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PRESS
RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ May 28, 1998
Contact: Lucy Keshishian
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AADLC INCREASES ACTIVISM IN NATIONAL AND STATE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ACTIVITIES DURING FIRST HALF OF 1998
Participates Today in White House Ceremony for the Patient Bill of Rights
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Falls Church, VA: The Armenian American Democratic Leadership Council (AADLC) increased its participation in the Democratic Party at the national and state levels during the first half of 1998, setting the stage for broad-based involvement by Armenian American Democrats in the upcoming mid-term Congressional elections.
As recently as today, the AADLC expressed its support for the Administration's health care policies by sending three representatives to participate with President Clinton in a White House ceremony announcing his campaign for the Patient Bill of Rights. The event, which was broadcast live on CNN and C-SPAN, featured speeches by Vice-President Gore and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala.
Democratic National Committee Spring Meeting:
An AADLC delegation played an active role in the Democratic National Committee's Spring Meeting held at the Capitol Hill Hyatt in Washington, DC over the May 8th weekend. The delegation, led by AADLC Executive Director Alex Sardar, took part in a number of planning sessions and official briefings on a variety of issues.
As in the past, the AADLC was represented on the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee (NDECC), the national Democratic Party's official outreach arm to the tens of millions of Americans with roots in Europe and the Mediterranean region. The AADLC shared in the exchange of opinions among the members of the Committee, whose diverse backgrounds range from Hungarian, Polish, and Portuguese to Arabic, Ukrainian, and Croatian. Among the topics addressed during the NDECC session were ethnic community relations with President Clinton and Vice-President Gore, and upcoming NDECC projects, such as DNC Ethnic Day on Capitol Hill. The group also discussed the mid-term Congressional elections.
Throughout the course of the meeting, AADLC officials distributed information packets outlining the group's goals and activities, including its letter-writing campaign to thank House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt for his remarks commemorating the Armenian Genocide. The packet also included information about the community-wide postcard campaign to Vice-President Gore, urging him to ensure that the Administration properly recognizes this crime against humanity.
The AADLC was selected as one of only a small group of ethnic groups to take part in the DNC Base Vote session, which brought together labor groups, senior citizens organizations, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and a range of constituency groups with historic ties to the Democratic Party. The AADLC was asked by the organizers of the Base Vote session to make a presentation describing Armenian American grassroots networking and political activism.
Armenian Democrats Participate in California Democratic Convention:
AADLC representatives played an active role in the California State Democratic Party Convention held in Downtown Los Angeles in late March. The AADLC delegation was led by AADLC National Co-Chairwoman Richelle Noroyan, who served as Co-Chairwoman of the State Party Convention's influential Resolutions Committee. Noroyan is also the Chairwoman of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Committee and was a delegate to the 1996 Democratic National Convention. She has also been a member of the California Democratic Party Executive Board since 1993.
Also taking part in the delegation with Noroyan were AADLC Executive Director Alex Sardar and member at-large Adrin Nazarian, who serves as a senior aide in the office of Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA). Together they took part in a broad range of meetings and held talks with key party leaders, candidates, campaign strategists, and elected officials.
AADLC Officials Attend DNC Working Breakfasts:
AADLC delegations, led by AADLC Policy Advisor Kate Nahapetian, have attended a series of working breakfasts to organize the activities of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee and allied Democratic organizations.
The first of these breakfasts held this year was in January at the Democratic National Club in Washington, DC. The meeting, which was attended by several dozen ethnic community leaders, provided an important opportunity for diverse groups to interact and share grassroots strategies. During this session, DNC officials outlined the Party's strategies to energize voters and to ensure greater participation by ethnic Americans in the election process. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) praised the group's efforts and spoke eloquently about the pressing need for increased political involvement within each of their respective communities.
AADLC representatives briefed the group about efforts within the Armenian American community to mobilize grassroots activists in support of Democratic candidates. The work of Armenian American Democrats was cited by several other speakers as a model for ethnic community activism.
Participating in these breakfast meetings were several Clinton Administration officials, including Christine Stanek of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Marilyn DiGiacobbe of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As always, these meetings, like all of the Democratic Party's outreach to ethnic Americans, were made possible through the commitment and tireless efforts of Tom Albert of the DNC Office of Ethnic Outreach.
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