On March 27, the Ansonia Democratic Town Committee unanimously elected two new officers to lead the organization, 2017 Democratic candidate for Mayor Tarek Raslan as Chairman, and 2017 Third Ward Alderman candidate Gary Farrar Jr. as Vice Chairman. Jo-Lynn Flaherty and James Hubbard were both re-elected as Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
Tarek Raslan and Gary Farrar Jr. praised David Knapp and Kevin Blake for leading the Committee over the last several years. Despite municipal election losses, the committee is strong financially and committee membership is on the rise. David and Kevin will continue to be champions of our mission.
A Message from Chairman Tarek Raslan:
In this moment, our country’s faith in Democracy and free markets is being tested. Politics in our country has become about over-hyped candidates, dramatized elections, and partisan division. The result has been decades of decreasing middle class wealth, and a lot of distraction from the issues that matter most in our community… training and education, cost of living, transportation, jobs, entrepreneurship, health care, environment, recreation, and self-determination. Our politics have become about spending billions searching for a superhero candidate, that can solve it all from DC, be it Obama or Trump…that approach to politics is wasteful and unrealistic. The answer resides with the most basic aspect of human nature, congregation.
Despite social media our society has grown socially isolated. Talk to any parish, social club, or organization that has traditionally served as the fabric of community, and their attendance is down. Community progress requires congregation of some sort. Real progress relies on our ability to meet with neighbors and residents to take action ourselves right here in our city. Politics is a verb, meeting each other face to face to discuss what we want in our world. If we want efficient representative government, we must participate and work together locally to solve the big challenges, build safer better neighborhoods, better parks, better schools, local business opportunity, and cheap clean energy. This is how Democracy can emerge successful in a world experiencing rapid change, and increasingly at risk from dictators and strongmen claiming “they’ll take care of everything“. The solutions are with us all, but they haven’t emerged because we haven’t shown up. We can solve big problems and fight for democracy right here in Ansonia, but I ask, do we have the will to rebuild community in our country from the neighborhood all the way up?
How to Get Involved:
Our town Committee is here to serve you, as a source for knowledge, research, organization, as well as on the ground manpower to help mobilize residents who want to tackle the important issues in their lives… like school funding, learning and recreation programs, neighborhood improvement, taxes, etc. We’re here to help you organize and get it done together.
We welcome all residents to share their ambitions for change, and to come join our mission to empower residents. Our meetings are open to the public, and we meet 7:00PM every third Thursday of the month at the Ansonia Senior Center, 153 Main, Ansonia, CT. People looking to get involved can also call Tarek Raslan at 203 – 461-4776. https://www.facebook.com/ansoniademocrats/
Next Meeting: April 19th, 7PM. Ansonia Senior Center, 153 Main St.
