Statement from MDP Chair Susan Turnbull

On February 19th a new set of officers was elected to lead the Maryland Democratic Party and we have been busy ever since!

Elections and politics are governed by three elements –Money, Organization and Message. We are planning all of our activities with those three elements in mind.

To raise the funds we need to develop our programs we tentatively scheduled the Maryland Democratic Party Annual Gala on May 28th. We hope to have an active Host Committee for this Gala and will be reaching out across the State for support.

Organizationally, we are taking our show “on the road”! In the last month, we have attended events and meetings across the State of Maryland and have several more on the books for the weeks ahead. Our event schedule on our webpage will list many of these upcoming stops.

High on our list is a meeting of the Democratic State Central Committee to be followed by targeted training workshops. This meeting will give us a chance to update the Central Committee on our organizational plans moving forward and to provide some “take-aways” on the use of our voter file and how to best promote the Democratic themes and message. All of this is to help us prepare for the electoral battles ahead in our municipalities this year and across our state in 2010. More meeting details will be released as soon as the date, time and location have been finalized.

Communications is key for amplifying our message. In this regard, our staff is busy updating our website and getting more versed in “new media”. With the help of the Maryland Young Democrats, we plan to increase our visibility and communications on Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and Twitter while keeping up with a vibrant rapid response program.

With all this activity going on, we are keeping our eye on the ball. As Governor O’Malley stated in his message to our Central Committee in February, “We recognize how our country and state are at a critical juncture. We are all working to solve our nation's economic problems and, here in Maryland, to protect our people and our schools so that we come out of the current difficulties stronger than ever before. Simply put, we've made great progress over the last few years and we can't allow it to be undone.”

As Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, I look forward to working with a vibrant community of volunteers to help build on our progress. I need your help, ideas and suggestions and hope that you will help us build the best Team Maryland yet!

Warm regards,

Susie