given New York’s crucial role in who will serve in the House Majority next year, congressional races will be a special focus. View the tentative agenda here: https://drcny.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/drcny/event.jsp?event=37& We will also be holding important leadership elections.

Here is the link to register for the 2024 DRC: https://drcny.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/drcny/eventRegistration.jsp?event=37&

You can register for rooms at the Desmond using this link.  The form assumes you want to reserve for two nights, so you may need to reset the starting date for your reservation if you plan to stay over just on Friday.

Please note that the discounted DRC rate of $150 a night is only available if you register before April 4. If you’d prefer to reserve your room over the phone, please use Group Code DRC and call the Hotel directly at 518-869-8100.

Please understand that selling ads in our program book is important to the success of our conference. All county chairs have information on purchasing ads. Please contact Cindy Appleton (cindy_appleton@hotmail.com) or Deborah Lynch (deborahlynchhhf@gmail.com) to order ads or with any questions. Ads are due by April 1.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Albany!

Request for Candidates

To: DRC County Chairs and State Committee Members

The NYS Democratic Rural Conference(DRC) is holding its annual conference on April 26 and 27 at the Desmond Hotel outside Albany, NY. At this conference, the membership will fill the 2 Officer positions (Secretary and Treasurer), 4 Regional Vice Chair positions, and 5 Director-at-Large positions.

To run for any of these positions and/or vote in the election, you must be from a DRC county that has paid its 2024 DRC dues and be a county chair or state committee member. The term of office for these positions is 2 years except for the Secretary and Treasurer’s position. The individual who becomes the Secretary and Treasurer will have a one-year term. If there is a tie, there will be a coin toss to determine who gets the one-year term.

Individuals who are interested in running for any of these positions are encouraged to email Phil Jones, Chair of the Nominating Committee, at paj12147@gmail.com by Midnight April 20, 2024, to appear on the virtual ballot. Write-in candidates will be accommodated on the ballot.

The following people have declared their candidacy:

  • John Hurley (Ontario County) is running for the position of Treasurer. He was appointed Treasurer by the Board in January due to a sudden vacancy.
  • William Thickstun (Oneida County) is running for Secretary. The board appointed him in January due to a sudden vacancy.

The election

Voting will be conducted virtually using “Electionbuddy” software. You may vote from your computer or cell phone using either email or text. You are NOT required to attend the conference or the business meeting to vote, but we will need to have an accurate email and/or cell phone number and you will only have a limited time to vote on Saturday, April 27, approximately 120 minutes.

If you are not attending the conference or the Business Meeting:

  • You will receive your Ballot at @ 10 AM on Saturday, April 27, 2024. It will go to your e-mail and text if you have provided us with your cell phone number and email address.
  • While you may receive the ballots on both your email and phone, you can vote at only one place.
  • You will have until 12:00 PM on Saturday, April 27 to cast your ballot.
  • The ballot will come from “Electionbuddy” NOT the DRC or me!!
  • If you add invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com to your contact list, you will significantly decrease the probability that the ballot will end up in SPAM.
  • Ballots will only be sent to individuals from Counties that have paid their dues.

If you are attending the conference:

  • Stop by the Credentials desk and verify that we have the correct e-mail and/or cell phone number.
  • Read the bullet points above as they will all apply to you, as well.

The ballots:

  • The DRC Board Elections:  Each voter may receive 3 ballots.
    • At-Large Director positions: There are 5 vacant positions, and we have ___ declared candidates. Nominations will be accepted from the floor. Ballots will allow the voter to abstain or write in a candidate.
    • The 4 Regional Vice Chair positions:  There are 4 vacant positions, and we have _____ declared candidates.  Attendees at the Saturday Business meeting will be able to nominate candidates from the floor. Ballots will allow the voter to abstain or write-in a candidate. Ballots will only be sent to County Chairs and SCMs within each Region
    • 1 Officer ballot for Secretary and Treasurer and we have __2__ declared candidates as of 218/24. Nominations will be accepted from the floor. Ballots will allow the voter to abstain or write-in a candidate.
  • Exceptions:
    • If a contest is not contested and the individual is elected by acclamation of the people present at the Business Meeting, that ballot will not be sent out.
    • If someone is nominated from the floor at the Business Meeting, I will notify remote voters by email of that fact prior to sending the ballots out.

Proxies: Since this is virtual voting, there is no need for proxies.

If you have any questions, please contact Phil Jones by e-mail prior to the conference at paj12147@gmail.com.  I will be at the conference credentials table on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

The Nominating Committee

  • Phil Jones, Chair – Livingston County
  • Michael Schell, Jefferson County
  • Doris Kirsch, Wyoming County
  • Mitch Ford, Oneida County
  • Karen Ash, Allegany County

The link below is a map of NY State showing where the current board members reside:

State%20Map%20as%20of%20March%202024.pdf

Democratic Rural Conference Statement on New IRC-proposed Congressional Districts

As set out in the Constitution of New York State, new congressional districts should not be drawn to divide communities of interest, to prioritize the security of incumbents, or to concentrate voters of each party into exclusive enclaves. Unfortunately, the lines adopted by the Independent Redistricting Commission on February 15 have the effect of doing exactly those things in most districts.

These proposed lines will result once again in huge, uncompetitive congressional districts across much of upstate that promote extremism and leave members of the smaller party with representatives completely unsympathetic to their concerns. Even those of the majority party end up represented by someone who may have to travel 4 hours or more just to visit their communities, as exclusively rural districts must cover 14 and 15 counties to amass enough population. Regrettably, counties are often fragmented into separate districts, as well.

The proposed districts seem designed to avoid competitive elections, which does a disservice to us all. We, the Officers and Board Members of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State, urge the Legislature to reject the maps submitted by the Independent Redistricting Commission.

The Democratic Rural Conference of New York State represents Democrats in 47 of New York’s 62 counties, those with populations smaller than 250,000 people.

Officers Board Members
Judith Hunter
Chair
Livingston County
Margaret Bartley
Essex County
Timothy Perfetti
Executive Vice Chair
Cortland County
Keith Batman
Cayuga County
John Hurley
Treasurer
Ontario County
Jeanne Crane
Orleans County
William Thickstun
Secretary
Oneida County
Kimberly Davis
Clinton County
Darlene Baker
Parliamentarian
Oswego County
William Hughes
Columbia County
Ronald McDougal
Northern Vice Chair
St. Lawrence County
James Mills
Putnam County
Michael Monescalchi
Catskill/Hudson Vice Chair
Rensselaer County
Michael Plitt
Genesee County
Liz Moran
Central Vice Chair
Madison County
Thomas Schimmerling
Delaware County
Cynthia Appleton
Western Vice Chair
Wyoming County
Ted Young
Seneca County

Save the Date!

Gather with rural Democrats from all over New York to make “good trouble” and help lay the groundwork for victories all across the state in this crucial year. The 2024 DRC will be April 26 and 27 at the Crowne Plaza Albany – Desmond Hotel. Watch this space for registration to open soon!

Our 2024 theme is “One Blue New York,” because there is no part of the state that won’t be important in November. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us!

Support the DRC with an Ad in Our Program Book!

Each year the DRC publishes a program book for its conference. Every ad helps us to support our member counties.

Information about the ads and payment can be found at these links. Ad orders must be in by March 20. Thanks!

Ad rates and payment information: https://nysdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2023-DRC-ADRATE-dimensions.pdf

Payment via ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/drcad23

Please note: the ActBlue has some extra information that mentions “tickets.” Please ignore that and order your ads via the table and payment methods.

Press Release: Only Democrats Will Protect Our Seniors

For immediate release — This year’s campaign in rural New York has been jolted by an October
surprise from Republican leadership in Washington. They are now openly saying that if they take
the House majority, they will hold the debt ceiling hostage to extract extreme and unpopular
concessions that Democrats would never even consider ordinarily, including restructuring and
reducing Social Security and Medicare.

The Board and Officers of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State, along with
every single (47 total) Democratic County Chair in the organization, condemn these plans
categorically. “In the rural counties, we have aging populations. Implementing this GOP scheme
would be devastating to rural New York’s seniors,” said Judith Hunter of Livingston County,
Chair of the DRC. “They are promising to use economic blackmail by calling into question the
full faith and credit of our government to ram through measures that they can’t get passed
otherwise.”

Contrast this potentially disastrous agenda with what the Democrats have actually done. Seniors’
prescriptions will be cheaper and the price of their insulin is now capped, thanks to the Inflation
Reduction Act. Social Security checks are higher and Medicare premiums are in fact lower. “It is
clear that only the Democrats are willing to protect the senior citizens of rural New York,” said
Hunter.

