Mark Nicastre, Communications Director for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party

This weekend the eyes of Pennsylvania will be firmly affixed on one city. High profile names will gather and pundits will spend hours dissecting possible outcomes of the weekend.

Yeah, most people are going to be watching the Steelers win the Super Bowl on Sunday, but the Pennsylvania Democrats have a big weekend, too. We are gathering to prepare for the upcoming 2011 elections and build our party to deliver strong victories in 2012.

This weekend in Hershey Pennsylvania, we’ll be conducting fundraising and field trainings, as well as selecting judicial nominees for Superior and Commonwealth court. Democrats are going to be actively building their capacity and working hard to make sure the party is successful in 2011. We will also have a full slate of fun activities that will encourage discussion and networking among Democrats.

The Democratic Party is building a grassroots campaign to organize, train and educate voters across the Commonwealth. We are holding several trainings that will help give local activists the tools they need to organize and communicate with voters in their communities. We are bringing in campaign professionals to share the latest online field organizing tools and fundraising techniques that will help local activists educate voters on issues that impact their daily lives.

We will also hold a training on one of the most important political issues before the state this year: redistricting. As the redistricting process unfolds, Democrats will work hard to make sure all Pennsylvanians are properly represented and Republicans do not abuse their power.

State committee members will also be making their first recommendations of 2011. We have many qualified and experienced candidates running for Superior and Commonwealth Court. All of the candidates will have an opportunity to meet with attendees, and on Friday, they will have a chance to make their cases directly to members of the state committee at a candidate forum.

We are also going to hear from a variety of Democratic leaders including Senator Bob Casey, Auditor General Jack Wagner and Treasurer Rob McCord. These leaders will outline their plans for 2011 and talk about the importance of fighting for Democratic values.

Throughout the weekend, we will be unveiling improvements within the Democratic Party. We are looking forward to sharing a sneak peek of our new website. Our state committee members will get the first look at the site, which will incorporate innovative field technology along with social media that will allow a two way conversation between activists and the state party. Throughout the meeting rooms, attendees will see banners and podium signs in the meeting rooms will be adorned with our new logo. Over the past few months, there have been top-to-bottom changes in the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and we are eager to share our new look with state committee members and other attendees.

There is a lot of work ahead for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 2011, but we are confident that this weekend’s meeting will help put us on the right path toward success this year and beyond. It will take more than one weekend and a few trainings for us to return to the victories we saw in 2008, but we want to show everyone that we are a different party – a party focused on winning and a party with the resources and plan in place to hold Republicans accountable, advance progressive values and deliver victories in 2011 and beyond.