Tufts sophomore and Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Brody Hale is working to reform the Democratic Party in his hometown of Tyringham in Western Massachusetts.
Hale made no attempt to conceal his political ambitions. "I want to become the President of the United States one day," he said.
Leading up to the 2004 presidential election, Hale volunteered to work on John Kerry's presidential campaign. During this time, he received an E-mail informing him that he could start a Democratic Committee in his hometown if one did not exist.
The majority of Tyringham's 350 residents are registered independents, but 55 are registered Democrats. In an effort to unite the Democratic residents, Hale posted announcements for an organizational meeting of a new Democratic Committee on Dec. 29.
The poor January weather conditions prevented all but five Democrats from showing up to this meeting. They did, however, conduct elections.
"I was voted unanimously as chairman of the Committee," Hale said, adding that despite low initial attendance, he is optimistic that in two months the next meeting will have a greater turnout.
"People are afraid to express their political views and [therefore] register as independent but we have to show them that the Democrats can help them," he said.
Hale said that he feels confident in his ability to take on the tasks of leading a Democratic Committee and mobilizing residents to join it, due to the experience he has had on the TCU Senate.
"The TCU, of which I [have been] part of since 2003, has given me a lot of experience on how to deal with others in a meeting," he said. Hale is the TCU parliamentarian for the current academic year.
One of Hale's new duties as chair of the Committee will be to attend the state convention in 2005, where he will to meet the various leaders of the Massachusetts Democratic Party and the Democratic state senators and representatives.
State representative Susan Pope of the thirteenth Middlesex district explained this process.
"Every town gets a delegate [to these conventions]," she said. "Because I am a sitting rep I can automatically be a
delegate."
In addition to sending elected officials for the various districts, each town can send a delegate. Tyringham will send Hale, as he is the chair of the Committee.
Hale's goals are to discuss the issues affecting Tyringham, a dairy farming community. He wants to improve the economic situation of the greater area of western Massachusetts and to advocate better quality of life and more opportunities for
production.
"My family has been into dairy farming for over 260 years and in my town, most of the families have been or are still in involved with farming," he said. "I want to raise these issues, bring them to the attention of the future [Massachusetts] governor. The machinery should be cheaper and the state should be more involved."
Hale also looks forward to the 2006 Democratic Primary, where he will have voting power in the choice of the next Democratic candidate for governor. The Democrats will attempt to unseat incumbent state governor Republican Mitt Romney.
Until then, Hale said he plans to focus on increasing Committee membership in Trryingham and serving the Tufts community.
