Woo hoo! DFA at the Beach is 2 weeks away!

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Aug 1, 2008 1:56 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA County Committee Project, DFA New Jersey, Hunterdon DFA, Monmouth County DFA/PDA, NJ-7th Congressional District - The Linda Stender Team

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America, Linda Stender for Congress

Hey, DFA beach fans! It's almost here!

Our 4th Annual DFA at the Beach party is just two weeks away - Saturday afternoon, August 16th at 2pm we take over Moby's Deck in the Highlands. No meeting. No work. Just pure summer fun. Delicious beach-shack food (order off their great menu), ice-cold beer, drinks, and soda. The best laughs. Evah.

RSVP/more info - DFA at the Beach 2008!

Bring your family, your friends, bring whoever you want. DFA progressives from all over NJ will be there. Bring a beach ball, and your suit and hit the waves if you want. Can I get a Woo hoo?

RSVP/more info - DFA at the Beach 2008

Yours till all of New Jersey's as BLUE as the ocean at DFA at the Beach on Saturday the 16th,

                                                                            Rosi Efthim & the gang at NJ for Democracy/DFA

May Hunterdon DFA Wrap-up & events & announcements

Written by: Rosi Efthim on May 9, 2008 9:32 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Hunterdon DFA

Wrap-up & events & announcements from Wednesday's Hunterdon DFA:

THIS MORNING - Linda Stender in Flemington - Stender will be in the Borough Park Gazebo at 11:00am to talk environment and receive the Sierra Club endorsement. Open to the public, please join us! (11:00am, Court St. & Park Ave. behind the Historic Hunterdon Courthouse).

Hunterdon DFA invites you to support your gay neighbors - Our ally, Garden State Equality, is hosting a Neighborhood Action Summit in Lambertville Tuesday. It will be a quick hour of action to urge legislators to pass marriage equality in '08. New Jersey is now the bluest state in the USA (NYTimes says so), and the beauty of this place is that we stand up here not only when it affects us personally, we stand up when it's right. So, if you're gay, you're already on the front lines of this, and if you're straight, I hope you especially will come with us. Tuesday, May 13 (7:00pm), Lambertville House (32 Bridge Street 08530). RSVP: Brian McGinnis at 856-304-4691 or McGinnis@gardestateequality.org (indicate Lambertville). Come hungry, there's pizza.

Save-the-date! Our first-ever Summer Picnic Sunday June 29 (7:00pm) - Duke Island Park concert!  Progressive Picnic Music Extravaganza. Bring a dish to share, and lawn chairs or a blanket and come hang out. Pure fun, families invited, live music and the best progressive chatter. We're donating to the food banks, so please bring non-perishable food items, lawn chairs, dish to share. Details TBA.

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Hunterdon DFA Wednesday night

Written by: Rosi Efthim on May 6, 2008 12:31 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Hunterdon DFA

Happy Spring everybody! At Wednesday night's meeting:

Celebrating NJ Families: Our friends at Garden State Equality are coming to Hunterdon next Tuesday for the Neighborhood Action Summit for marriage equality. I'll be there & hope you will be too. If you're straight, I especially hope you'll come. One of the reasons NJ's already the most progressive state in the USA is that we stand up for everybody's rights here, whether it directly affects us or not. It's one of the very best things about us. The Neighborhood Action Summit will be a fun & focused evening of direct action and pizza. Special Guest Brian McGinnis, Garden State Equality South Jersey Director at DFA Wednesday.

Planning Summer Picnic with Somerset DFA: Pure fun, families invited, live music and the best progressive friends around. Totally in the planning stage. Come weigh in on the when & where.

Awesome new Democratic HQ: No more crampy working conditions, better parking, cool location and smelling ever so faintly of ... candy? Yep, it's a new HQ & we'll talk about ways to keep it afloat so our wonderful Dem volunteers can win us some big races in 08.

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DFA Training this weekend - all the details here!

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Apr 22, 2008 2:28 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey

Buzz, Buzz: Monmouth University will be buzzing this weekend, as grassroots activists stream in from all over NJ for the arrival of the national DFA Training Academy. There's still time to join us.

RSVP here! DFA Training this weekend

Fast-paced, stimulating, and fun, the DFA Training brings together some of the best political strategists in the country to work alongside NJ activists as they sharpen their skills to take back the White House, forge a solid blue Congress, and elect good progressives right here at home.

