Dems organize trip to second Women's March

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — Pike County residents will travel to the second Women’s March on Saturday, Jan. 20.
This time the destination is Philadelphia, not Washington, D.C., where the Delaware Valley Democratic Club attended the biggest Women's March held right after Inauguration Day last year.
“Last year’s march in D.C. broke records," said Ed Gragert of the Delaware Valley Democratic Club. "This time we wanted to demonstrate to Pennsylvania and local officials in PA about our concerns here.”
Hundreds and hundreds of marchers are going to march all over the country again, protesting the current administration’s policies.
“We will be calling for changes in Pennsylvania — to eliminate gerrymandered districts, to address the opioid addiction crisis in our state, ensure health insurance for all, including children across the state in CHIP, and the replacement of state and federal representatives who have supported the Trump agenda," he said. "One of the highest priorities is to mobilize across Pike County and beyond in 2018 to replace Opioid/Casino Marino with Judy Herschel in the US House of Representatives.”
Gragert didn’t know if elected officials would take part or talk, but last year a number did speak. He expects it will happen again.
One bus is full already. And while Gragert didn’t know how many will end up coming, but last year, interest peaked as the time got closer. Two vans, in addition to the two buses, were dialed up to accommodate everyone who wanted to go.
The round trip leaves from Milford at 6 or 6:30 a.m., and will pick up passengers from Stroudsburg on the way. The return trip will arrive in Milford at 6 or 6:30 p.m.
Scranton participants will be coming to Milford to catch a ride. So far, four people are coming from Scranton and eight from Stroudsburg, from “our sister organizations,” Gragert said. The Stroudsburg group is called Indivisible of Poconos.org.
While the event is still called Women’s March, men are very welcome to attend. In the Milford bus so far, the split is 70 percent women and 30 men, and the group is intergenerational.
The journey takes about three and a half hours, and seats cost $40. Some scholarships for the bus ride are available.
For more information or tickets, email DelawareValleyDemsClub@gmail.com or call 646-361-7799.
Gragert is also organizing a flash protest in the event President Trump moves to get rid of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
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