In many organizations, progress is typically assessed over a quarter or the first 100 days. As a dedicated Democrat residing in North Haven, I attend every monthly Democratic Town Committee (DTC) meeting. Regrettably, my report on the North Haven DTC’s progress is far from positive.

During the first quarter of this presidential election year, the North Haven DTC lacks a strategic plan to build a stronger and more unified Democratic Party. Many committees are without chairs or active engagement. This absence of strategy might stem from the fact that most new DTC members are involved in various activism groups, as evidenced by the recent meetings. The last meeting, for instance, focused minimally on DTC operations and predominantly on activism discussions.

The DTC is failing to engage members to fulfill the organization’s “mission and objectives.”  Instead, there is an ongoing preoccupation with past grievances, consuming about 15 minutes of each meeting to rehash old issues. Despite members expressing a desire to move forward, I have not observed a genuine effort in that direction.

The group appears to be more concerned with tactics than a coherent strategy. One of the most frustrating aspects is the significant time spent by members trying to disenfranchise elected and seated Democrats with whom they disagree. There is a lack of collaboration and acceptance of diverse viewpoints on town politics and the education budget. This “with us or against us” mentality contradicts democratic values. Attempting to remove elected officials voted in by the public is a polarizing and divisive action - some might call them Trump-like. North Haven needs and wants better.

Frederick Rodriguez

North Haven

Frederick Rodriguez is the former vice chair of the North Haven Democratic Town Committee