Welcome to the Rochester, MA Democratic Town Committee
The Rochester Democratic Committee is a dedicated group of individuals working tirelessly to promote and protect democracy in the town of Rochester, MA.
Our team is committed to upholding the values of democracy and ensuring that every voice is heard. We provide a platform for the community to engage in meaningful discussions, advocate for important issues, and participate in the democratic process.
Our mission is to make a difference and create a more inclusive and democratic society. Join us in our efforts to strengthen the democratic foundation of our town and make a positive impact on the future.
OUR TEAM
Our dedicated leaders are committed to upholding the values of democracy. With a passion for community engagement and social justice, we strive to empower citizens and ensure that every voice is heard. Our leaders work tirelessly to promote progressive policies that reflect the needs and aspirations of our community. Join us in our mission to strengthen democracy and make a positive impact in Rochester, MA.
OUR VALUES
We are for increased voter participation.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is dedicated to increasing voter participation and civic engagement in the democratic process.
We encourage voter information and awareness of issues that face our community, our region, our state and our country.
We support civics programs in our schools to prepare our young people for active and knowledgeable participation in our democracy at all levels.
We are for promoting the habit of voting when first eligible through outreach and the encouragement of providing opportunities to vote (allowing a delayed start at school for voting teens to vote and providing transportation for those in need for example).
We believe that informed and motivated citizens participating in our governmental affairs helps ensure we have the community we all deserve.
The first public school in what would become the United States was established in Boston on April 23, 1635. The first local schools in Rochester were built in 1770.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee (RDTC) supports public school education as a great opportunity to bring us together in a common understanding of the world, foster cooperative social skills, and prepare our youngest community members for success in the workplace and in all aspects of life.
The RDTC believes strives to support public education that is fully funded and free to all, including high-quality early education, full-day kindergarten, vocational technical education, and higher education, because education is a human right.
We are proud of our Old Rochester Regional School District for providing excellent teachers, staff, and administration from kindergarten through high school, and of their counterparts at Old Colony, our outstanding regional technical-vocational school.
We encourage community support and positive citizen involvement to foster the continued excellence of our school system.
We are for public school investment.
We are for the conservation and restoration of Rochester’s abundant natural environment.
We are for Environmental Stewardship and the responsible use and protection of Rochester’s natural environment. We recognize that we are but tenants of this earth and our choices affect the world we leave our children.
We are for:
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Acquiring land for the creation and conservation of protected areas.
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Reducing harmful activities and pollution, purchasing more sustainable products, reducing, reusing, and recycling, and supporting locally grown food.
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Celebrating Earth and Arbor Day to recognize the importance of preservation.
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Protecting clean and abundant water.
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Preserving agriculture and local food availability.
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Effective waste management
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee believes that we are stewards of our community lands and environments.
We understand that we are temporary residents, fully aware that the choices we make in our tenure on the lands of Rochester will impact future generations.
Although this is a global challenge, we recognize the need to act on the local level.
We are for promoting responsible local policies.
We are for establishing and engaging in activities that support responsible climate actions, such as awareness events, drives to pay for green technologies, and actions that directly impact our local community and the global climate.
Each individual and community effort, no matter how large or small, like recycling, planting trees, energy efficient living, thoughtful consumption, green products, or simply joining cleanup efforts in our town helps make a difference.
We are for a sustainable future and recognition of the effects of climate change.
We are for peaceful assembly and participation in our democracy.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for supporting and encouraging all eligible voters to participate in our town elections.
We also strongly encourage community members to join in town government from volunteering to work in the polls to running for town government positions. Our committee caucuses annually to send delegates to the Massachusetts State Convention to represent Democrats from Rochester.
We support peaceful protests and speaking up against great wrongs when the need arises as well as gathering to support candidates that share our democratic values during the election season.
We are for educating our children on how to be critical thinkers who can discern valid sources of information, protecting themselves from fraudulent influencers who may attempt to manipulate them for political or economic gain.
Our schools have an invaluable role in this effort and we support continued development of critical thinking in our children.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee believes we have the right to accurate, transparent, and unbiased information from our government and media outlets.
We will do all we can to ensure that electronic, print and other media consistently convey factual, substantiated information on public media platforms.
We are for honest free speech and information.
We are for enabling, encouraging, and supporting the arts, culture, and science.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for encouraging an open marketplace of ideas, open expression, and fun by supporting opportunities for art, music, science and innovation in Rochester.
We support community networks and events that bring people together to share, learn, and to enjoy common interests, whether centered on cars and motorcycles, farming and agriculture, environmental, historic, athletic, cultural, or other interests that shape our community, our identity and our history.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for all of us doing what we can to achieve a range of housing options that ensures homes will be available to individuals and families representing a broad spectrum of income and age, with a special focus on older residents and veterans of military service.
As the cost of housing rises and moderate and low income housing becomes increasingly difficult to find, more and more people will be displaced and fewer young people will be able to make a start in our town.
We are for affordable housing in our community.
We are for self-determination in reproductive health.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for unrestricted access to reproductive medical care for individuals and families.
We support a woman’s right to make decisions with her medical providers and those close to her in privacy and without oversight of government officials. Whether these decisions concern contraception, fertility/infertility including in vitro fertilization, medical or surgical abortion, adoption, or any of a range of other issues.
We are for access to information, education, counseling and medical services that fit the individual’s needs and allow for the best decisions between a woman and her doctor to be made.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for universal access to health care, without discrimination, as a human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. We depend on quality, affordable health care options for our seniors, adults, and children in Rochester.
There is a healthcare crisis in the United States, with countless people unable to access life-saving care due to cost. This has a disproportionate impact on people already marginalized due to socio-economic status, racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, and other factors. Instead of treating healthcare as a partisan political issue, it should be addressed as a human rights issue. That would mean putting in place a system of universal, equitable, non-discriminatory health care; giving priority to a single-payer, publicly-funded system, so as to guarantee access to comprehensive, quality care for all people as a right and a public good.
We are for access to universal, affordable, and quality health care for all.
We are for gender affirmation.
The Rochester Democratic Town Committee is for every person having a workplace or study environment free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or intersex status. We are for a culture that is safe, inclusive, and respectful for all transgender and gender diverse (TGD) students and members of our community. We encourage attendance at local events and support organizations aligned with these values.
We are for high-quality, affordable childcare for all who need it and excellent preschool education and recreational opportunities for those who seek it. It is well documented that these experiences improve not only school readiness and success in early grades, but also benefit students in high school, college, and beyond.
We are for early-childhood education and affordable childcare.
We are for sensible gun control.
Many Rochester residents are responsible owners of handguns or other firearms. They enjoy their local rod & gun club activities and game seasons, and welcome the fact that they have a means of protection for their homes and families if needed.
We also support the need to continue to develop and refine restrictions on the sale and possession of guns in response to well-documented needs.
Weapons developed for the military play no role in hunting or competitive shooting, but have played a huge role in multiple massacres of innocent children and adults. As citizens of the United States, we have too often witnessed the damage a dysregulated person and an unregulated gun can inflict, we support sensible gun regulations. This does not mean that we do not support responsible gun owners and their right to own and use firearms.
We support every individual’s right to worship according to their own beliefs, or to abstain from worship, free from the imposition of the religious beliefs of others in any situation or location.
