Democratic Party opens new headquarters

Jun. 16—ASHTABULA — The Ashtabula County Democratic Party has a new home in the Ashtabula Harbor.

Susan Hagan, chair of the Ashtabula County Democratic Party, said the location will be the party's permanent, year-round home. Finalized hours for the office will be determined once they know how many volunteers are willing to staff the office. She hopes to have the office open and staffed three or four days a week to start.

"This has always been my dream," Hagan said. "When I became the party chair, I said we need to have a presence, we need to have a home, we need to have a place where people can come and share their ideas with us, tell us what we're doing well, tell us what we're not doing so well."

A private donor provided funds to pay for the first year of expenses, she said. Volunteers worked extensively to get the office ready to open, she said.

Hagan said the party was down and out when she first took over the party, after losing a number of elections.

"Now, there seems to be a little bit of a shift," she said. "My phone's ringing a lot more, people are stepping up with this reproductive rights petition. I really anticipated that we would get 200 signed, that would be a really great thing. I think by the end of tonight, we'll have 1,500."

In a speech to the crowd at the event, Hagan thanked attendees for coming.

"We are not going to sit back, we are going to fight," she said. "We're going to fight with dignity, with respect, but we're not going to back down, not one bit."

Ashtabula Council President John Roskovics and Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere also spoke at the event.

The new headquarters will host a variety of speakers in the coming months, Hagan said.

The headquarters is located at 525 Lake Avenue in Ashtabula.