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A Monday night fundraising event hosted by Sen Vin Gopal [D-11] at Parlor Gallery on Cookman Avenue raised over $4,000 for the Asbury Park Democrats, Chair Joe Grillo said.

“After decades of political division, Asbury Park is now the political pulse point of coastal Monmouth [County], Grillo said. “This didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of the hard work of elected officials, volunteers, and activists who believe in a united Asbury Park at the forefront of progressive change.”

Gopal, 32, has been vocal about his support for the 1.4 square mile community, attending many annual events like Jersey Pride, holding campaign events at local venues, and most recently sleeping out in support of the Covenant House, which has a transitional home for homeless men, ages 18 to 21, on Prospect Avenue. That endeavor helped raise over $42,000. 

Also in attendance were Jess Alaimo and Kayvon Paul, founders of the newly formed Young Democrats, open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 40.  

“Being involved in the Asbury Park Democratic Committee has been an amazing experience for me, but I couldn’t help but notice the absence of more people my age,” Alaimo, 30, said. “That’s why Kayvon and I started the Asbury Park Young Democrats. Our city is changing rapidly, and millennials are a huge part of that. The democratic process should be more easily accessible and honestly a little more appealing to people our age. There are a lot of us.”

The pair have started a social media page and have begun to host events they hope will help motivate the younger demographic to become more politically active.

“Millennials have the potential to be the largest voting block in 2018,” Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said. “They could be game changers. We as the democratic party need to work better to engage them, and they need to take the leap of faith and vote even if they don’t believe their vote counts. It does. And we need to do a better job of explaining to millenials that local elections are sometimes more important than national elections, and are usually decided by less votes than you can count on one hand. It’s a big deal, and the power that people forfeit by not voting is huge.”

For more about the Asbury Park Young Democrats, visit their website and Facebook page.

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