Events

Coming Events

Tuesday, May 6, 2008  7:00 to 9:30 pm Committee Meeting Morris Plains Community Center 51 Jim Fear Drive Our guest speaker will be Dina Meis, the regional coordinator of the Democratic National Committee and the New Jersey Democratic Committee. This is a very important meeting during an exciting election year. An overwhelming number of previously undeclared voters have now declared themselves as Democrats. Here in Morris Plains, undeclareds switching to Democrats outnumbered those switching to Republicans by more than two to one. Committee meetings are held at the Morris Plains Community Center, usually on the first Tuesday of each month. All Morris Plains Democrats are welcome to join us.

Past Events

Meet The Candidates Night

April 3, 2007 On behalf of the Morris Plains Democratic Committee, I would like to thank all of you that organized, publicized and attended our Morris Plains “Meet The Candidates Night” last Friday at Ambrosia Restaurant. I extend my special thanks to Bob Bianchi for his help in scheduling and arranging this enjoyable evening, Dorothy Veasey for her assistance in facilitating the actual event. My sincerest thanks to Morris County Democratic Committee Chairman Lew Candura for believing in us and helping to promote our organization’s event. Also special thanks to Randolph Democratic Committee Chairman Dan Lynn and Washington Township Democratic Committee Chairlady Sally Hudson for attending and supporting our event. Finally, I would like to thank all of the people at Ambrosia Restaurant (George, Theo and Michelle) for providing us with such a comfortable place to hold our event. Their meeting room and hospitality were extraordinary. 40 people attended this social event. Your support and enthusiasm made it a success. We connected with some new Democrats, and reconnected with some of our senior Democrats who were pleased to see the presence and resurgence of the Democratic Party in Morris Plains. Several past and present Democratic candidates and former elected officials attended the event. Without these great individuals, the night could not have been a success. I also thank them for their support. The candidates and officials in attendance were: Tom Wyka: 2006 Candidate for House of Representatives and future 2008 candidate 11th Congressional District Dana Wefer: 2007 Candidate for State Assembly 25th District, 2005 and 2006 Morris County Freeholder Candidate Jason Karr: 2006 and 2007 Candidate for Morris Plains Borough Council Dr. Dave Modrak: 2007 Candidate for State Assembly 26th District Mark Heckler: Former Morris Plains School Board President; 2005 and 2006 candidate for Morris Plains Borough Council Paul Bangiola: Former Mayor of Morris Plains (the last Democrat to have been elected to this office) Michael Butchko: Former Morris Plains Councilman (the last Democrat to have been elected to the Council) and former State Assembly Candidate Ed Fletcher: Former Morris Plains Councilman We also held our first Democratic Presidential Primary Straw Poll. The results were as follows: First place (tie): John Edwards, Al Gore (8 votes each) Second place: Barack Obama (7) Third place: Hillary Clinton (5) Fourth place (tie): Joe Biden, Bill Richardson (2 each) Fifth place (tie): Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich (1 each) Wes Clark, Chris Dodd (0) It was great to see and speak with all of you. Your continued support is inspiring. Let’s continue to build our party at the grass roots. Finally, I ask that you support our neighbors--the Morris Township Democrats--by assisting our friend and Council candidate Jeff Grayzel. Jeff is seeking to get elected to the Township Council. Our neighbors in the Township need our support and assistance in helping to elect Jeff Grayzel as the first Democratic Councilman in Morris Twp. in approximately 40 years. Please click on the link to see how you can help. Chris Gargano Morris Plains Democratic Committee Chairman

Thanksgiving Thank You!

