What are Democratic Town Committees?
Democratic Town Committees (DTCs) and Democratic City Committees (DCCs) are official entities recognized by the Massachusetts Democratic Party and by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Several hundred local, community-based Democratic Committees function in Massachusetts cities and towns. Their responsibilities include organizing local Democrats, working to elect Democrats to public office, and increasing Democratic registration in their respective neighborhoods.
The North Shore region of Massachusetts has no fixed definition. It may be considered as the region north of Boston, extending to the New Hampshire border, encompassing the communities that border the Atlantic Ocean and including several inland communities. This portion of the Massachusetts Cities and Towns map shows the North Shore region.
Most of these cities and towns have Democratic City or Town Committees that hold regular meetings, often with guest speakers, and engage in various activities that promote Democratic values. Committee meetings are open to the public. You do not need to be a member to attend meetings, and you are welcome to volunteer to participate in activities that fit your interests.
This Website is a gateway to the North Shore Democratic City and Town Committees. The DTCs section has links to the Democratic Committee Websites and Facebook pages, and we encourage you to contact a local or nearby Committee to learn what is going on in your community. We also include information on current officeholders and we provide links to many national organizations.
Upcoming Events
Please check our Calendar.
State of the Union
None of this is Normal. A Conversation with Andrea Chalupa
Well, the Dictator has arrived and it’s self reliance time. We need to grow partner groups, our own media ecosystems, and thicker skin. As guest Andrea Chalupa, expert on dictatorships and authoritarian leaders says, we can grieve what happened to our country and that our institutions didn’t save us, but we can’t cling to the status quo or disconnect from society alone and depressed. There is a future where we return to freedom, but we need to work for it. So be visible, stand out, and show your humanity, because as Andrea says, “In an age of cruelty, empathy is an act of rebellion.” No. It’s not over.
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For commentary on where we are and suggestions on how to proceed, click on:
In the News
Trump's Tariffs
By Ann Telnaes, Substack

The Jim Acosta Show
Today’s show was my last at CNN. My closing message: It’s never a good time to bow down to a tyrant… don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to fear. Hold on to the truth… and hope.
Substack Link
Elon Musk Is Giving Europeans a Headache
He and other tech oligarchs are making it impossible to conduct free and fair elections anywhere.
By Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, January 27, 2025
The following is an excerpt. The complete text is available online at The Atlantic.
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During an American election, a rich man can hand out $1 million checks to prospective voters. Companies and people can use secretly funded “dark money” nonprofits to donate unlimited money, anonymously, to super PACs, which can then spend it on advertising campaigns. Pod-casters, partisans, or anyone, really, can tell outrageous, incendiary lies about a candidate. They can boost those falsehoods through targeted online advertising. No special courts or election rules can stop the disinformation from spreading before voters see it. The court of public opinion, which over the past decade has seen and heard everything, no longer cares. U.S. elections are now a political Las Vegas: Anything goes.
But that’s not the way elections are run in other countries. Many democracies have state or public media that are obligated, at least in principle, to give equal time to all sides. Many require political donations to be transparent, with the names of donors listed in an online registry. Many have limits on political advertising. Some countries also have rules about hate speech and indict people who break them.
But for how much longer can democracies pursue these goals? We live in a world in which algorithms controlled by American and Chinese oligarchs choose the messages and images seen by millions of people; in which money can move through secret bank accounts with the help of crypto schemes; and in which this dark money can then boost anonymous social-media accounts with the aim of shaping public opinion.
Although it’s easy to get distracted by the schoolyard nicknames and irresponsible pedophilia accusations that Elon Musk flings around, these are the real questions posed by his open, aggressive use of X to spread false information and promote extremist and anti-European politicians in the U.K., Germany, and elsewhere. The integrity of elections—¬and the possibility of debate untainted by misinformation injected from abroad—is equally challenged by TikTok, the Chinese platform, and by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, whose subsidiaries include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads.
Only one institution on the planet is large enough and powerful enough to write and enforce laws that could make the tech companies change their policies. Partly for that reason, the European Union may soon become one of the Trump administration’s most prominent targets.
In the fall, J. D. Vance issued an extraordinarily unsubtle threat, one that is frequently repeated in Europe. “If NATO wants us to continue supporting them and NATO wants us to continue to be a good participant in this military alliance,” Vance told an interviewer, “why don’t you respect American values and respect free speech?” Mark Zuckerberg, echoing Vance’s misuse of the expression free speech to mean “freedom to conceal company practices from the public,” put it even more crudely. In a conversation with Joe Rogan in January, Zuckerberg said he feels “optimistic” that President Donald Trump will intervene to stop the EU from enforcing its own antitrust laws: “I think he just wants America to win.”
Global democracies could demand greater transparency around the use of algorithms, both on social media and in the online-advertising market more broadly. They could offer consumers more control over what they see, and more information about what they don’t see. They could enforce their own campaign-funding laws. These changes could make the internet more open and fair, and therefore a better, safer place for the exercise of free speech. If the chances of success seem narrow, it’s not because of the lack of a viable legal framework—¬rather it’s because, at the moment, cowardice is as viral as one of Musk’s tweets.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Jen Rubin and Maya Wiley on civil rights
Jen Rubin interviews Maya Wiley on the administration’s attempt to undermine DEI initiatives and other civil rights programs.
Maya Wiley is the President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. She is a nationally respected civil rights attorney and activist who has dedicated her life to the fights for justice, equality, and fairness.
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The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
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Jim Acosta
Today’s show was my last at CNN. My closing message: It’s never a good time to bow down to a tyrant… don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to fear. Hold on to the truth… and hope.
Substack Video
What Can We Do Now?
Elizabeth Warren's MLK Jr Day Message
Donald Trump’s swearing-in will initiate an era where our nation will be tested at every turn. It's also the starting block for what Democrats will need to do over the next four years to limit his damage and win back working people.
Read Elizabeth Warren's full message: Link
Know Your Rights
These easy-to-use resources were created by the ACLU so you can have your rights at your fingertips. English and Espanõl.
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Immigrants' Rights
Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. Learn more here about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them. English and Espanõl.
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We Have Rights
An empowerment campaign to prepare for and safely defend our rights during encounters with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advicacy Coalition (MIRA)
Know Your Rights Resources & Factsheets
Resources are available in multiple languages.
Media Watch
Another thing we can do is support media and institutions that support democracy.
Democracy Docket
Web site | BlueSky | Facebook | Wikipedia
The Contrarian
PoliticsGirl
ProPublica
Substack
Substack writers usually provide free as well as paid subscriptions. Participants include Jennifer Rubin and Norm Ornstein (The Contrarian), Marc Elias (Democracy Docket), Ann Telnaes (Open Windows), Heather Cox Richardson (Letters from an American), Matt Pearce, Jessica Valenti (Abortion, Every Day), Charlie Sykes and Tim Miller (The Bulwark), Timothy Snyder and many others.
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