Reply #38: Many local Democratic town committees are run by hacks

[janet118]

I ran into the same problem of disengaged local Democrats in my state. Many of the local town committees have such tunnel vision and clubby attitudes that they don't want to make waves and refuse to get involved in national elections. Issues like voter disenfranchisement are considered paranoid and dismissed with "it can't happen here" type statements. As a result, they do not give out information on who to call in case of voting problems or instructions about provisional ballots, etc. They do not welcome new members, especially activists who are involved with non-local candidates. The local parties are very lax about connecting members to national (and even statewide) candidates' organizations and put most of their effort toward district and county elections. The general feeling is that since we committee members may be supporting different candidates, we shouldn't talk about them. That needs to change. And there are some very activist town committees in my state because new members have joined and stuck it out.

I joined my town committee in 2003 at the suggestion of several people from the Dean campaign. It was tough going. I am now the secretary of the committee, but the cadre of "good old boys" (and I do mean "old" and "boys") that run the show make change sporatic and difficult. I would love it if more activists joined my committee, but they often get frustrated. I can see their point, but persistence is the key to change. Please join your local committee. Ask your activists friends to join. Often local committees can get credentialed to oversee vote counting and other duties that allow an inside view of election day. You can also get things published in the local newspaper more easily if you represent a group rather than one person.

At my polling place in 2004, one which is includes the town's largest low income housing project, there were long lines and a shortage of parking that forced potential voters to wait nearly 45 minutes to vote. I was holding a sign for Kerry most of the day so I had more than the snapshot view most voters saw. Many people drove right by when they saw the long lines. When I mentioned my observations to the town committee leadership, they just shrugged. If there had been more members who cared we could have written and signed a letter on behalf of the committee asking for an explanation of the slow down and for suggestions on how to remedy it for the next election cycle. As it was, we could only ask as individuals and got a lame explanation about elderly poll workers and unpredictably high turnout. No explanation was forthcoming about why we were the only precinct with such problems. As a committee, we could have pressed for more accountability.

Join your Democratic town committee today. Bring a few friends to back you up. Think nationally, act locally.