Dear Fellow Democrats: My apologies for not having posted sooner. The exhausting pace of the election, the recent loss of my grandfather Peter Gargano, and my professional commitments took more time than I had anticipated. But-I am back!! On behalf of the Morris Plains Democratic Committee, I’d like to thank all of you who volunteered for our local Democratic Candidates Jason Karr and Mark Heckler, our County Freeholder Candidates Dana Wefer, Richard Leary and Jack Hartford, US Congressional Candidate Tom Wyka and our Senator Robert Menendez during this election cycle. Because the GOP will always be able to outspend the Democrats, we need to rely heavily on our stellar volunteers. Whether you made phone calls, canvassed door to door,delivered campaign materials or put a sign in your yard, we thank you an we hope you will all stay involved with the Democratic Party. Concering the past election--what can I say! Nationally, Election Day was a great day for the Democratic Party! New Jersey remains a blue state with the election of Bob Menendez, and the Democrats now control the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade!! Locally, it was an extremely close and exciting election in Morris Plains. Jason Karr, a first time candidate for Borough Council fell short by merely 137 votes. Mark Heckler was 67 votes behind Jason Karr. Between the two candidates they accounted for more than 45% of the vote. This is quite impressive when you consider that registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than three to one in Morris Plains!! The times are changing, the people are changing and it is only a matter of time before Morris Plains will have Democrats on the Council and a Democratic Mayor. Your level of volunteerism on election day was awesome. To all of our challengers we thank you. Kathy Connolly did an outstanding job of organizing our challengers, making sure that we had challengers at every district from the moment the polls opened until the moment the polls closed, and making sure that there was food and refreshments on election day. Thanks to her the Democratic Party made its presence known to Morris Plains on election day. To all of our challengers that remained with me on the floor of the Community Center, you are truly an inspiration to the Democratic Party. I was extremely proud of your tenacity and aggressiveness. Thank you for your support! And always remember, this is your Town too!! This is what happens when you fight everywhere, when you show up, when you ask people for their votes and when you offer people something they desperately want - a new direction for America, a new direction for your community. The Democratic Party has a bold new direction for a secure America. We seek: 1) Honest Leadership & Open Government, 2) Real Security, 3) Energy Independence, 4) Economic Prosperity & Educational Excellence, 5) A Healthcare System that Works for Everyone, and 6) Retirement Security The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country. The ultimate goal? --An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single district in the country. Locally, the presence of the Democratic Party in Morris Plains has invigorated this Community. When was the last time that you saw incumbents and candidates knocking on doors seeking re-election? The Democratic candidates framed traffic and safety as one issue. Last year the Borough Council stated that traffic and safety was not an issue. This year Councilman Welsh publicly stated that it has become an issue. Coincidence? On March 10, 2007 the Morris Plains Democratic Committee as we know it will be 2 years old. This past election has invigorated Democrats in Morris Plains who want to be part of the political process. There is an enthusiasm and interest in helping this party and this Community grow which has never been seen before. So this Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. I am thankful for all of my Democratic friends, committee persons and neighbors, I am thankful to our County Chairman Lew Candura,and last but not least to my family for all of their support,understanding and time. From my family to yours-have a blessed, safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Chris Gargano Morris Plains Democratic Committee Chairman 973.540.1016

October 1, 2006 Dear Fellow Democrats: Yesterday was both an invigorating and poignant day for me as Chairman of the MP Dems.Together with fellow Democrats from towns throughout Morris County and from as far away as Bergen and Middlesex County, 18 Dems walked door to door in five Morris Plains districts bringing the message of the Democratic Party, their national and local candidates to the residents of Morris Plains. These dedicated people of all different ages and backgrounds knocked on doors in 5 districts in Morris Plains from 9-12 to help get out the message, to help begin to take back our country from the reckless administration we have in Washington, and to end single party dominance in our government. I took several photos of those who participated in this event which I have posted. Back on August 5, I attended an event sponsored by Seeds of Peace and Democracy for America. The event was held at the Morristown Unitarian Church and featured Senator Bob Menendez, Democratic US Congressional candidate Tom Wyka and Amanda Schroeder. Amanda, who had lost her brother Augie in Iraq one year prior, shared with the audience the horror and tragedy of the life that was lost. Her spoken words left not a dry eye in the church. My usually pre-occupied nine year old son sat completely still and was mesmerized by Amanda's speech. Her poignant words will always be indelibly etched in my heart and soul. However, especially moving for me yesterday was to see this familiar person walking up to our group assembling in the parking lot at Friendly's (Amanda is second from the left in the front row in the group photo above). Moments later, she left with campaign/canvassing materials and began her mission walking door to door in Morris Plains. When I saw Amanda Schroeder standing in the parking lot of Friendly's, I wondered to myself why she came to help in Morris Plains of all places? After reading what her father Paul E. Schroeder wrote on his "Families of the Fallen for Change" website (scroll down to the article "A Life Wasted"), I feel truly blessed that Amanda Schroeder came to Morris Plains yesterday. Amanda Schroeder is a Hero, and we need to continue to help her and the Schroeder family by supporting Bob Menendez who was against this war and was not afraid to take a stand against it when it was unpopular to do so. Chris Gargano Morris Plains Democratic Committee Chairman

Morris Plains Memorial Day Parade, May 27, 2006
See the Memorial Day 2006 page for lots more pictures of the Morris Plains Democrats in the parade!
	Memorial service at Roberts Park
	Morris Plains Democrats posing in our new T-shirts. Click here to see a larger picture.
	Democrats on the march.

Garage Sale at Mark and Marilyn Heckler's house, May 20, 2006
	Standing: Dave Waks, Sandy Teger, Arjun Agarwal, Mark Heckler, Marilyn Heckler Seated: Dorothy Veasey, Jan Grote

Social at Chris and Lynn Gargano's house, February 25, 2006
	(left to right) Tom Wyka (Candidate for US House of Representatives, NJ 11th District) Visit Tom's Website Chris Gargano Dave Waks

Social at Chris and Lynn Gargano's house, January, 2006
	(left to right) Kathy Connolly, Mike Butchko, Michelle Bianchi, Bob Bianchi
	(left to right) Addie Kanter, Dan Kanter, Mark Heckler, Arjun Agarwal