Have you been hearing lots of talk about the IDC recently, but still not sure what it's all about? Check out our explainer here (en Español), and share with your friends! We've been encouraging Brooklynites—particularly those in the 20th NYS senate district—to call State Senator Jesse Hamilton to ask him why he's voting with senate republicans.

Brooklyn wants the Democrats they voted for to stand united with their fellow Democrats in the fight for progressive reform, not to prop up a republican majority and paralysis in Albany! Call Senator Hamilton at his District office (718-284-4700) or his Albany office (518-455-2431) and tell him to leave the IDC and rejoin mainline Democratic caucus today!

Thanks to everyone who came out in full force for our NKD kickoff meeting of 2017! For those who couldn’t make it, we heard what all of NKD’s committees have been working on, and discussed next month’s NKD Executive Committee elections—including leadership opportunities that we’ll be developing in order to accommodate all of the exciting new interest in our work. 

Here’s what we covered:

Thank you to the hundreds of Brooklynites who participated in NKD’s post-election organizing meeting on Saturday, November 19th! From those new to local political engagement to longtime activists and elected officials, Brooklyn came together as one borough to envision and grow a more progressive and inclusive Democratic Party.

Because so many folks in the room were attending their first political club meeting, the first hour focused on getting oriented to the local political landscape, progressive reform issues, and NKD's role in it all. We ran through "Local Government 101" to understand how the District Leaders, the State Senators, the Governor, and the political clubs all fit together. We talked about the strategies, approaches, and achievements of NKD since its founding in 2008. We heard from a few of the NKD members who became elected officials, and who we still work with. And we heard about the breakout sessions that we then divided ourselves into for the bulk of the meeting, to organize and strategize about making real progressive change. We broadcast this first hour via Facebook Live, and you can still watch it here!

Some great discussions happened within the breakout groups: