Middlesex Cty’s Young Democrats start over

The Young Democrats of Middlesex County, an organization for people ages 14-36, is alive once again.

The group, reorganized for the first time since just after the 2008 presidential election, recently elected a new slate of officers to lead the movement toward a greater understanding of and involvement in Democratic politics on all levels.

“I think everyone needed a breather,” said newly elected President Charles Burton of Edison, referring to the dissolution of the group in late 2008. The move to reunite was made when Burton and others heard stirrings in the community about reforming the group.

“We networked with people we knew and we got a local Woodbridge group to spearhead the operation,” Burton said.

The Young Democrats completed their reformation on Aug. 14 when they elected new officers to run the group. The other new appointees are Vice President Mickey Quinn of Highland Park, Treasurer Daniel Harris of Colonia and Secretary Eric Griffith of Woodbridge.

In order to start off strong, the Young Democrats organized a Princeton Political Pub Crawl on Aug. 20. The Mercer County Young Democrats co-sponsored the crawl.

The event, like others that are planned, was meant to engage the younger generation and make the political process fun. This overall mission is to keep the Democratic majority on all levels of government, Burton said.

After Labor Day, the group will turn its attention to working with the many campaigns in the upcoming election. To do so, the Young Democrats have planned “Campaign Invasions,” where the group will take volunteers and plug them into specific events at specific times, effectively doubling the volunteer corps at any given event. One such “invasion” will occur on Sept. 25 for the campaign of state Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, who is currently seeking to represent the 14th Legislative District in the state Senate.

On Sept. 16, the Young Democrats will host their next meeting at 7 p.m. at the Middlesex County Democrat Headquarters, 231 Bridge St., Metuchen.

The Young Democrats are not the only politically active group for youths in the area, however. The Middlesex County Young Republicans are continuing to work toward promoting and supporting Republican candidates on all levels of government.

The group’s philosophy, like that of their counterpart, is “to make Republican politics fun.” The Young Republicans also use a mix of social and more serious events in order to involve a variety of people who are politically minded and curious as to how to become active in their local scene.

On Aug. 21, the group organized a walk with Anna Little, the current mayor of Highlands, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District. The following day, the Young Republicans hosted a summer cocktail party with Scott Sipprelle, who is seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Rush Holt in the 12th District. The event was designed to allow participants to ask Sipprelle about issues affecting them.

Coming in September, the Young Republicans plan to walk together with the South Plainfield Young Republicans in South Plainfield’s annual Labor Day parade.