Last August I became the Chairman of my county's Democratic Party. I've spent many sleepless nights since then trying to come up with ways to keep people engaged. I know anyone reading this laments over the same thing regardless of your role in the body politic. It isn't because there isn't enough work to keep people working towards a progressive future, it is because there are too few willing to stay engaged that I can reach.
The disconnect between the Democratic Party and the base can be a tough item to overcome. Especially in local politics where I operate. At yesterday's #DKConnect in KC, Meteor Blades talked about full-time organizing in our last session. It was as if we had been reading each other's minds. Tim's ideas mirrored mine but were more robust and his track record is proven with a lifetime's work. Markos led one session where he showed us some tools we already have and a few we will have very soon to augment the all-important work of targeting fellow Kossacks. Follow me below the fold to see what I'm doing with what I have.
The issue I see time and time again around Topeka, KS (I'm sure itâs no different everywhere) from well-intentioned people is no one knows what they can do at the grassroots level. The County Chair needs people and the people need someone (me) to point them in the right direction yet the two seem destined to never meet. What a dilemma for both sides!
My methods thus far are not working as well as I had hoped, but I think its execution and not bad ideas per se. We have a website, we are gaining free media weekly, we have an email list, and we have a dedicated corps of volunteers and Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen. I had some ideas, big ideas, and I need for them to work. Those ideas are:
Big Idea No. 1, the website and email list!
Shawnee County Democrats own many domain names and the all point to our website at www.scdpks.org. We've had issues with webmasters, and I even had to join an online auction to regain one of our domain names that was the easiest for newbies to find, (shawneecountydems.com) after I took the helm. We have an email list where there are just over 1000 subscribers. In contrast, there over 1500 subscribers in Shawnee County on the DKos action email list. I was stunned by that number until I realized that the traffic on the website matters a great deal and DKos is where I go for national news and even local stories since TMServo433 diaries so well about local issues; not my county's website. I need to recruit some talent to write about local interests and give locals a reason to stop by. Our traffic usually consists of maybe a few people daily, but there are 32,000+ registered Democrats in Shawnee County and I need to reach them as much as they need to reach me.
Big Idea No. 2 keeping volunteers energized!
In the 2014 election, our combined campaign office here in Shawnee County had over 350 volunteers work the phone bank as well as canvassing in targeted precincts. We had well over 24,000 hours volunteered, over 15,000 doors reached, 12,000 phone calls, and almost 9,000 advanced ballot applications. Of those advanced ballot applications, almost 7,000 were turned in. Our 4 staffers were the reason for our success, they worked tired, hungry, through the heat of the summer and the chill of the fall. They each have my respect, gratitude and I will be indebted to them for their professionalism for life. And yes we did reject Sam Brownback in the state capital of Kansas, by well over 13,000 votes. I wish we'd rejected the entire slate, but that will take more work on my part as well as our precinct committee members.
Big Idea No. 3, recruiting good Precinct persons!
In Kansas, we have Precinct Committeemen and Precinct Committeewomen, one each per precinct, and I work for them. My chairmanship is a result of their vote for me in an election for the job. In return, it's my job to get them to work for me for two years and if I didn't do the job well enough, I won't be coming back. To keep the job, I have to work very hard sometimes, but the key is I have to work at the job. It isn't a title just on a business card. Meteor Blades talked about what does it means to organize at the precinct level, and he is spot on. Just as my job is to provide resources, direction and take the heat when things go bad, it's the job of the precinct committeemen and women to knock on doors, make calls and engage their neighbors. He also said they need to do this twice a year, and I agree. But there is more to the job as well. Shortly after I became chair, many people approached me wanting to know what a precinct committeeman or woman does. So I wrote a few pages on what they must do, what they need to, and what I need for them to do. I gave a copy of it to Meteor Blades yesterday, hopefully he can improve on it and share it wide and far! If you'd like a copy, send me either a kosmail or an email and I will give you free use of it. Oh, and I should mention that my target is to have a 90% fill of positions. In my county, that over 320 persons. I am working on making that happen, I took over with only 48 elected in their precincts and only 22 voting at the central committee meeting. In the months since my election, I have appointed 62 more to fill the most critical vacancies in precincts where democrats outnumber republicans.
Big Idea No. 4, Free and Earned Media!
We talk about free media verses earned media all the time, but do most people understand the real difference? Free Media is the just what it says, free. Most of the time via local newspapers, radio and TV news. I've made it a goal to have the county party in the news at least once a week, every week. Last week, we made news twice on back-to-back nights. Earned media is spending money to advertise or print and mail something. I consider websites an earned media spot, because they are paid for with the county's money or as an in-kind donation. Free is good, but with the limitation that you can't control the narrative. Earned media allows you to control the narrative, but can be very expensive in large media markets.
Next, I'll talk about publishing a newsletter. I need ideas on how to publish one and how to gain readership!