Turning Red Districts Blue: Organizing For Change
Democrats and progressives won huge victories in 2008, gaining the presidency and winning big majorities in the House and Senate. Yet millions of progressives live in the shadow of Red districts held by Republican Congressmembers, state senators and assemblymembers. Panelists will relate their experiences in helping turn Red districts Blue and will offer advice on how you can help oust Republicans in your own district, from organizing voter registration drives and influencing local media to affecting your local committees and recruiting good candidates.
Adam Lambert did NOT compete in American Idol this past season. He is, however, a tax consultant living and working in the New York City area. Blogging under the name “clammyc”, Adam has been a front page contributing editor at a number of progressive blog communities, including Blue Jersey. He has also volunteered for the past 2 Congressional elections in NJ's 5th District, and currently is part of a grassroots group organizing and strategizing on how to win in one of the Northeast's reddest districts.
Matt Browner Hamlin is a writer, activist, and organizer who works for the Service Employees International Union. Matt was the Internet Director for Mark Begich's Senate campaign in Alaska and the Deputy Internet Director for Chris Dodd's presidential campaign. He serves on Students for a Free Tibet's international Board of Directors. Matt writes about politics at HoldFastBlog.com and cocktails, bars, and spirits at AJiggerOfBlog.com.
Darcy Burner is Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org, honorary chair of the PCCC, honorary chair of More and Better Democrats PAC, a board member of the Council for a Livable World's PeacePAC, and a national board member for NARAL.
The principal author and organizer of "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," which was endorsed by more than sixty candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, she has been a candidate for Congress in Washington State's 8th District, a Group Program Manager at Microsoft Corporation, and a software developer at Lotus Development Corp.
David Atkins is a qualitative research consultant (focus group design & moderation) living in Ventura, CA, and writes on DailyKos, Calitics and elsewhere under the pseudonym "thereisnospoon". He is President of the Ventura County Young Democrats, and actively engaged in a variety of local volunteer efforts aimed at unseating Republicans in CA-24, as well as in California's AD-37 and SD-19. Through his company The Pollux Group, he has also consulted with the Los Angeles County Democratic Party to help defeat Republicans in red districts across Southern California.
Eden James is Managing Director of the Courage Campaign, responsible for online organizing, fundraising and staff. Before joining Courage in 2007, James was instrumental in organizing Jerry McNerney's people-powered upset victory over Republican Congressman Richard Pombo (CA-11), serving as Field Director in the primary and Online Communications Director in the general, spearheading the campaign's netroots outreach and helping McNerney raise more than $1 million online. Inspired by the empowerment politics of Howard Dean's campaign, James left UC Berkeley in 2004 to defeat President Bush and subsequently organized online and offline for CREDO Mobile and the Alliance for a Better California.
Arshad is Executive Director of DFA, he joined DFA in early 2005 to develop and direct the DFA Campaign Academy. Before joining DFA, Arshad worked with MoveOn PAC during the 2004 Elections. Previous to his electoral experience, Arshad based his professional political career in environmental issue advocacy and organizing. Arshad traces his Dean roots to February of 2003 when he founded one of the nation's first organized Dean groups, Philly For Dean. Arshad was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota and went to college at the University of Pennsylvania.
