After experiencing a shakeup in 2012, many members of Bethlehem’s Democratic Committee say they are looking to a future that is more inclusive and community minded.
The town committee is now under the leadership of Town Board member Jeffrey Kuhn after he was voted into the position of chairman in October, and new committee members are also being welcomed in. Former Chairman Matthew Clyne lost his leadership position after a weighted committee vote, but he retained his chairmanship of the county committee and is still a member of the town committee.
The Reform Democrat movement earlier in the year led to fresh faces in nearly half of the Bethlehem Democratic Committee’s seats. Members of the Reform group felt the party needed more transparency and the group put forward 40 candidates for committee seats, winning 26 seats in the September primary.
But according to Kuhn, the Reform movement no longer exists and the party is now striving to work together as a whole.
“One of our priorities right now is to make sure the committee is very participatory and that every member of the committee — all 62 people — can be as active as they want to be and have as much of a role in the decisions the committee makes as they like,” he said.
New goals for new membership
To get members more involved, Kuhn said groups are focusing on fundraising, recruitment, communications, community service and reexamining bylaws.
“That’s something I’m very proud of,” said Kuhn. “There’s a lot of great energy and knowledge that the people on the committee have. In addition to improving our community through the political process, I think there is also a willingness to improve our community in other ways.”
Even though the community service arm of the committee has just begun, in the past month members were able to raise enough money to help pay for holiday meals for 16 needy families in Bethlehem. They are working on plans for additional projects.
The Democrats are also working to better inform the public about the political process.
Dan Coffey, a committee member since 2005, said he is often asked what being part of the committee is all about and what the party actually does. He said a new effort is to update the party’s website on a regular basis and offer resources so people can find out what district they live in, who represents them and be able to contact that representative about concerns.
“For us to do our jobs as individuals and as a committee most effectively, the channels of communication need to be very easy and open for the general public,” said Kuhn. “The website will allow us to do that, as well as get our message out.”
Midge Bulgaro, a new member representing District 3, said transparency is key. Frank Zeoli, a member for four years, agreed.
“Finding out who is on the committee shouldn’t be an issue,” he said. “You’re an elected official, so as a result of that I don’t think member’s names or the districts they represent should be a secret.”
Not everyone in harmony
With so many new committee members, a new issue is that many within the committee do not know one another. Older members are now advising new members about what it means to be on the committee and steps to take to be a good representative.
“Our number one goal as a party is to elect Democrats to office,” said Zeoli. “From there, there are a lot of subgoals we have and you have to put in the door-to-door time to reach those goals. That’s how you meet with people and hear from them.”
Zeoli said he and other district leaders have been meeting with members on a monthly basis to answer questions and discuss strategies. They also talk about town issues and about how to help those who want to become more involved in the party.
“Your job is to not only come around when they want a signature, but also come around other times to tell residents about a clean-up that’s happening, or an issue at Town Hall,” he said. “This is about being a part of the community.”
Deputy Supervisor John Smolinsky, a new committee member, said he has felt very included and thinks the new party is working well as an integrated group. But not everyone feels the same way.
“There’s definitely still a schism in the party,” said former Town Supervisor and current committee member Jack Cunningham. “There’s still a group of relatively militant-minded people who are not joining in with the group, but the majority are still working toward the future of the party.”
Cunningham said the political process is cyclical and 13 years ago when he joined the committee, a group similar to the Reform group had formed.
“We worked to get them out of the party,” he said. “We can do that again.”
Cunningham said the party needs to work together to create a unified environment, something that cannot be done if there are outsiders.
“We can run candidates just like the Reform group did,” he said. “In two years we can look for people to run against them who aren’t as adversarial.”
Kuhn said so far, he thinks the group is working together wonderfully and that most of the committee would agree. He declined to comment any further on Cunningham’s thoughts.
“I think a lot of people recognize the committee as the people who come around in the summer to get signatures… but we’re so much more than that,” said Kuhn. “We want people to realize what we do, and that we play a vital role in the community.”
The Bethlehem Democratic Committee is on the web at bethlehemdems.org.