Question Thread for WoW Live-blog
Submitted by Drama Queen on Mon, 04/02/2007 - 1:52pm
Wednesday at noon, we will have Polk County Democratic Party Chair Margaret Johnson live-blogging on BlueNC as part of our Women on Wednesdays series. A profile with videos and text will be posted at 9 a.m.
Please use this thread to discuss questions for her. If you can't be with us Wednesday, leave your questions here and we'll see that they get asked.
To get you thinkin', here's the gist of her story:
Two elections after instituting an extensive strategic planning process, Polk County Democrats went from a dismal electoral record (only a clerk of court in office) to two Democratic County Commissioners and the Sheriff. For Congress, they turned a 2004 700-vote deficit into a 2006 1200-vote margin of victory for Heath Shuler.
To add some excitement to their election season, the Democratic sheriff's candidate was "investigated" on 20-year-old charges by the incumbent Republican sheriff. Even though he was indicted during the campaign, the tactic so angered residents the Democrat won anyway. (During the campaign he was offered a plea bargain if he would withdraw from the race.)
And she's reluctant to mention it but as the daughter of Tennessee's Attorney General, she grew up with Al Gore, Sr. hanging out in her living room. I wonder how much he was like his son . . .
This will be a great live-blog session
Mecklenburg county needs help. We have almost 200 precincts. Any shortcut to organizing them? We're plodding along doing it the hard way. That may be the only way.
***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.
As a new precinct vice chair
in a very rural part of the county, what are some things she can suggest I do to start organizing my precinct and getting the dem support we need?
No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.
Progressive Discussions
I was going to ask a similar question
Our strategic planning process has been non-existent. What steps did you take to unify your party and get strategic planning on track?
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
OK ... two questions ... so far :)
1) Do your precincts have regular meetings outside the required annual one? If so, what are the meetings like? (i.e. -- what are they focused on; organization, local political activity, social networking?) And, what sort of things do your precinct chairs and vice-chairs do to bring busy folks out to meetings?
2) Does the Polk County Party use any web-based tools for communicating with members?
"They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum Then they charged the people a dollar 'n a half just to see 'em. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
A Few Questions
First and foremost, thanks to Margaret for participating.
In my opinion, one of the best takeaways from the Democratic Party's success in 2006 was the increased emphasis on recruitment--I think Heath Shuler's win is evidence of that. While talk of candidate recruitment is often limited to Congressional or statewide races, I'm interested in hearing what Party chairs have to say about recruitment of candidates for the legislative races.
Are there any Democrats in Polk County who might take up our cause and run against Tom Apodaca or Trudi Walend in 2008? Would you consider running in the future or is your focus solely on building a Party apparatus?
NY Times Article: A
TeamCommunity Gains Strength From Its Weakened Coach----
There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present, and invoke the security of the comfortable past which, in fact, never existed. - Robert F. Kennedy