Revitalizing a State Democratic Party

The recipe seems simple enough: start by electing an ACTUAL DEMOCRAT to be state party chair. Are you listening, Kentucky central committee members? Do you give a flying fuck that the state party you supposedly represent is run by a registered repug who contributes to Mitch McConnell?

 

Down with Tyranny:

Randy Voller was elected as the State Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Saturday (Feb. 2) afternoon. Chairman Voller was considered to be the scrappy grassroots candidate who traveled throughout the state winning endorsements and support for his campaign. He defeated former conservative congressman and gubernatorial candidate Bob Etheridge in a close race.

Randy is quite an interesting guy. He's the Mayor of Pittsboro and the Democratic Chair for Chatham County which had amazing results for Dems in 2012. He is also a board member of the Progressive Democrats of North Carolina. Here is his approach:

In Chatham County, we revitalized the Democratic Party by rebuilding from the grassroots up through the precincts to the county level. Party rebuilding in Chatham did much more than put a new structure in place. Rebuilding our Party revitalized our community as we implanted a stronger infrastructure that wins elections for Democrats, elects women and minorities and raises money from the small sustaining donors at the grassroots-- the very things that a once effective Democratic Party used to do really well.

...Where some see devastation and fear the loss of influence that has sent transactional donors to the new power brokers in the General Assembly and the Governor's Mansion, I see opportunity.

Voller’s win signals that the insiders and consultants have long ago left the dance and with them the old money that kept them in power. Now is an opportunity to build the party and with it attract new donors. North Carolina is still the 10th largest State with a growing Latino and Asian population. It also has a long tradition of great Progressive minded Politicians.

2016 is right around the corner and the NCDP is going to need all the help it can get. North Carolina will again play a critical role in Presidential Elections and Republicans know this. It is how they beat us to the punch last time.

But now there is a glimmer of hope. The Vice-Chairs of the Party elected Saturday, most notably Zach Hawkins and Andy Ball, are also total rockstars with strong grassroots background who are the party’s future leaders.

It certainly is a new day in North Carolina as a complete outsider takes the reigns of the party’s future. His vision and approach couldn’t come at a better time. As a nation we need him to succeed. And as a Democratic leader himself in North Carolina, Rep. Brad Miller is also eager to see Randy succeed in building and strengthening the party.

Randy's reputation both as a mayor and a party leader is a grassroots progressive. I think he will pay more attention to the grassroots than to the Democratic establishment, which is what we need right now. Grassroots Democrats are pretty progressive, and the establishment is the business wing. The Democratic establishment's power has been from raising money by peddling "access." A lot of the contributors who gave to establishment Democrats in the past are Republicans or nominal Democrats. The Democratic establishment really doesn't have any access to peddle to them now. If North Carolina Democrats are going to get back in the game, it's not going to be because of establishment money, but grassroots energy.

The election wasn't all about the grassroots and the establishment, of course. Some grassroots progressives really think we need a chair who is known statewide, and Randy isn't yet. But I think the most important thing we need in a state chair is someone who will work with grassroots Democrats. Randy knows how to do that.