Chesterfield Township Democrats (CTD) presented its first “programs” meeting to a near capacity crowd Tuesday evening. Chesterfield Township Democrats (chesterfielddemocrats.org) is a newly reconstituted club welcoming members from not only Chesterfield, but Wildwood, Ellisville and any part of western St. Louis County. Among the 31 people in attendance was Bill Haas, candidate for the Democratic nomination to challenge for the 2nd Congressional District and Scott Sifton, State Senator from the 1st District in Missouri. Additionally, numerous Committee Persons from surrounding townships were present.
On the dais was Mark Travers of StrongBlue, a political consulting group dedicated to grooming and supporting Democratic and Progressive candidates for upcoming election cycles. Check out StrongBlue.org for specifics.
In this prepared talk, Mr. Travers offered two visions of Missouri. Vision one was strikingly similar to today’s Republican sponsored status reflecting a state in which funding for education, healthcare, and infrastructure is being cut, driving Missouri’s rank among all states in services to its citizens to the lowest reaches. The results, Travers pointed out, are that Missouri students are less well prepared to compete for jobs, Missourians are sicker and less able to obtain treatment that is available but beyond their financial reach, and deteriorating transportation systems that cost small and large businesses both customers and money. All three of these services play a large role in attracting, or not, businesses and jobs.
Travers counterpointed a second vision in which the focus is on raising Missouri’s standards for education, healthcare, and infrastructure so that it ranks , ultimately, among the top 5 states in the nation; a more hopeful and compelling vision with a strong Progressive underpinning. Key to this presentation is the plethora of facts researched and validated by StrongBlue. The speech and others like it will be made available to any candidate interested in working with StrongBlue.
Preceding Mr. Travers’ presentation was an equally fact loaded brief on DACA and the current administration’s declaration of non-support. The timely presentation was made by Pedro Guerrero, a legislative aide in the Missouri House of Representatives, and a member of the Chesterfield Township Democrats.
The evening opened with a hospitality hour affording attendees the chance to mingle, order food and beverage and otherwise get acquainted with their fellow Democrats. Most refreshing, however, was that, after the meeting adjourned, people stayed to get acquainted, talk and further build a Democratic and Progressive community positioning itself to act.
The next meeting of the CTD is scheduled for October 3 at the Chesterfield City Hall starting at 6:30 pm. This meeting will focus on club organization and mobilization plans.
Submitted by Mark Kumming, WCD Member