The Manhattan Young Democrats (MYD) is an all-volunteer organization and the official youth arm of the Democratic party in New York county. Our mission is to educate and activate young progressives and empower them to create the change they want to see in their neighborhood, borough, state, and country.

We believe American democracy is in crisis. The overwhelming power of money and special interests in Washington D.C., Albany, and New York City threatens to permanently dilute the political, economic, and social power of everyday Americans. Progress has been too slow on the critical issues of our time. Full equality for LGBT Americans remains elusive; the representation of women and minorities in the upper echelons of political leadership is pathetically low; too many of our tax dollars are spent waging wars abroad rather than investing in the next generation at home. While the Republican party has long pushed an agenda benefiting the wealthy and big business, the Democratic Party has not been immune to the siren call of these powerful interests either. The list goes on.

Here in Manhattan — one of the densest and most Democratic counties in America — we face a unique intersection of challenges. In a borough where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 9 to 1, the critical local electoral contests here are not general elections, but Democratic primaries. Voter apathy runs high: New York ranked last in voter turnout in 2010. We are saddled with one of the least effective state legislatures in the country. The unfortunate reality is that just because someone has a ‘D’ next to their name does not mean s/he deserves our unwavering support. Many Democrats are not nearly as democratic as we need them to be — and they often hinder the hard work of truly progressive, reform-minded leaders who can address head-on the challenges we face together as New Yorkers.

But MYDers don’t just sit around and whine about this sad state of affairs. Instead, we are learning the power of organizing. We phonebank and knock on doors for progressive candidates. We reach out through our Issue-Oriented Committees, which tackle everything from healthcare reform to LGBT equality, environmental protection to women’s issues, campaign finance reform to living wages. We recruit young progressives to become representatives in the Democratic party and support their aspirations to run for elected office and involvement in the policymaking process. Our membership is diverse in interests, education, and professional background, but we share a common commitment to learn together and bring more young people into the processes that underpin our democracy.