Building a strong community requires the active participation of its members, thus a primary objective of the Laconia Democratic Party is to help facilitate communication and interaction among its members.  On this page is a list of activities in which each member of the community is invited to engage along with contact information for an individual helping to coordinate each activity.

Volunteer:  From helping to staff our office in downtown Laconia, to assisting with phone banking, canvassing neighborhoods, organizing candidate appearances, participating in community events, marching in parades, and donating time to various non-profit organizations, there is always a need for volunteers.  If you have an hour or more each week that you can afford to contribute as a volunteer please contact Ron Tunning or Ed Allard.

Attend Events:  From meetings to picnics, and from conventions to candidate appearances, there's always a plethora of events planned for Laconia and the Lakes Region. The best place to search for upcoming events is by clicking on the Events link on the navigation bars at the top and bottom of every page on the Laconia Democratic Party's website. Usually, a person to contact for more information about the event is listed. Should such a listing not appear, contact Ron Tunning regarding activities sponsored or hosted by the Laconia Democratic Party, or Lynn Chong for events sponsored or hosted by the Belknap Democratic Party.

Blog:   In our efforts to build a strong, Democratic community the Laconia Democratic Party invites members as well as the general public to participate in a discussion of issues, ideas, personal experiences and observations, and even the weather on its blog, which can be linked to from the navigation bars.  Everyone is welcome to read blog entries and to offer comments. Democratic Party members who would like to post entries to the blog can obtain authorization by e-mailing Ron Tunning.  The Laconia Democratic Party does reserve the right to edit comments and blog entries. Obscenities, hateful or abusive language, personal attacks, obvious falsehoods, and purported recipes from Cindy McCain are prohibited.  Snark, satire, umbrage, and humorous fits of outrage are encouraged.

Host A Candidate House Party:  For a truly rewarding experience, consider hosting a Candidate House Party, allowing candidates to meet you and your neighbors.  If you're interested in hosting a particular candidate, contact the individual listed above in the Events section who is handling that candidate's events and appearances. If you're open to hosting any of the terrific candidates running this year, please contact Ron Tunning.

Become A Neighborhood Leader:  One of the most promising programs introduced this year by the Democratic National Committee is the Neighborhood Leader project which seeks to connect party activists to at least 25 of their neighbors.  For more information on how to become a participant contact Ron Tunning.

Contact The Candidates or Their Campaigns:   Share with the candidates your concerns and your positions on the issues.  If they're to effectively represent you, they must hear from you your expectations.  On the candidates page, by clicking on the names of the national candidates, Governor Lynch and Senator Sgambati, you'll be linked to their websites where each offers a means to contact the candidate or the campaign. For local candidates, by clicking on their names you will be linked to the individual's web page hosted on the Laconia Democratic Party web site.  Once on that web page, simply click on the candidate's name at the top of the page to send an e-mail.

Write Letters To The Editors Of Local Newspapers:  Here in Laconia we're fortunate in that we have two daily newspapers, the smallest city in the nation to feature such competition. Most everyone reads either one or the other of the two papers, with many reading both.  Among the most popular sections of both newspapers are the letters to the editor which serve as a barometer of community interest and opinion. One letter sent to both newspapers will be circulated to over 15,000 households and 30,000 readers.  There is no more efficient or cost effective method to share your opinions with the community. From here you can e-mail a letter to the Laconia Daily Sun or to The Citizen!  Generally, the papers limit letters to a length of approximately 300 words and will not publish a letter without the name, address and telephone number of the person writing the letter. Neither paper publishes the telephone number or street address of letter writers, using the information for verification purposes only.

Display A Yard Sign:   One of the easiest and most popular methods of supporting your preferred candidate(s) is to place yard signs on your property close enough to the street that they'll be visible to passing motorists and pedestrians.  Signs should never be placed on public property, public rights-of-way, or other private property without the owner's consent.  Typically, yard signs are distributed in the weeks immediately prior to election day and should be removed within a couple of days following the election.  Should you be willing to display a yard sign for any of the Democratic candidates, please pick one or more up at the Laconia Democratic Party Office located at 54 Canal Street (Map) in downtown Laconia.