We are the Stanford Democratic Committee registered in New York State. Our priorities are:
We work closely with the Dutchess County Board of Elections and the Dutchess County Democratic Committee, and we’re a Founding Member of the Northern Dutchess Democrats, a coalition of nine northern Dutchess towns supporting area candidates through shared events and collaboration.
Thanks for your interest — we look forward to welcoming you to a future meeting or event.
Interesting stats about our rural town of Stanford:
We are Stanford Democrats, and our top priorities are:
We want our platform to be a living, vital statement that will continue to respond to the needs of our town and the priorities of everyone who lives here — and of course our platform will evolve as new elections approach. We look forward to you joining the Stanford Democrats to participate in the discussion and to make your input felt.
Under New York’s election law, political parties in the state are organized by county and within the county by town, and within the town by election districts. Each of the election districts is represented by enrolled Democratic voters who have been chosen in a local petition/primary election process or have been elected by the Dutchess County Democratic Committee (DCDC) after recommendation by the town committee co-chairs.
Local Committees are made up of members of the County Democratic Committee (see below) within each town. The Stanford Democratic Committee includes 5 voting members, 2-3 from each of our two election districts. These 5 representatives are expected to attend Democratic County Committee meetings and events, representing the Democrats within their respective election districts. They have a voice and a vote on party matters at the county level. They select the county committee officers and vote on procedural issues. They also endorse candidates at the town, county, state and national level.
The Co-Chairs of our Town Committee are members of the Executive Committee of the County Committee. They work with leadership of the County Committee to make sure that:
county committee positions are filled
polls are run in an orderly fashion
party’s poll worker positions are filled
judicial delegate positions are filled
The County Democratic Committee is comprised of members of town committees. They vote within that body to:
elect the county chair,
endorse candidates for elective offices within the county (including judicial offices), as well as state-wide and national offices and
work with other Democrats to help elect those candidates,
develop and adopt platform policy and to promote that platform/policy to the State Committee.
Candidates for County Committee “petition” to be on the ballot. Because it is a party position, unless one is challenged in a primary, collecting enough signatures is sufficient. If the challenger(s) has also collected enough signatures, there is a primary election and the candidates appear on the ballot in September.
For more information, visit the County Committee’s website at dutchessdems.com.
State committee-persons are the Democratic Party’s representatives to the New York State Democratic Committee.
In New York, the Assembly District is the central organizing entity. Each Assembly district within each county has a male and a female State Committee-person. Those Committee-people attend meetings of the NYSDC and the State Democratic convention and vote on party policy and platform issues. They also make endorsements of candidates for state office.
Similar to the County Committee positions, candidates for State Committee petition to be on the ballot. Because this is a party position, unless one is challenged in a primary, collecting enough signatures is sufficient. If a challenger(s) has also collected enough signatures, then there is a primary election, and the competing candidates appear on the ballot in September.
Stanford’s Democratic State Committee representatives are: ? and ?.
For more information on this, visit the NYS Democratic Committee’s website at nydems.org.
We’re compiling a history of the Stanford Democrats — the people, campaigns, and stories that got us here. Have photos, clippings, or memories to share? Email info@stanforddems.org. We’d love to include them.
Join our email list to find out about our meetings and special events. (We promise not to clog up your inbox.)
