My campaign kickoff - you're all invited!

by: Stephen Yellin

Tue May 31, 2011 at 11:57:01 AM EDT

It's been two months since I announced here I was running for office once again in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey - the town I've lived in all my life and the town I want to give back to as a Councilman! "Yellin for Council Version 2.0" has been rather successful so far, and I'm building on that momentum going into the June 7th primary.

With that in mind, I'm having my campaign kickoff this Saturday (June 4th) in Berkeley Heights - and every "Blue Jersey" blogger is invited to attend! It is at Noon at 345 Plainfield Avenue, at the pavilion of Columbia Park (the parking lot is behind the Middle School at that address). The kickoff is free and open to the public.

An update on my campaign is below.  

Before the filing deadline in April, I was able to convince a qualified, enthusiastic and dedicated Democrat to be my running mate for Township Council. Jamie Divine-Cadavid and I first met during my campaign for Council last year, when she and her husband attended the League of Women Voters' debate. She was sufficiently impressed by what I said there that she offered to help me on the spot.

In the waning days of the campaign, Jamie took me to close to 100 homes in Free Acres (a special community within Berkeley Heights) and convinced many of her neighbors to support me. Not only that, but Jamie kept on going after I moved on to other districts, hitting almost every single Democratic and Unaffiliated door in her district by Election Day. As a Democratic activist in North Carolina and Maryland, and a 2004 Presidential delegate, she knew what she was doing. Thanks to Jamie, I picked up several dozen votes that I would not have gotten otherwise.

Now Jamie and I are a ticket, and we've already been going to events and talking to residents about what we wish to do if elected. Many of the ideas I proposed last year as a candidate have not been implemented since, and Jamie has several good ideas of her own as to how Berkeley Heights can grow and thrive as a community.

We're holding our campaign kickoff before the June 7th primary, even though we're unopposed. Why, you ask? We want voters in Berkeley Heights to know that there is an alternative to the all-Republican Council, and that Democrats in Berkeley Heights are ready to contribute in moving our community forward. With the Republicans having a contested primary on Election Day, we want to get our supporters ready to go for November.

You, too can be a part of our kickoff. You, too can be a part of the revival of the Berkeley Heights Democrats as a viable alternative in our community to the status quo. Democrats have not held more than 1 seat in Berkeley Heights government since 1990; Jamie and I are going to change that in November.

I hope to see some of the Blue Jersey contingent this Saturday. If you can make it, please RSVP, so we have a better idea of how many guests to expect.

As a Blue Jersey blogger since 2005, I'm proud to be a part of this community. I'm no Jeff Gardner, but I hope to do you all proud come November 8th - and especially come January 1st!

- Stephen Yellin