Cumberland County Democrats

Any Democrat is able to propose an amendment to the MDP Platform, Charter, and to run for State Committee by taking out an online petition through our system and collecting signatures from State Delegates and Alternates. The deadline to finish collecting signatures and submit a petition is April 29, 2022.

The Maine Democratic Party is seeking applicants for multiple positions, including:

• Field Organizers, who will be a critical part of our field team, working to mobilize volunteers and voters ahead of the 2022 election.
• A Development Assistant, who will serve on our fundraising team and work to ensure we have the tools we need to be successful in 2022.

Sunday, February 13th at Rising Tide Brewery

Outdoor Patio 12:00-3:00 PM

Democratic Candidates need your help!

Drop by and sign nomination papers; Stay for a drink and conversation!

Saturday, Feb. 5

South Portland1 1am-1pm 239 Harriet St.South Portland, ME 04106

Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/1x4c9si2P

Sunday, Feb. 6

Cumberland Dems 1pm-3pm Twinbrook Recreation Area 185 Tuttle Road, Cumberland

Facebook Event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/348719270172731

Sunday, Feb. 6

Harpswell Dems and Harpswell Indivisible “Civic Sunday”
4 LOCATIONS!!!!

• Bailey and Orrs Islands,1825 Harpswell Islands Road, parking lot at big yellow house on the east side of Route 24 (1-3 pm)
• Cundy’s Harbor Community Hall, upper parking lot (1-2 pm)
• Harpswell Community School, lower parking lot (2-3 pm)
• Harpswell Grange,Route 123, parking lot (1-3 pm)

Greetings Cumberland County Dems!

Here is our Agenda – and some important information – for the upcoming General Membership Meeting now scheduled for Sunday, February 20th 3:00 – 5:00 PM (virtually by Zoom). This email has lots of important information, forgive us for the length!

Register Here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Please join the meeting early to assist us in preparing for a vote (you need to be in the meeting by 3:00 so that we can prepare for voting).

1. Welcome
   1. Approval of Chair’s Agenda – Acting Chair
   2. Approval of the December Minutes – Secretary
   3. Treasurer’s Report – Treasurer
2. Upcoming Events – Caucus & Convention
3. Welcome & Statement from Rep. Jim Boyle
4. Municipal Committee Report
5. Proposed Amendment to the CCDC Bylaws & Vote (more information below)
6. Elections of CCDC Officers (more information below) (notice)
7. Review of Previously Approved CCDC Facebook Policy
8. Review of Proposed Public CCDC Information & Vote
9. Upcoming Listening Session (more information below)
10. Election of New General Membership
11. Candidates Introductions – Time Limited
12. New Business

Want more information? Keep reading – we have more details are below!

As always, feel free to reach out to us at chair@cumberlandcountydemocrats.org or cumberlandcountydems@gmail.org with your questions, comments, or concerns. Or, to tell us you want to get more involved!

Joe Zamboni, CCDC Acting Chair

Calling all Democrats: Be A State Delegate!

Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, the Caucus and Convention process will be a bit different this year. Elections that normally occur at Caucuses will happen online and State Delegates can sign up for that important volunteer role now (you can even nominate yourself). Delegates will be able to participate at the Democratic State Convention in May either in-person or virtually!

Delegates will make important decisions about the Party’s issue platform, rules, and who serves on our leadership committee at the Democratic State Convention in May.

Learn More and Sign Up Here

Nominations for State Delegate are open through February 20 and online voting will take place from February 27 through March 6. Don’t delay! Participation is open to all Maine Democrats.

More Information Regarding CCDC Officer Elections

 The roles of CCDC Chair, Vice-Chair, and 2nd Vice-Chair are currently open! These roles, especially in election years, are incredibly important (and can be time-consuming too). These positions are also part of the CCDC Executive Committee – the decision-making body of CCDC in between General Membership meetings. The Executive Committee meets roughly every two weeks. You do not need to be a present member of the CCDC to run, but you do need to be registered as a Democrat in Cumberland County. If any of these opportunities sound like a role you could take on, feel free to let us know in advance, and send us a short biography that we will distribute to membership prior to the next meeting. Nominations will also be taken from the floor on February 20th. We will also elect a representative to the State Committee from Cumberland. 

*Additional notice – If any election results in a vacancy in another CCDC office, an election for that position shall follow immediately.

You can read more about the roles of Chair, Vice-Chair, and 2nd Vice-Chair at the CCDC Bylaws Page.

More Information Regarding CCDC Bylaws: Amendment Proposal & Vote

We have before us a proposal to amend the CCDC Bylaws. Any amendment to the Bylaws must be initiated by petition and signed by at least ten members of the CCDC. This proposal, initiated by our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, would create a permanent CCDC Anti-Racism & Inclusion Committee (becoming our 4th CCDC Standing Committee). According to the Bylaws, this proposal needs to be simply voted up or down at our meeting, modification is not permitted.

Read the Proposed Bylaw Amendment Here 

More Information Regarding CCDC Listening Session

We discussed and have planned a CCDC Executive Team “Listening Session” so that CCDC members can have a forum to speak to the Executive Committee directly about how our committee can be more effective and strategic, moving forward. Please join us Sunday, March 13, from 4:00 – 5:00 PM using the registration link below. This Listening Session will be a few weeks after our February General Membership meeting (so that the newly elected officers can attend), and provide a forum for folks to express ideas, proposals, and suggestions for a bluer county. Please consider joining us and sharing your important ideas for a bluer county in 2022.

Register Here

State Delegates represent their community at the Maine Democratic State Convention in (May 2022- virtual or in-person) and they are responsible for making crucial decisions and voting on the Party Platform, Charter, and new State Committee members. Any registered Maine Democrat can nominate themselves to be a State Delegate. No prior experience required! Sign-up here: www.mainedems.org/vote

Here’s how the process works:

• You can sign up to be a State Delegate by filling out this form. Nominations are open through February 20. Any registered Maine Democrat can sign up.
• From February 27 – March 6, Democrats will be able to vote online to determine which State Delegates will represent their community at the Convention (don’t forget to vote for yourself)! Signing up to be a State Delegate will also sign you up to vote.

Want to learn more? The MDP is holding info sessions on February 9 and February 15.

Keep Those Nominations Coming
As you may know, each community in Maine is allocated a certain number of State Delegates and we want to fill as any of those positions as possible! You can see from the above graphic that Lincoln County has already filled 20% of their delegate positions with Sagadahoc and Franklin Counties not far behind! Keep up to the good work!

A Message From Jim Boyle:

First, I want to thank the voters of Gorham and Scarborough for turning out to vote on a day that started out at 5 degrees and ended up at one below zero! This special election was a quick turnaround; just about ten weeks from the resignation to the election. But I met with hundreds of voters from Gorham and Scarborough in that time, and I appreciate all the feedback I received. From talking with citizens on their front porches and door yards, the top issues I heard about were the partisan divide in politics, the need for more renewable energy, and keeping students, teachers, and staff in school and safe.

I’ve been out of the legislature for seven years, and until October I hadn’t planned on running for office, so it will take me some time to get up to speed on what bills are in front of the legislature in the emergency session that just started about a week ago. In general, I will look to support bills related to pandemic safety, renewable energy, energy efficiency, improvement to child protective services and tribal sovereignty.

Jim won a three way race with 57% of the vote! This was the first, but definitely not the last, campaign of 2022.

Congratulations again to Jim!