The Democratic Rural Conference calls on every Republican member of Congress and
every Republican congressional candidate running in New York’s rural counties to reject
this misguided agenda from their leadership. “Will they stand with their party, or with New
York’s senior citizens?” asked Tim Perfetti of Cortland County, the Executive Vice Chair of the
DRC.

Frank Puglisi, of Cattaraugus County and DRC Treasurer, said, “The thing is, seniors in the rural
counties are already struggling, They absolutely depend on their Social Security checks and the
health care Medicare makes possible. And they have paid into these programs their entire lives;
they have earned these benefits.”

Sources:

https://about.bgov.com/news/entitlement-spending-cap-plans-linked-by-gop-to-debt-limit-deal/

https://punchbowl.news/archive/101822-punchbowl-news-am/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/18/mccarthy-gop-medicare-social-security/?fb_news_token=5gUPcM98yxjynaX6WdoDDA%3D%3D.dOqrSpkMBUJ%2BcNVAOjmKnRtdag%2FJ3rIDvaRZjN2WokLxxQQVMgDWAmHn8sUplZUe%2FyuXfmDwZWFd9WeqHfGVpjQxQvqH%2BAgRlLScQwX%2FJgH%2FP6uN7tjAKzhBSrJ08%2FU%2B%2BqXRoPffMqVbdSM6oM5ZQqkoJ5RdwD%2B1%2Foe3TxZYLsw55RlsidtLxLX%2BC38PyitRBYTFWDUIzAt6rvxkGIcII3PU7a5kfVcvbm38PIeMOLjB9W2KgGHcJ1pR6ekXOrrodSW3DGnuv9TYE7%2Fc3U4k0vKTgCARdtPimG7LNMPscNjlUEefsxRD4lto6OX%2BpE5l5w2GAR5%2FTpqwcBiHXospd0Zcv18ZD0YqbE2BfPziBqc%3D&fbclid=IwAR0xLHvPTZviTJhGPuVuJqZAdN25j8-aSoA81MO0joSVCiY0_F3kGf84-Xg

Contact: Judith Hunter (585) 615-2986
judith.hunter@gmail.com

Full press release

DRC Resolution Commemorating Steven Jones

WHEREAS the board of directors of the Democratic Rural Conference has noted with sadness the passing of Steven Jones, founding secretary of the Democratic Rural Conference, on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, at home in Morrisville, and

WHEREAS Steven Jones demonstrated throughout his lifetime his belief in our country and its promise, and worked hard to see that upstate was not left out when it came to New York State politics, and

WHEREAS He took the NY Democratic Rural Conference from an idea to an integral part of the state Democratic party, and as the founding secretary of the DRC he drafted the bylaws that largely exist today, and helped guide the organization through its formative years, and

WHEREAS Steven Jones was selfless in contributing to his community in Madison County through service to his clients, including municipalities and school districts, to local service clubs, to American Legion Boys State, and to many others, and

WHEREAS Steve’s kindness, sunny disposition and relentless positivity were key to the DRC’s success, and

WHEREAS He served as Madison County chair and on the state Democratic Committee for many years, and gave of his time and expertise to many campaigns, from local to presidential, and

WHEREAS as members of the DRC, all of us benefited from Steve’s work as he set the standard for what we, as underdog upstate Democrats, should aspire to: persistence, integrity, humility, humor, and love,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State hereby recognizes, commemorates and honors the contributions of Steven Jones to the nation, the state, and his community through his hard work, devotion and time, and his role in the founding and success of the DRC;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Directors mourns the loss of Steven Jones and extends its sincere condolences to his wife Cindy and family members.

DRC Statement Regarding Systemic Racism, Police Reform, and Black Lives Matter

Drawing on the tradition and history of rural New York’s role as a source of many movements for reform and equality in America, the Democratic Rural Conference of New York State affirms that Black Lives Matter. Recent events have all too painfully demonstrated yet again that racism is systemic and pervasive, especially in our policing and criminal justice. We urge all communities in the rural counties to enter into the State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative with the seriousness and openness to change it deserves.

We note with approval the countless peaceful demonstrations occurring all over rural New York calling for reform and racial justice. For so many of these small communities to turn out in such numbers shows how important this moment is. We commend the many Democratic candidates who have added their voices to this movement. And we will redouble our efforts to welcome, recruit, and encourage people of color to participate in every level of the political system.