Rebuilding The Social Fabric One Dinner Party At A Time
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By Barrett Seaman–
Laurie Hirsch Schulz and her husband Jay are perfectly comfortable hosting parties at their Sleepy Hollow home, but they were somewhat apprehensive as they approached the dinner they held on May 16. Some of the nine guests they invited were neighbors, but, Laurie confessed, they really didn’t know any of them well.
All across 57 communities in the five counties that in whole or in part make up New York’s 17thCongressional District, there were similar dinners with a similar profile and common theme. Guests were urged to offer their thoughts on the state of the American social fabric, why it feels so fragmented and what can be done about it. Hosts had been encouraged to say little or nothing about the upcoming primary election and to avoid implying an endorsement of any of the candidates for Congress. One of Laurie Schulz’s prospective guests had to be reassured that the dinner was not a political fundraiser in disguise.
Each volunteer host was given support in identifying and reaching prospective guests, a goody bag with donated merch, food (if they needed it) and talking points to set the conversational table.
In Brewster that same evening, Kate Flanagan Smith told her ten guests, mixed in age, about half of whom she knew, that her goal was “to energize people to be more active.” In Haverstraw, Pascale Jean-Gilles co-hosted with Tracey Obenaur. While they were supplied with talking points and “icebreaker” material to relax their guests, “we didn’t have to facilitate much at all,” allowed Pascale. In New City, Brooke Stone allowed that she knew three of her 11 guests and had been equally vague as to why she had invited them.
Just what was the occasion? Nothing specific, just folks getting together to share their thoughts on the state of their communities and of the nation as a whole. While the hosts were coached to stay away from campaign sloganeering and specific candidate endorsements, taken all together, these so-called “plus one” dinners were distinctly—if covertly—political.
“plus one,” explains its creator, strategist, facilitator, artist, coach and consultant, Emily Simoness of North Salem, “is building a different kind of political organizing: community-first, local and rooted in real human connection. We believe lasting political power comes from people knowing, trusting, and showing up for one another — not just party infrastructure. By creating spaces where neighbors gather consistently and build authentic relationships, we aim to rebuild the social fabric that drivesdemocratic participation.”
That’s the organization’s long-term goal, says Simoness, but in the here and now, plus one has one purpose: “to flip New York’s 17th Congressional District in the 2026 midterms by rebuilding Democratic power the oldest way possible: bringing people together in real life.”
The concept is simple enough, if challenging. Newly empowered to speak freely and frequently about the state of current culture, the 450 people who attended a plus one dinner on May 16—plus a slightly larger group that attended the first plus one dinner on February 17, are now more likely to engage their friends and neighbors in similar discussions, perhaps broaching the subject of whether they are registered to vote–and plan to vote.
Why “plus one?” At each gathering, guests are encouraged to bring in someone new. “We start with those pretty plugged in and work our way out and out (plus one, plus one, plus one),” explains Simoness, “till we reach folks who are completely disconnected from voting / civic life / politics.”
Simoness has two intellectual mentors for her scheme: Atlantic writer Derek Thompson, who has written extensively (“The Anti-Social American Life”) about fragmentation and its effect on politics, and Robert Putman, whose book, Bowling Alone, published in 2000, chronicles the devaluation of the “social capital” that once bound Americans together through community activity. For most of the country’s existence, people belonged to civic-minded organizations like Rotary or a bridge club or bowling league—hence the title reflecting the decline in team membership that left individuals to go bowling by themselves.
It may be presumptuous to believe that everyone drawn into the plus one circle will be a Democrat, but a sampling of dinner hosts in the first two rounds revealed scant evidence that anyone other than “like-minded” (e.g. liberal or at least centrist) people got involved. Moreover, since Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district—especially on the east side of the Hudson, odds are that those drawn to the movement already lean left. Still to be determined is whether or not they will vote—and for whom.
With the June 23rd primary less than three weeks away, getting out the vote is where Simoness and her plus one acolytes are focusing their efforts. They will be showing up at farmers markets, Pride festivals and Juneteenth celebrations. “On 6/20, we’ll pair GOTV efforts with ice cream socials at high foot-traffic markets,” reads the plus one strategic plan: “ — politics with a scoop of joy.”
Once the Democrats’ candidate has been identified, plus one will pivot to look and act like a conventional political campaign, albeit in plus one style. On July 18, there will be a third round of “57 dinners” across the district. Also next month, plus one volunteers will be “working with organizers incommunities of low-propensity voters to build trust, strengthen local engagement, and raise awarenessabout the November midterms.”
They will hold a variety of activities, including a climate change event that they are hoping Jane Fonda will attend. All this is leading up to what will be the final round of “57 dinners” in October. Whether or not the movement’s well-fed recruits will be a factor in the race to unseat Republican Mike Lawler on November 3rd may be hard to measure. “NY-17 is our proving ground,” says Simoness. “From there, we plan to refine and scale this model to swing districts across the East Coast by 2028 and nationally by 2030—building a stronger, more joyful and more durable Democratic coalition along the way.”
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