NEW LEADERS FOR NEW ERA AT VENERABLE VILLAGE POLITICAL CLUB
With a nod to our past but looking to the future, Village Independent Democrats, the oldest progressive club in New York City, elected 25-year-old Erik Coler as our youngest president ever.
His election took place at VID’s December general meeting. At the same meeting, Laurie Hardjowirogo, Jennifer Hoppe, and Barbara Reuther were elected as vice presidents for the coming year.
“The Village Independent Democrats has a storied history,” says Coler. “For nearly 60 years, this club has fought for human rights and dignity, for the integrity of our city’s political process, and for the quality of life in our community and our city. It’s a privilege to carry its agenda forward in these challenging times.”
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Erik’s agenda for the upcoming year will focus working with like-minded organizations to fight Donald Trump’s threats to the social safety net, the environment, and basic civil liberties, including voting rights and marriage equality. “VID will have to work harder than ever to defeat the president-elect’s radical and destructive agenda,” he said. “We have our work cut out for us, but we’re on the right side of this fight.”
Born and raised in the Village, Erik is Deputy COO of Mercer Partners, a tenants-rights advocate and co-founder of the New York State Education Initiative, a foundation that develops afterschool programs to enrich students’ lives. In its premiere program this year, the Initiative helped teach more than 250 South Bronx middle schoolers the basics of financial literacy. Erik has served as Vice President of the Village Independent Democrats, and currently serves as an executive on Community Board 2.
Barbara Reuther has lived in Greenwich Village since 1956, worked in various positions at St. Vincent’s Hospital for more than five decades, and helped organize the opposition to its closing. A fellow member of VID has described her as the “conscience” of the organization for her commitment to her community and her fellow citizens.
Jen Hoppe has been a Villager for two decades, and an activist even longer. She has served VID as a judicial delegate and gala chair, and played a key role in canvassing Democratic voters in Pennsylvania in 2017. Her activism began in high school, and continued in college, where she majored in journalism. For many years, she’s been a leader of Big Brothers Big Sisters Young Professionals in New York City.
A New Yorker since 1974, Laurie Hardjowirogo is a mother of two. Her day job is graphic designer at Penguin Random House, but in her she’s a full-time activist. For the last 15 years she’s worked in fundraising and development for a public school on 15th Street. She also helped start a school in the Bronx, worked in the office of New York Councilman Corey Johnson, and has been active in both national and local political campaigns.