Sharpen your skills: Field planning & targeting, volunteer recruitment, issues organizing, fundraising strategies, media, how to run canvasses & phonebanks, call time for candidates, precinct organizing, GOTV, event planning, and message development are among the skills covered.

RSVP here!     DFA Training this weekend (and more info)

Hotel: Staying over? Holiday Inn Express (5 min. from campus) holds our block of rooms at the special rate of $89 through Wednesday. Most are King Suite, with sleeper living room making room sharing easy. Free wifi & free breakfast. 732-542-1234: As for DFA Training rooms.

Friday night coffee: Coming in early? We'll meet you in the hotel's Great Room for coffee & chat (and possible late-night bar hopping in Red Bank!).

Saturday night dinner: Join us & the trainers for dinner at Racioppi's in Red Bank after our first training day. Order off the menu, this great restaurant is also home base to Monmouth DFA! RSVP ASAP to Ed Zipprich: ejzip@aol.com or 732-219-5192.

Rosi, Jeff, Karen, Ed & Mitch - for NJ for Democracy

Democracy is not a Spectator Sport - tryouts are April 26-27

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Apr 4, 2008 5:02 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey

Hey - - - Who's got you excited this election season?

Obama? Or, Clinton?

Lautenberg? Or, Andrews?

Somebody else?

Or...... are you running?

Well, good news. The national DFA Training Academy is coming to New Jersey the weekend of April 26-27. It's a way to charge your batteries, sharpen your skills, learn how not only be effective in your local organizing, but how to take a more powerful role in the campaigns you support and the change you believe in.

It's amazingly affordable, comprehensive, fast-paced and fun.

RSVP right here    DFA Training April 26-27

Bring your friends - from DFA, from labor, from environmental organizations, social justice groups, bring your favorite local candidate to sharpen their winning skills, and join us for one big, powerful progressive weekend on the beautiful campus of Monmouth University. Special Guests & lodging info TBA!

RSVP right here     DFA Training April 26-27

Rosi Efthim, Jeff Gardner, Mitch Manzella, Ed Zipprich & Karen Gaffney

FRIDAY - Join Frank Pallone & rally against Bush in NJ

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Mar 27, 2008 5:31 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey

Yep. It's true.

George "National Financial Crisis" Bush is coming to New Jersey tomorrow - Friday 3/28. Hard to imagine how he has the nerve.

He's coming to talk about the economy. But whatever he's going to say, his words won't go unchallenged:

Rally Against Bush in Freehold. 1-3pm Friday - - at 300 Halls Mill Road in Freehold (parking available). Bring signs related to our sagging economy!

RSVP here - or just show up!

Rep. Frank Pallone is organizing a little protest & you're invited. Join NJ for Democracy and our friends at NJ Citizen Action, Coalition for Peace Action & other allies, to talk some real truth about the economy.

Pallone: As George Bush stands with investment banks, insurance companies, Big Oil, and the wealthiest of Americans, NJ Democrats are standing with working families. While homeowners across the country are facing foreclosure or seeing their homes depreciate in value and parents worry about affording health care for their children George Bush continues to spend billions on a misguided war in Iraq.

Tomorrow's a work day for most, but if you can get there, super.

Rosi Efthim & Jeff Gardner - NJ for Democracy

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Support Tom Wyka for Congress - March 28th

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Mar 18, 2008 9:02 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey

DFA's own Tom Wyka is running for Congress against Rodney Frelinghuysen in NJ-11. And on March 28, there's a low-dollar fundraiser, designed to make it easy for us to come out and support one of our own, and have big fun doing it.

Wyka for Congress at Cryan's Friday March 28, 2008 - 7-9pm
Cryan's Pub (24 1st St in South Orange)
$50 suggested guest donation or $150 host donation
RSVP: to Roger Fox, at rdanafox@yahoo.com

It's time to retire 7-term Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Bush apologist whose time has come and gone. Wyka's running on the commitment to withdraw troops from Iraq, creating an affordable health insurance sytem and fully implementing the 9/11 Commission Report, for our safety on the homefront.

When Tom first ran in '06,, he was the top vote-getter in Morristown, Dover, Livingston and Victory Gardens. In fact, Tom got 37% of the vote ... on just $30,000. Imagine what Tom can do with better funding (and hey, what a great investment for all of us).

