By Mike Russo
It all started when Baldwin residents Annie Beckles and Janet Poretsky, now club vice president and president, respectively, met at a Democratic function during the presidential race. As strong supporters of the Democratic party, the two started talking about the unfortunate fate of the previous Democratic Club, which lost support and membership over time. Ultimately, Beckles and Poretsky came to the conclusion that Baldwin needed a Democratic club once again.
"We didn't know what to do or how to start," said Beckles of the early stages of the club.
But things started rolling pretty well for the new club. Through word of mouth, making connections with other local Democratic clubs, and combined with the nationwide appeal of Barack Obama, local Democrats began signing up. Beckles and Poretsky were very active in voter registration drives during the campaign, and even recruited two new members from a list of new registered Democrats in Baldwin. The club continues to recruit about two new members per meeting.
Poretsky says she hopes members come away from the meetings feeling that they are a part of a vibrant, Democratic organization that cares about quality of life issues and ensuring that Democrats are represented in local government.
"Our mission is to encompass local and national issues," said Poretsky, inspiring a brief discussion among the members on considering a meeting dedicated to discussion on items of national importance. "We need to focus on Baldwin and surrounding towns, and we're interested in creating some change." In addition to community activism, club officials say that they intend to have an interesting speaker at every meeting . At the club's Feb. 11 meeting, Dolores Sedacca of the county Department of Assessment spoke to club members on the property assessment process as well as how to file a grievance if not satisfied with their own assessment. County comptroller Howard Weitzman and county Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs will speak at subsequent meetings to be held March 11 and April 1.
Members of the club say they pride themselves on being a group created of their own choosing, rather than a puppet organization set up by politicians. "No politician has us in their back pocket," said Beckles, stressing the fact that the club is here for all of Baldwin, not just for people who live close to the meeting room. "We're working on building our membership from all corners of Baldwin. We're a very diverse, welcoming group of people, which I think represents Baldwin."
While members said they are happy that Barack Obama became president, the work of the Baldwin Democratic Club is far from over. They still remain active in voter registration drives, and plan to be vocal in the upcoming town and county elections.
Barbara Spadanuta, a longtime Democrat, said that the club evolved around the campaign to help elect Obama, but has aspirations for issues close to home as well. Said Spadanuta, "Our goal is to get as many signs and windows as the Republicans."
Comments about this story? MRusso@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
