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. This organization shall actively support and elect to public office qualified Democratic candidates on local, state, and national levels. It is the purpose and goal of this organization to ensure justice, to promote the general welfare, and to protect the constitutional rights of all citizens of the 17th and 6th Congressional Districts.

The history of the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts...

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. As its name indicates, the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts is comprised of members from Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana counties - the counties that are a part of the 17th and 6th Congressional Districts.

In its short history, the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts has left its mark on this community. In its infancy, the organization led a spirited campaign to elect a Democrat judge to the Mahoning County Common Pleas bench when Party leadership was actively supporting his Republican opponent. It sponsored the appearance of the nationally known Voting Integrity Project to bring attention to the political corruption of the community. It mounted a public campaign calling for the ouster of a former Party chairman from the Board of Elections. The organization called for the state attorney general to recover funds from the Youngstown Minority Loan Fund which were misappropriated. It prevented the City of Youngstown from illegally amending the city charter thereby taking away the rights of the Democratic precinct committeemen and women from appointing a successor office holder. The organization made public hundreds of thousands of dollars of unclaimed funds that belonged to the public.

Interested in becoming a member?

If you are interested in Democratic politics, the Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts can provide a forum for your degree of activism. For more information, contact us with the information provided below:

Democrats of the 17th and 6th Districts
First National Tower
Youngstown, OH, 44503

Phone: (330) 744-3523

E-mail: info@dems17.org