About Us
OUR VISION
Residents of the Chathams will have access to a well-structured Democratic organization that enables them to fully participate in the vibrant civic life of our two municipalities.
OUR MISSION
The Democratic Club of the Chathams believes in the general welfare and common good for every citizen of the Chathams, and strives to constantly provide opportunities for civil discourse and civic engagement. We focus on equity, opportunity, sustainability, and justice. We support Democratic values, voter empowerment, and a culture that fosters strong political engagement.
The Democratic Club of the Chathams supports Democratic candidates and elected officials at all levels of government, and ballot measures promoting Democratic values in Chatham Borough and Township, as well as in Morris County and across the State of New Jersey.
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OUR BELIEFS
We believe public officials should be held to the highest standards of integrity and accountability. The Chatham Democrats believe that government should always strive to increase public participation and improve government structures, rules, and norms to best serve the interests of all Chatham residents. Our local public officials should act in a manner that represents our community and demonstrates respect and the core values of all the residents of the Chathams.
We believe our elected officials should act in a fiscally responsible manner when expending tax payer money. We believe that our budget planning, planning board actions and approval processes should be transparent and open to extensive public discussion.
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One important way to serve the needs of our community is by maintaining or improving our public infrastructure (roads, water, sanitation, and recycling systems) and providing services that benefit both our residents individually and the community as a whole. We support service that is proactive —not reactive — in keeping the Chathams the wonderful places they are to live, work, and raise families.
We believe every person should live in a safe community. The Chatham Democrats are committed to public policies and investments to deter crime.
We support actions to address the public health crisis of gun violence. We advocate research and policy designed to both prevent and reduce gun violence of all kinds including, but not limited, to domestic violence, accidental death or injury, suicide, mass-shootings, and any other situations in which the presence of a firearm poses a threat to the health or safety of a person or persons.
We believe protecting our environment, from the air we breathe to the water we drink, is critical to the health of our citizens. Climate change is real; we have a responsibility to act. We support funding of parks and other publicly accessible facilities. We believe in public protection of our tree cover, our wildlife, water and air quality, and support practices to preserve and repair our planet’s delicate ecological infrastructure.
We believe that discrimination based on age, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, immigration status, income, national origin, race, refugee status, religion, or sexual orientation has no place in the Chathams. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in society on their own terms and lead independent lives. It is our responsibility to stand up for the rights of those marginalized by society.
We believe we are a nation of immigrants. We benefit from the contributions of immigrants, past, present, and future. The Chatham Democrats support a humane immigration policy that includes a path to citizenship and afford immigrants full and equal rights. We believe everyone in New Jersey – documented or not – deserves to be treated with basic human dignity.