Rosi Efthim, NJ for Democracy
p.s. There's an upcoming event for Tom in Somerville, too - Tuesday, March 25 (6:30pm) at Main Street Bistro (18 West Main St., Somerville). $40 suggested donation. RSVP Betty Wyka betwyka@optonline or leave message at campaign: 973.215.2082

Obama/Clinton Primaries & Hunterdon Organizing - DFA Wednesday

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Mar 4, 2008 4:56 PM EST

Linked to groups: Hunterdon DFA

Just a reminder - Wednesday is our March Hunterdon DFA meetup. And it's a big one -

Texas - Ohio - RI - Vermont Primaries - Day-After Quarterbacking: Do the big Tuesday primaries knock Clinton out of the race? Or does she win big? Does Obama continue to dominate & rack up delegates? Or does he slow down? Will the April 22 PA primaries even matter?

Neighborhood Leader Project: Special Guest Jorge Santos is a DNC Organizer working right here for NJ Democrats, with an inspiring 20-minute video with organizing tools perfect for Hunterdon where we're winning more uphill battles. Like this one: 

Raritan Township is next: Both of the candidates running in Raritan Twp. are DFA members we know & believe in. We'll hear from them both (one may be a surprise) and get the lowdown on everything Raritan.

Hunterdon DFA - Wednesday March 5 (7pm) Friendly Grounds Coffee, 36 Mine St., Flemington

Rosi Efthim for Hunterdon DFA

Is Hunterdon Hungry for Change?

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Feb 29, 2008 4:12 PM EST

Linked to groups: Hunterdon DFA

Super Tuesday cracked open a bunch of new realities, even here in Hunterdon, where - overnight - we watched thousands of independent voters switch from independent to Democrat, so they could cast their votes for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or another Dem.

So ...how do we grab that opportunity, and make some miracles for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, for Stender & Holt. Can we really turn this red county blue?

Hunterdon DFA - Wednesday, March 5 (7pm) Click to RSVP!
Friendly Grounds Coffee (36 Mine St., Flemington)

Part #1 - The Neighborhood Leader Project (national):
Special Guest Jorge Santos, Field Organizer for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) working right here for NJ Democrats, will introduce a cool short video, The Neighborhood Leader Project. The Democratic Party's basing their entire national win strategy on local people & an organized grassroots strategy. It's how we win the White House, a bluer Congress, and even get better people in some of our local town councils & committees.

Part # 2- Using Neighborhood Leader Project for local miracles - and BREAKING NEWS about DFA & Raritan Township
It's no secret our own Marianne Rampulla's running for office in Hunterdon's biggest municipality. Now, her running-mate's also DFA. Find out who on Wednesday!   Our friends, the great Raritan Twp. Dems are our Special Guests. We'll get the lowdown on everything Raritan. And we'll talk about how local neighborhood organizing might just do the trick there, and where you live too.

Cick to RSVP!

Rosi Efthim for Hunterdon DFA
50-State Strategy = 21-County Strategy = Hunterdon wins!

We love it when our friends win.

Written by: Rosi Efthim on Feb 25, 2008 12:49 PM EST

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey

Last night, Freeheld won the Oscar.

And 300 of our friends- including many in DFA - watched it together at an energized, tearful and joyous event organized by Garden State Equality. Freeheld chronicles a New Jersey civil rights struggle still alive now, as gay and lesbian New Jerseyans work toward the full marriage equality that will protect their families.

It tells the story of Lieutenant Laurel Hester, 23-year veteran of the Ocean County Proscecutor's Office dying of cancer, trying to secure death benefits for her partner Stacie, only to be turned down again and again by the Ocean County Freeholders. What began as her own simple plea for justice rolled into a statewide movement of thousands, both gay and straight. Laurel died a month after this movement forced the Freeholders to give Laurel and Stacie what was right.

Watching Cynthia Wade's beautiful film win the Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subject, was pure joy. We salute our friends in DFA - particularly Ocean County DFA/PDA & Monmouth DFA - who showed up for Laurel. And we salute all our friends at Garden State Equality. Laurel's story focused that movement in NJ, but Garden State Equality will drive it home.

We all win when life treats all of us more equally. So here's to Freeheld. Here's to Laurel. And here's to civil rights heroes fighting all kinds of good fights all over the state.   Bravo.