Winning With Partners in 2018
On the road with DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison in Pennsylvania and Connecticut
This fall and winter, DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison has been on the road as a part of the Winning With Partners in 2018 tour. This tour is a DNC initiative led by Keith and supported by Chair Tom Perez that seeks to strengthen progressive and grassroots infrastructure in key states to both champion Democratic issues and values and build towards electoral victories in 2018. Winning With Partners began last fall with Keith traveling to Nevada, Virginia, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Vermont to meet and work with a myriad of organizations — from emerging grassroots groups to national progressive institutions.
Getting on the road allows the Democratic Party to be able to hear and uplift stories from the community — especially important as our leaders in Congress fight to stop Trump’s agenda and advocate for economic opportunity and civil rights for all. This upcoming weekend, Keith will be back on the road meeting with organizers, activists, and allied groups in St Louis — more on that soon. In the meantime, Keith spent January touring the northeast. Below is a recap of that work.
Our first trip of 2018 was a packed journey up the East Coast to rally for the Dream Act, listen to folks in Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and aggressively grow our election year programs. Take a look behind the scenes and keep your eyes peeled for Keith or other DNC leadership coming to your neighborhood in 2018 — and follow us along at the hashtag #DemsTour on Twitter.
Day 1: 3:00 P.M. Amtrak to Philly
After a busy day in Congress, Keith and the tour team hopped the Amtrak to Philadelphia on his way to the “People’s Rally” in Haverford, PA. Keith went live from the cafe car to explain Winning With Partners and take a few organizing questions. In Haverford, Keith arrived to a standing room only crowd (a theme of the weekend!) hosted by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Delaware County Dems, and PA Together. The room of activists had a lot to celebrate — for the first time, Democrats outpolled Republicans in the races for County Council; they also swept the row offices and saw multiple gains in municipal elections. We were excited to have PA Democratic Party leaders, and a host of local elected officials join us for the event.
Day 2 Morning: Breakfast, Roundtable, and a stop at the Masjid
Keith was up bright and early for a PA Black Legislative Caucus breakfast hosted at the historic Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park in Philly over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The Belmont Mansion was a part of the Underground Railroad and now houses a museum telling the story of the fight to free Black people from bondage. Keith, joined again by local electeds, spoke about organizing and the importance of amplifying black women — ultimately making sure Democrats win in 2018.
As the breakfast ended, Keith sat down for a discussion with progressive grassroots leaders from Philadelphia and the four collar counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. Keith listened to people’s concerns, gave honest answers, and challenged everyone to work as hard as possible to convert the grassroots energy into wins in November. Keith listened to the story of how several women at the meeting stepped up after Trump’s disastrous victory in Pennsylvania to organize in the community, build a statewide network, and knock on tons of doors. Before Keith got in the car to head to an interfaith event, he spoke with Jaime from Turn PA Blue on his Twitter Live to talk about the ins and outs of organizing. You can relive it here.
Keith hurried through the rain into the car and we were back on the road. We headed up to Northwest Philly to attend an interfaith meeting and Friday prayers at a local masjid. The packed audience included State Senate Sharif Street, State Rep. Chris Rabb, and the Executive Director of PA Dems, Sinceré Harris. Keith spoke about the importance of the faith community engaging in 2018. We wrapped up with a conversation on organizing with Keith and these local elected officials, and you can watch it here.
Day 2 Afternoon: On the road to Allentown
Next, we headed up to Allentown for an important town hall meeting on protecting our Dreamers. We arrived as Governor Wolf began to speak about the importance of our Dreamers and ensuring they are protected from deportation. Since Trump ended DACA last October, 122 Dreamers are losing their protection each day. Make the Road PA, POWER Northeast, and the PA Dems hosted the standing room only event to draw attention to the importance of securing Dreamers’ right to live, work, and contribute to their communities in the only country they call home. Dreamer Rainy Leonor-Lake told her story just before Keith spoke to the local community. After the rally concluded, Keith spent time talking and listening to the organizers and Dreamers before heading over to a local mosque for the second faith community roundtable of the day.
Take a moment to listen to Keith’s remarks at the Dreamers rally on Democrats Live.
Overnight: Drive to New Haven
After the final faith meeting at the mosque in Allentown, Keith got back in the car and we drove a little over three hours to Connecticut. The car ride was a good time to catch up on podcasts and to learn more about a special family Keith was going to meet after the town hall on Saturday.
Day 3: A full day in New Haven, CT
The Chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party, Nick Balletto, packed a whole trip to Connecticut into one day in New Haven. This leg of the Winning with Partners in 2018 tour was held at the the historic First and Summerfield Methodist Church just off the New Haven Green. This church is both a sanctuary church (more on that later) and has office space for the union Unite Here.
Up first on the agenda, Keith met with local faith leaders to discuss the moral imperative of what is at stake in the 2018 elections. He listened to concerns about challenges with past organizing and took a lot of notes (he filled a notebook over the two days!) of how the faith leaders want to see local organizing improve.
Right after the meeting, Keith joined CT Dems Chair Nick Balletto for a special filming of Connecticut Dems Live — a live show program hosted by the Connecticut Democratic Party. They had a conversation on the importance of organizing and touched on a few of critical issues facing Democrats — including protecting Dreamers and saving net neutrality. Using Facebook helps to expand the number of folks across Connecticut and the country who get to have a window into the new DNC and the great work happening in our state parties. Watch the conversation here.
Nick invited labor leaders from across Connecticut to join Keith for a conversation on the role of labor in the 2018 and for Keith to learn about the specific issues facing working families in Connecticut. One key issue that was addressed was the possibility of Connecticut becoming a right-to-work state (a right-wing term for curtailing union rights in a state) if Republicans win in November. Doing right by working families is the one of the most important reasons why Keith is out on the road meeting with our community partners.
Meanwhile, community members, active Democrats, and folks curious about the new DNC lined up for the town hall meeting in the church sanctuary upstairs. As the meeting began, there wasn’t enough space for everyone, so people lined the aisles and listened from the vestibule. Especially since this was a cold, wintry day in the middle of a long weekend, it was exciting to see the huge interest in kicking off the 2018 elections. New Haven Mayor Toni Harp welcomed everyone to the town hall, reminding us that not only were we in a sanctuary, we were in sanctuary church referencing the family taking refuge from imminent deportation. Keith and Nick both spoke to the crowd and took questions, and Keith kept filling up his notebook with the concerns of the audience.
After about an hour of questions and answers, the town hall ended and Keith went to meet with Nelson Pinos and his family. Nelson, whose partner and children are American citizens, has spent over 25 years here in the US, but is living in the church because Trump’s deportation force is trying to tear him away from his family. Keith spoke with Nelson as his final Twitter Live of the trip. It’s a powerful few minutes of understanding on why we need to organize for a more just immigration system that keeps families together and recognizes the dignity and civil rights of all.
Day 3 Concludes: Home to Minnesota
Keith got back in the car one more time to head to the airport in Hartford so he could make it home to see his family and cheer on his beloved Vikings in their first playoff game. We’ll be back with more stories from #DemsTour as Keith travels to meet with more grassroots activists in Missouri, Alabama, Wisconsin, Washington, Florida, and more in the upcoming months! In the meantime, follow @TheDemocrats, @TomPerez, and @keithellison, and get involved in your community. Remember: It’s never too early to start knocking doors!
