Recognizing that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed, it is the mission of the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts to encourage the involvement of citizens in government affairs, to educate the electorate and to promote the principles of the Democratic Party.

After the Mahoning County Democrat Party reorganization in June, 1998, a small number of Democrat activists, dissatisfied with the Party's refusal to condemn the corruption of the Party leadership, met to discuss the possibility of forming a new, grass roots oriented political organization. The seven people who met concluded that the Mahoning Valley would always be mired in political corruption unless there was a group of Democrats who would be willing to stand up to the political establishment and elect public officials who truly had the interests of the community at heart.

The Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts was created from that small group of dissidents. The Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts is the fastest growing and most active political organization in the Mahoning Valley.