Did you hear the news? Georgia just elected two new Democratic Senators. The 2020 election is now finally over and the result is clear: the American people have chosen Democrats for the Presidency and for control of both chambers of Congress.

We in Portland are part of this victory. We organized, we volunteered, we donated, we voted. Our efforts helped deliver Biden the Presidency, returned Democrats to control of the House, and forced national Republicans and their allies to spend millions of dollars defending their once-safe Senate seat in Maine.

And though we couldn’t defeat Susan Collins this time, we didn’t stop working to elect Democrats to the Senate. The PDCC sprang into action for the Georgia runoffs and together we made over 5,500 phone calls to turn-out Democratic voters in Georgia.

THANK YOU to our organizers Amanda and Shivani, to their interns, and to every single Portland Democrat who joined one of our many phone-calling nights over the last month.

As Portland Democrats, we carry the torch. Victories like this take years of dedicated organizing. Now it’s our turn to register more Democratic voters in our communities, to remove every barrier to voting, and to make sure our local and state governments deliver results that embody our shared Democratic values.

Here are FOUR things we can do this month to prepare for the work ahead:

1. Make a donation to support the 2021 organizing work of the Portland Democratic City Committee. Donate here.

2. Attend the (virtual) MLK Day Teach-In and Call To Action hosted by the NAACP in Maine. Register here.

3. Bring your ideas and your voice to our first PDCC meeting of the year (Thursday January 21st, 6:30pm). Register here.

4. Join the first meeting of our new Voter Outreach Subcommittee to plan for voter outreach efforts all year long (Sunday January 24, 6:30pm). Register here.

With renewed hope and determination,

PDCC

Congratulations on making it to 2021. While we enter this new year with many lingering challenges, we know we have new opportunities to make a difference. Throughout an especially tough year we proved we can show up for each other in many meaningful ways. So this year, let’s keep showing up together to advance Democratic values in our community, in our local & state policies, and in our democratic process.

Make a donation today to support the 2021 organizing work of the Portland Democratic City Committee

Here’s some of what your donations and our collective actions accomplished in 2020:

• We elected Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as Vice President! It’s never easy to defeat a sitting President, but we did it.
• We helped Portland see one of the strongest anti-Trump vote swings in the country. Portland/South Portland ranked #6 among all U.S metro areas for the percentage increase of people who voted against Trump in 2020, compared with 2016.
• We organized a record-breaking Caucus in March, and saw increased active participation at our monthly meetings all year.
• We held five virtual candidate forums in the primaries, and elected Democrats to every State House and Senate seat representing Portland.
• We registered new voters, including by funding a grant to New Mainers Alliance for local voter outreach.
• We helped pass progressive change in Portland, by voting in a high-turnout PDCC meeting to endorse four local citizen referenda—all of which Portland voters approved.

Here’s some of what we’re going to do together in 2021:

• We’re still fighting to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Right now, we’re helping to motivate voters in Georgia’s Senate runoff elections. So far, 18 Portland volunteers have made over 3,000 calls to Georgia voters. (Join us this weekend Bit.ly/Portland4GA)
• We’re laying the groundwork for future victories. We’re restarting a Voter Outreach Subcommittee with plans to reach out and register Portland voters in our communities all year long.
• We’re staying involved in local issues and community-building. We’re rebuilding our Programs & Issues Subcommittee to create opportunities for education, discussion, and action on issues that matter to Portland Democrats.
• We’re making our voice heard in Augusta. Progressive change on climate change, healthcare, housing and more can’t come without our collective involvement in the new legislative session.

We need you! Please make a contribution or a recurring monthly donation to support Democratic organizing efforts in Portland for 2021.

Strong and sustained local organizing is how we prepare for and win elections. So get involved, share your ideas, donate, and most importantly: keep showing up. There’s so much ahead and we can only accomplish it together.

Sincerely,

Charles Skold, Chair (chair@portlanddems.org)

Mohammed Abdirahman, Vice-Chair (vicechair@portlanddems.org)

Kim Walter, Treasurer (treasurer@portlanddems.org)

Joe Zamboni, Secretary (secretary@portlanddems.org)