Letter to voters, February 9, 2004

By Andrew J "Andy" Cassidy

My name is Andrew Cassidy. I live in the city of San Mateo and currently serve as an alternate on the County Democratic Central Committee. I seek your support on March 2 for election as a voting member to the Committee.

I work in the software industry, however, I dedicate much of my spare time to volunteer activities, such as advocating for seniors through the San Mateo County Long-term Care Ombudsman program and serving on San Mateo's Library Board of Trustees. The work that best qualifies me for election to the Central Committee is the work I do to help elect local Democrats.

Early in 2003, through my role as the Vice Chair of the 19th Assembly District Democratic Committee, I worked to match local Democratic candidates with donors and volunteers, regardless of my personal preferences in each race. I also offered database support to those candidates. I created, and continue to maintain, an online mailing list that helps keep local Democrats informed about local political events and volunteer opportunities (you can join the list by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AD19Democrats).

As an individual that same year, I identified three experienced Democrats who had announced for the City Council races in their respective cities: Jack Matthews of San Mateo, Terry Nagel of Burlingame and Marc Hershman of Millbrae. I donated to each campaign and volunteered on the Matthews and Nagel campaigns, including complete database and mailing support for Matthews and precinct walking for both candidates. Nagel ran against four other candidates, including two Republican incumbents, Hershman ran against three other candidates, and Matthews had two opponents, including a Republican incumbent. All three candidates received more votes than any of their opponents did.

My long-term goal as a Central Committee member is to develop an infrastructure to help Democrats campaign in the County by connecting them with volunteers, donors, and office holders and providing them with centralized database support.

My short-term goal is to implement a modest piece of this effort for the 2004 Council races in Daly City, Hillsborough and Pacifica, applying the lessons from the 2003 Council races.

I believe Democratic committees should focus their efforts and energy on electing Democratic candidates. If you agree, please support me on March 2.

The League of Women Voters offers every candidate in this election space on their website. I encourage you to visit http://www.smartvoter.org to learn more about each race and the candidates who are seeking your vote on March 2.

Thank you,

Andrew Cassidy

Vice Chair, 19th Assembly District Democratic Committee

Alternate, San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee