College Dems Pick New Slate Of Leaders

Members of the newly elected executive board of the Harvard College Democrats say they will work to keep the group strong despite disappointment for the party in last week’s midterm elections.

R. Gerard McGeary ’04 was elected president Tuesday night in the Littauer Building at the Kennedy School of Government, replacing Sonia H. Kastner ’03. Jessica L. Diaz ’05 will take over as vice president from Kara A. Shamy ’03.

McGeary said it is important for the College Dems to stay involved in politics on the national level, especially after the Democrats’ loss of the Senate and the Massachusetts governor’s office.

“Democrats in general suffered a tough blow on Tuesday. We now need to brace for next two years with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency,” he said. “It’s going to require that we stay vigilant, educating not just the country but more specifically students on campus about the issues.”

He said this might be done with a series of speakers, op-eds and debates with the Harvard Republican Club.

The Democrats will also be looking ahead to take power back in the next presidential election.

“We’re also going to need to build up for the 2004 election push,” McGeary said. “The goal is to keep membership active in the coming year so next year’s administration can draw upon a very solid base to campaign with.”

He said he also hopes to hold a series of workshops to prepare students to serve on campaigns after college. The program will teach students about all aspects of a campaign, from the perspective of candidates, financial directors and political strategists, McGeary said.

Candidates had sent out written campaign statements before the elections, and there was a question and answer period before the members voted by secret ballot.

Starting with president, officers were elected one at a time. Losing candidates were allowed to drop down and run for another position, according to Kastner.

About 45 of the 200 dues-paying members voted.

McGeary, who has served on the board as Campus Outreach Director since the spring of his first year, said he plans to focus during his presidency on strengthening the existing membership.

“We had over 300 volunteers in this past campaign season,” he said. “It’s asking a lot of membership to contribute to the organization and the Democratic party. It’s time to give back to them by focusing on high quality events that keep Democrats engaged and involved on campus.”

To keep more active students involved, McGeary said he will continue the College Dems’ members-at-large program, which began last year. The 20 members-at-large serve on sub-board positions, an intermediate level between regular members and board members.

All new board members this year except for first-years came from member-at-large positions.

In addition to McGeary and Diaz, the new board will consist of Legislative Director Guillermo Coronado ’05, Speakers Director Joey Hanzich ’06, Outreach Director Andrew Stillman ’06, Communications Director Ryan McAuliffe ’06, Treasurer Joel Washington ’05, Institute of Politics Relations Director Naomi Ages ’05 and Projects Director Andrew Frank ’05.

Members re-elected to their positions include Brian Distelberg ’05 as Web and Design Director, Peter Buttigieg ’04 as Internships Director and Mike Firestone ’05 as Campaigns Director.

Kastner said her role for the rest of the year will be to document the progress that has been made and the lessons the group has learned.