DRC 2025: 30 Years of Connections

Registration is now open for this year’s DRC, “Thirty Years of Connections,” which will be held April 25-26 in Albany at the downtown Hilton on Lodge Street. We missed out on being able to observe our 25th anniversary because of COVID, so let’s make up for it with a great celebration of our 30th! It’s a wonderful opportunity to pick up some practical training, network with colleagues from across the state, and interact with our elected officials.

Please click on this link to register for the conference:  https://drcny.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/drcny/eventRegistration.jsp?event=42&

You will find our tentative agenda at this link, which also includes information on making your hotel reservation:  https://drcny.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/drcny/event.jsp?event=42&

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

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.

Bulletin #37 (July, 2020) is now available

Please see the latest bulletin here.

It includes the following message from the DRC Chair, Judith Hunter:

Dear Friends of the DRC:

2020 has been a year when customary practices and traditions have had to give way to the realities of a pandemic that has upended just about everything. When it became obvious that it would be unsafe to meet in April, the DRC Board and Officers postponed our annual conference until September. Since then New York has done extraordinary work in controlling the spread of COVID-19, but that is not true of the rest of the country. No one knows what the next few months will bring, and, as things currently stand, a gathering as large as the DRC would not be permitted. There’s no way we can be confident it will be possible to meet in person this fall. Given the large financial commitment to the venue our conference requires, the Officers and Board have decided that this year’s DRC will be a virtual, online one.

The main business we have to conduct virtually is to hold our 2020 elections. Besides half of the Board members, each region will be electing someone to the new positions of regional Vice Chairs. Please expect to be hearing from Chair Phil Jones and the rest of the Nominating Committee about how this year’s elections will be conducted. The intention is that votes will be cast by regular mail both for security and to accommodate the DRC’s weighted voting system. However, candidates will make their presentations prior to the voting by email and Zoom sessions (Zoom sessions can be done like a conference call, in case your computer or internet won’t support video).

Because we need to reach the correct potential voters for each county (Chairs and all State Committee members), it is essential that we have the most current names, email addresses, and mailing addresses for them. We have found that the State Committee’s information is all too often out of date, so we need the current information as soon as possible. Please note that new State Committee terms do not begin until county reorganizations occur, so even if your county has new incoming State Committee members the information we need is for members whose terms will soon be expiring. Please send to the DRC Secretary John Hurley (jfhurley@rochester.rr.com) or the DRC Communication and Outreach Chair Bill Thickstun (wthickstun@gmail.com).

For those of you who have already registered for the 2020 DRC, please know that we will be happy to count your payment as your registration for the 2021 DRC. If you would prefer to get a refund for your registration fee, please contact DRC Treasurer Frank Puglisi at fvp9900@yahoo.com or 716-861-9749.

Taking the DRC virtual for 2020 was a difficult but unavoidable decision. Please know that we have every intention of bringing you a fantastic DRC in 2021, and we look forward to the time when we can all gather in person again.

Sincerely,
Judith Hunter
Chair, Democratic Rural Conference of NY State