2011 Litchfield Election

1. 2011 Litchfield Election

2. 2011 Litchfield election • Review Results • Review context – national trends, election cycles • Review what we did • Suggest next steps

3. Results in contested races (not counting Treasurer and BoAA) • Three highest vote getters were Republicans • The next five highest vote getters were Republicans • Our three highest vote getters were 9th, 10th and 11th. • The three lowest vote getters were Democrats. One of them was elected.

4. Results • 10 of the 14 candidates were DTC members • 5 of the 10 (50%) DTC candidates won • 3 of the 4 (75%) non DTC candidates won • We could not have done worse; minority representation would require non Republicans in all the seats we won.

5. Winsted had big wins for Democrats Harwinton lost Democratic First Selectmen’s seat We were running against an entrenched incumbant National losses in midterm elections soured our chances Presidential race already gearing up, diverting voters’ attention Context

6. What We Did • About half of DTC members contributed money to the campaign • About half of us spent less than a few hours working on the campaign • A dozen of us put in significant time • Six of us did the bulk of the work at the end of the campaign • Very few non DTC members worked for us

8. What can we do? • Build connections with other Democrats, organize by neighborhood, make face to face contact • Build a volunteer base with good information about who can do what to be ready for next election

12. What else can we do? • Offer help to voters who have a problem with local government • Offer better information to citizens about current issues, such as the budget. • Educate and train committee members in how to do all of the above: public speaking, writing, fundraising, community organizing, etc.

13. What else can we do?

14. What can you do? To prepare for the next election now?