NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 8, 2017
CONTACT: Ann S. Gooding 401.272.3367
NEARLY 100 WOMEN FROM ACROSS RHODE ISLAND GATHER FOR ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING OF
STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY WOMEN’S CAUCUS
Secretary of State Gorbea & Other Elected Leaders Share Experiences with Audience Eager to Get
Involved in their Communities; 21 communities represented
WARWICK, R.I. – It was standing-room only at the Rhode Island Democratic Party headquarters in
Warwick Tuesday night, as nearly 100 women from across the state came to talk about how they can
make an impact in their communities and in politics, in the aftermath of the recent Presidential election.
The meeting was kicked off by Chair Joseph M. McNamara and Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea, and
led by three co-chairs of the Women’s Caucus: Senator Gayle Goldin, Representative Lauren Carson and
Kate Monteiro, and June Speakman representing the R.I. Association of City and Town Chairs. It included
women of all ages and backgrounds representing at least 21 cities and towns.
The role of the emerging Caucus will be to educate women on how to get active in politics, support
candidates and run for office, and was spurred by the significant interest expressed by Rhode Island
women following the November election. It was the first of a series of regional meetings that will be
hosted by the Women’s Caucus and the State Party, to engage people in the political process.
McNamara noted that “there’s been a tremendous outpouring of interest in the Democratic Party since
Trump’s election: our phones have been ringing off the hook and we are getting a lot of emails about
how folks can get involved.”
Some of those who attended last night indicated they’d not been actively engaged in politics before but
felt an urgency to do so since the election. Secretary Gorbea noted, “I was just like many of you, a few
years ago… I wanted to get involved in politics but didn’t know if I had the time or experience to run for
office.” She assured the audience they did.
Many attendees said they’d taken part in the women’s marches across the nation recently and were
asking “what can I do now?” Discussion about next steps included how to get involved in their city and
town Democratic committees, candidate- and campaign-workshop training, building a presence on
social media, communication strategies, and identifying and partnering with other social movement
groups.
Rep. Carson invited each attendee to introduce themselves and say one word talk about why they were
getting involved – words that ranged from “concerned” and “outraged” to “organize” and “hopeful.”
June Speakman, former Barrington Democratic Town Chair and professor of Political Studies at Roger
Williams University, applauded the fact that there are now four, new women town chairs, saying “that
means that women now make up 20 percent of local party chairs…That means the Democratic Party will
begin to change,” she said.
The next meeting of the Caucus will be Monday, March 6 at 6:30 PM at 200 Metro Center Blvd., in
Warwick, (Party office) and is open to all Rhode Island women. Dates for events in Woonsocket, Central
Falls/ Providence, East Bay, South County and Westerly area are to be determined. For more
information, please call 401.272.3367.
**COVERAGE INVITED**
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