The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat struck simultaneously for local Democrats last week. Eighty-three percent of Princeton votes went to Hillary Clinton, Liz Lempert won more than 70 percent of the ballots in the mayoral race, and two Democratic candidates were unopposed in their bid for town council seats. But the surprising Trump victory in the national election seemed to set the mood at Democratic Party Headquarters at 138 Nassau Street.

Despite the extreme mixed emotions, the Democrats have not been stunned into inactivity. “I was surprised,” said Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO) president Owen O’Donnell. “We’re going through something like the seven stages of grief. We’ve had our week of shock and despair, but now it’s time to organize and continue to fight for what we believe in.”

Mr. O’Donnell discussed some of the difficulties the country might face in the next four years. “The biggest challenge ahead,” he noted, “is protecting people and issues that are going to be under fire under a Trump/Republican agenda. And that reaches down from the national level to the local level. These are issues that affect people where they live, everywhere. We’re not going back to the time when bigotry and discrimination were accepted in this country.”

Emphasizing concerns about the environment, immigration, income inequality, and LGBTQ rights, Mr. O’Donnell stated, “We have to make sure that volunteers continue to turn out and put in the time and effort they put in on the presidential campaign.” He added, looking ahead to local mid-term elections, “2018 is also very important, and next year there are gubernatorial, state assembly, and state senate races.”

At their upcoming November meeting, Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Suzanne Patterson Center (behind Monument Hall), the PCDO will be featuring campaign strategist and Princeton native Tom Lindenfeld speaking on “Coming to Terms with the Twists and Turns of the 2016 Presidential Election.” Mr. Lindenfeld, president of LSG Strategies organizing and political telemarketing firm, has extensive
experience in developing targeting programs, voter contact and GOTV programs, state and national redistricting efforts, fighting voter intimidation, ballot security, and vote suppression.

Mr. O’Donnell noted that in the last four days of the campaign more than 700 people joined the PCDO efforts in Princeton, in surrounding areas and in eastern Pennsylvania. “We had many great volunteers,” he said. “It was very gratifying that our volunteers were so gung-ho.”

In a thank-you email sent out to supporters last Friday, Mr. O’Donnell and PCDO co-worker Jenny Crumiller reflected on the group’s accomplishments. “It’s odd to say,” they wrote, “but despite an outcome that none of us wanted to believe was really possible, the office could not have been more of a success. We did everything we were asked to do and more. We are so proud of the Princeton/Mercer County/New Jersey Democrats (and Independents and maybe even one or two Republicans) who came out to help us. We wouldn’t trade the experience for anything — except maybe a victory!”