Jesse and Kathleen for Democratic State Committee

Jesse Gordon and Kathleen Crogan-Camara are asking for your vote on March 5, 2024, for Democratic State Committee.

The election for Democratic State Committee is on the presidential primary ballot, on March 5, 2024. Jesse and Kathleen will appear "down-ballot" from President Joe Biden and other candidates running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Kathleen says, "Most people vote in the Democratic presidential primary, but few people know that the same ballot fills the Democratic Party seats. Please remember to vote for me, too, way down the ballot on March 5, and please remember me in September for State Senate!"

Jesse says, "Kathleen's name will appear on your ballot for Committeewoman, but I'm asking you to write in my name for Committeman. There'll be a blank space for you to write 'Jesse Gordon, 52 West Street, Randolph MA' and it's easy to remember my address because it'll be printed on the ballot for my wife Kathleen."

What is the Democratic State Committee?

The Massachusetts Democratic Party is governed by an elected group of over 400 people, who help determine the direction of our party. State Committee members are the people you see leading local election work, like the November 2022 campaign for Governor and Attorney General. Jesse and Kathleen spent their weekends in October 2022 knocking on doors asking people to vote for Maura Healy and Andrea Campbell and the other Democratic candidates.

Each of Massachusetts' 40 State Senate Districts elects one State Committeeman and one State Committeewoman on the presidential primary ballot, every four years. Our State Senate District comprises seven towns -- Milton, Braintree, Randolph, Stoughton, Easton, Bridgewater, and West Bridgewater.

The State Committee seats are gender-specific, to ensure that the State Committee membership is gender-balanced. There are also Affirmative Action seats, to ensure diversity by age and race, and representation for labor, veteran, LGBTQ+, and disability communities. Jesse has served as campaign manager for dozens of candidates for Affirmative Action seats. Kathleen ran for the State Committee Disability seat in 2023, to represent disability caretakers which she has done for decades, and looks forward to working with the Disability Subcommittee in 2024 and beyond.

Each State Senate District also has one State Committeeman and one State Committeewoman elected to "caucus seats" in addition to the two elected to "ballot seats." The "caucus seats" are elected by Democratic Town Committees. In our district, the Caucus Committeeman seat is held by Kevin Coleman Joyce of Randolph, and the Caucus Committeewoman seat is held by Joan Gancarski of Milton, who has endorsed Kathleen. The Ballot Committeeman seat is held by Mike Horan of Stoughton, but he isn't running for re-election -- so Jesse is running.

What are Democratic Town Committees?

Every town in Massachusetts has a Democratic Town Committee, which organizes Democrats in their communities. The Town Committees are the local branches of the State Committee, and are also elected on the 2024 presidential primary ballot. So the March 5 ballot has three sections: 1) for president; 2) for State Committee; and 3) for Town Committee.

The Democratic Town Committees elect delegates every year to the State Convention, where statewide candidates are nominated. (You've seen the national convention for president every 4 years -- this is the state version for Governor and State Auditor and other statewide offices).

Jesse currently serves as the chair of the Randolph Democratic Town Committee, and has been a member of Town Committees since 2003. Kathleen has been a member of the Randolph Democratic Town Committee for several years. Both have been elected as delegates to State conventions from Randolph; Kathleen was elected from Norton, and Jesse was elected from Cambridge before they moved to Randolph.

What will Jesse and Kathleen do on the Democratic State Committee?

Kathleen plans to serve on the Disability Subcommittee and will focus on healthcare policy work. But Kathleen is most interested in strengthening democracy and Democratic values. "Our Democratic elected officials should represent the values of the Democratic Party," says Kathleen, "like most voters and like me -- pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ, pro-small business, and pro-diversity."

Jesse and Kathleen ask for your vote on March 5 to keep those values in the forefront of the Democratic Party.