Year-round effort for hard-working, dedicated Cheshire High Young Democrats

While the school year at Cheshire High has ended, the hard work and dedication of the Cheshire High Young Dems continues through the summer and year round. In fact, the Cheshire Young Dems annually make an impact on local, state and national elections.

As a Town Council candidate the past two local election cycles, I saw first hand how hard these young men and women work for all Democrat candidates. Their hard work is impactful and very much appreciated by all Cheshire Democrat candidates.

Today, the Cheshire Young Democrats are nearly 60 members strong and this coming school year will be led by president Liam McCaffery, vice president Nick Poling, secretary Jeff Wang and treasurer Katherine Wang.

“A lot of people think that politics and campaigning is a short-term deal and after election day it's all over, but for the Young Dems it never stops,” McCaffery said. “We campaign year round from the night before election day to the middle of winter and in the summer, and since we have such a big year coming up with gubernatorial and congressional races, we are planning weekly canvasses and phone banks for our summer break. 

“We realize how important election day is this year and how close some of the races will be, so we are taking any and every opportunity we have to make those phone calls, knock on doors, and listen to what the people have to say.”

One of the first events for the Cheshire Young Dems was an appearance at U.S. Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty’s recent grand opening of her campaign headquarters in Cheshire. But McCaffery said the Young Dems will be helping out every local Democrat who is running in November .

“We will especially be showing our support in the summer before we go back to school and things get hectic,” McCaffery said. “A lot of kids in our club are already working for Elizabeth Esty, but we also have to make sure we don't forget about all the local candidates running.

“Every single one of them has a good chance of winning, and those that are already in office have done so much for Cheshire and the entire community. There will be some extremely close State Representative and State Senate races with Kristen Selleck, Mary Fritz, Vickie Nardello and Dante Bartolomeo, and they are all great friends with the Cheshire Young Dems. Like we have always said, the ground game wins elections, so this summer will be filled with door knocking and phone calls.”

Volunteering and helping Democrat candidates extends beyond local candidates. McCaffery said Governor Dannel Malloy and the Cheshire Young Democrats “go way back to when he was the underdog in the Democratic primary back in the summer of 2010.”

“Many members of our club back then liked the message he carried and the vision he had for Connecticut, and our club campaigned non-stop for him,” McCaffery said. “The Young Dems have grown very close to the governor and he always loves to see us at events like the state convention and the JJB Dinner, so Governor Malloy can expect our full support once again.”

Right now, McCaffery said most of the Cheshire Young Dems’ events for this year's campaigns are still on the drawing board. One event already on the appearance schedule is the Cheshire Fall Festival in September with other candidates running for office. The Cheshire Young Dems are also in the middle of planning a big rally for October, but the logistics still need to be sorted out.  The Cheshire Young Dems are also looking to bring back the Young Dems vs Cheshire Young Republicans debate sometime in the spring and McCaffery said the Young Dems would love anyone to come out and support the event.

“Being a Young Democrat is incredible and the feeling we get around November is hard to explain,” McCaffery said. “One of the most exciting things about our club is being able to connect with all the people we support. We aren't going around and campaigning for the candidates because we are forced to, we do it because we know them and we know what they do for the community. 

“There are many times where we will have conversations with people like Chris Murphy or Elizabeth Esty, and they care about what we think and are so appreciative of what we do for them.”

McCaffery said other than “meeting cool people”, the best part about being a Cheshire Young Democrat is seeing the difference you can make. 

“At Elizabeth Esty's victory party in 2012, as I saw the numbers and vote tallies going up on the board, I realized that all the doors we knocked, all the calls we made, and all the voters we talked to impacted that (outcome),”  McCaffery said. “Being involved in this club made me realize that anyone can make a difference when it comes to politics, and I never get tired of that election night feeling.”

One thing is for sure, youth will be serving the Cheshire Young Dems well the next four months as the dedicated group will be working hard and passionately for our five local Democrat candidates and Gov. Malloy.

Check out the Cheshire Democratic Town Committee's website at http://www.cheshiredem.org/  daily for more Cheshire Democrat news and views.