John, on this eve of Thanksgiving, I’d like to thank you and all of the Young Democrats in this country for everything you did to make this year possible.
 
The 2020 election is now over, and what an election it was!

Like everything in 2020, this year’s elections were different from any we’ve ever had before, and we had to find creative new ways of reaching out to voters. It took a little longer than usual to get the final results, but the work we all put in was incredibly valuable. 

On January 20th, 2021, we will have a White House administration that believes in honesty, humanity, and American values. 

This year, we made history when Joe Biden became the first Democratic president since Linden Johnson to carry Morris County. We also made history by electing Kamala Harris the first woman, the first person of color, the first Black person, and the first person of Indian descent to become Vice President of the United States. It's about time.

This history could not have been made without the hard work of countless Young Democrats across the nation, across the state, and across Morris County.

Here at home, we helped re-elect Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill to the United States House of Representatives. Their seats were vital to Democrats retaining a majority in the House.

Locally, Democrats expanded our number of local elected officials and came close to putting a Democrat on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. We also had two incredible candidates for State Assembly and Senate run campaigns that put the Republicans on their heels. I have no doubt that if we continue to work as hard as we did this year, Morris County’s Democratic gains will continue into 2021.

The MCYD was proud to endorse and support several campaigns across the county this year.  All of these candidates continue to be committed to fighting racial injustice, addressing climate change, and ensuring strong local responses to COVID-19 within their communities.
 
To Committeeman-elect Bud Ravitz, Mayor Cathy Wilson, Committeewoman Amalia Duarte, Councilman-elect Frank Truilo, Councilman-elect Len Resto, and all of the other newly-elected Democrats, congratulations on your hard-won victories. I know you will fight hard for your communities.

To the candidates who fought the good fight this year, but didn’t quite make it over the line, thank you. Thank you for stepping up to represent your community. You ran fantastic campaigns and I hope you are proud of your tremendous accomplishments. I know that you will continue to be an instrument of change here, whether it’s by running again for elected office or by giving back to your communities in some other way.
 
As we move into a new year and a new election cycle, the MCYD is looking forward to continuing the dialogue on the issues that matter, lifting up ideas and policies that would better the lives of all Morris County residents, and working hard to elect more Young Democrats. We can’t do any of that without you, John.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
  
On behalf of the MCYD Executive Board, thank you all for your hard work.  Our successes could not have been achieved without your phone calls, your text messages, and your activism.

I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in 2021 and beyond. 

With gratitude,

Ore Obiwumi
President 
Morris County Young Democrats