Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)

NY 18

Following is the initial response to Wade Hudson's 3/21/08 email:

I read your post. Interesting. I am definitely interested in working with you on whatever political organizing we could do here in Westchester.

I'm "point person" for the 18th CD (Nita Lowey). Are you in this district? I think the PDA model is the way to go-organizing inside and outside the party to push the Progressive agenda. Where the Dems are strong locally, they tend to drift away from progressive ideals and back to insider, backroom dealmaking. Republicans reregister as Dems in order to run for office. (Janet Difiore, Mike Spano, Francis Sheehan). One key to the "inside" part of the strategy is to get inside the party and push change, but that's really tough.

At this point, PDA here is basically an email list. Occasionally we surface to do something visible-eg, cosponsored the Democratic primary debate in Hastings. Members are active individually on PDA goals-CFOW against the war, my group CVI trying to get fair elections and our votes counted, Sierra/others on global warming.

PDA has frequent national conference calls, both for organizers and for issues. I also see the organizers (Mimi, Tim, Steve, Frances Anderson) from time to time in NYC or DC-fundraising events and conferences.

A listserv sounds like a good idea.

I don't know of any other CD based structures. The only Dem organization is the party organization. Some localities (Pelham) have local Democratic Clubs where issues are discussed, but nothing regional or even town-wide. There are a couple political blogs that I know of in Greenburgh and Dobbs Ferry.

--Allegra Dengler