Wayland Democrats will soon have an opportunity to voice their opinions at their upcoming April 27 local Democratic Caucus. The Wayland Republicans do not have immediate plans to hold a caucus.
Delegates for the Democratic state convention will be elected at the April 27 meeting in Wayland, and those delegates will represent Wayland Democrats at the state caucus which will be held in Springfield in September. In addition to selecting local delegates, residents will have the opportunity at the caucus to present their issues and concerns which could become part of the party’s platform.
The Wayland Republican Committee has no immediate plans to hold a local caucus, according to Virginia Gardner, their chairperson. She said that she is waiting to hear from Dave Lunger, the district state committee representative, to determine if they will hold a local caucus. She said the number of Republican members in Wayland is very small so probably anyone who is a Wayland Republican committee member will be eligible to attend the state Republican caucus.
Wayland is allotted ten delegates to participate at the Democratic state caucus. This is determined by population size. All delegates must be registered Democrats. This is confirmed by the Wayland town clerk at registration at the April 27 meeting. Judy Ling, Co-chair of the Wayland Democratic Committee said, although the state allocated ten Wayland delegates to the state caucus, additional members can petition to be added if they fall into a designated category such as youth delegate or minority candidate. The youth member is defined as registered voters ages 18 – 35. With the exception of someone in the military, all candidates running for a delegate spot must be present at the local caucus. Members of the Armed Service can contact the committee Co-chairs Judy Ling and Steve Garone to advise them that they are interested in running. According to Judy Ling, the process is dictated by the state party. She must publicize the local caucus by placing ads in the local newspaper and other communication outlets.
Ling, who has been a Democratic committee member for ten years and Wayland co-chair for six years, said that the caucus is generally quiet on non-election years and it is sometimes difficult to get a full slate of delegates but when there are elections for governor, senate, house or president, there is no problem getting ten or more delegates.
Some of the issues that the Democratic committee is currently discussing are the funding cuts to the federal government departments, accountability, and the special elections for three seats in the house, two in Florida and one in New York, according to Ling.
The Wayland Caucus will be held on 4/27 in the large conference room in Wayland Town Hall at 2:00 p.m. Doors will open at 1:30 to begin registration and there is no admittance after 2:15 p.m. The state caucus will be held at the Massachusetts Mutual Center in Springfield on September 13 at 1:30 p.m.
