Purple Putnam Growing Strong!
Get ready for an exciting season! We're revving up our efforts to support a strong Democratic slate for the November races. It's a thrilling time to get involved and make a difference.
Let's shape the future together!
Letter from the Chair
Spring brings perfect conditions for campaigning! Our candidates are sketching out plans, completing endorsement forms, and planning summer events. Putnam Dems had a fantastic kickoff brunch in Patterson on April 14 with many of our candidates and activists, including volunteers who came to make new friends and get involved.
Next up is our Turn Putnam Purple fundraiser on June 1 in Cold Spring - grab your tickets here. In a new twist, we will have an online auction as well as silent and live auctions at the event. You can bid on some of the incredible items and experiences here.
Did you know that Putnam is the southernmost rural county in New York? On April 26th and 27th, three Putnam County state committee members attended the New York Democratic Rural Conference that took place in Albany, where speakers included Governor Hochul, Attorney General James, and Comptroller DiNapoli. We learned more about the Equal Rights Amendment ballot initiative to protect our rights and reproductive freedom, as well as hearing from state legislators about funding initiatives and improvements in the budget. These events remind us that our electorate is more similar to St. Lawrence County than it is to Westchester in terms of the challenges rural counties face in recruiting and electing Democrats. But upstate successes motivate us to keep working to build the party.
In that light, our Putnam Democratic Committee is working with the state coordinated campaign to open a campaign office this summer and operate a robust voter outreach campaign. This presents new opportunities to connect with county Democrats and change the trajectory of our party. You will want to be part of this… contact your town chair!
If you are looking for inspiration…and if you were not able to attend the “Three Presidents“ event in New York City last month…you might want to listen to the interview that Presidents Biden, Obama, and Clinton did on the SmartLess podcast (see "READ, WATCH, LISTEN TO THIS" below!). They talk about how for Democrats, holding public office is about waking up every day and finding ways to make a difference in the lives of people. We are so fortunate to have leaders who are making New York better every day. Now more than ever we must stand up for our party, stand strong for our candidates, and make the case for our vision of a better Putnam and better America.
See you soon!
~ Jen Colamonico
• May - Voter outreach for state and local races
• June - Purple Putnam Fundraiser June 1, and get out the vote for the Primary election
• July/Aug - Neighbor to neighbor outreach, house parties, independent voter contact
• September - Town fundraisers, Democratic voter contact, Putnam Dems convention
• October - Early voting begins - get out the vote canvassing
• November 5th - Election Day!
• December - Candidate recruitment for 2025 local races
Our Endorsed Candidates
Putnam County Dems have endorsed the following candidates for election in 2024
• President Joe Biden
• Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
• Mondaire Jones for Congress (NY-17)
• State Senator Pete Harckham (Dist 40)
• State Senate candidate Yvette Valdés Smith (Dist 39)
• Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg (Dist 95)
• Assembly candidate Zachary Couzens (Dist 94)
• County Legislator Nancy Montgomery (Dist 1)
• County Legislator candidate Randall Mulkins (Dist 4)
GET INVOLVED!
Putnam phone banks are coming soon… but you can start calling Democrats across our state!
Phone bank virtually on Mondays at 6 pm with the New York for Biden + Harris group here:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/611293/
