Napa's open-door Democrats

Dear editor, I wanted to thank Mike Jacobs for pointing out that the Democrats staffing the booth at the Napa Town & Country Fair felt good about the job that we did with more than 40 volunteers (“Extend Democrats’ era of good feeling,” Aug. 19).

What Mr. Jacobs didn’t observe — perhaps because he didn’t spend time talking with the volunteers — was that the Democrats’ tent is wide open to Independents, Libertarians, Republicans, Greens and others. That’s why we were there. Our goal to register all eligible voters in Napa, no matter what party, has increased the number of registered voters over the last few years by more than 2,000. Besides the fair we have provided voter registration opportunities at the farmers market, chefs market, street fairs and more.

I was confused about his remark that in previous years the Democrats manning the booth didn’t seem to get along, since he didn’t give any examples of what made him come to that conclusion. I personally have staffed a Democrat booth at several fairs and malls over the years and have only felt positive feelings from my fellow volunteers who feel good about doing something positive for their country.

We extend an invitation to Mr. Jacobs, and anyone else interested in our open door policy, to join us at our headquarters, 1015 Coombs Street, on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 5 p.m., to watch and celebrate Barack Obama’s acceptance speech as the Democratic nominee for president. Our door is always open.

Sharon Macklin / Democrats of Napa Valley

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