Organizing for Power from the Bottom Up

Friends,

Republicans at the head of our government have made their desires for our state clear:

Mike Braun’s top priority is cutting the state budget - despite the fact that the majority of the budget goes to fund Medicaid, hospitals, and teachers.

Micah Beckwith is picking fights with public schools and threatening to strip away their funding.

Todd Rokita is bullying a union and threatening to deport immigrants.

In Indiana, the only existing political party that has a chance to stand up to the Republicans is the Democratic Party.

But what exactly IS the Democratic Party?

The pyramid chart visible from my Weekly Emails tab breaks it down at a simplified, very high level.

The DNC or Democratic National Committee, at the top of the pyramid in gold, is what most people think of as the heart of the Democratic Party. That is not accurate - instead, the DNC is the executive leadership team of the Democratic Party, elected from and by the levels below it. And there are several of these levels.

The Indiana State Party has its own elected leaders, shown in light blue.

The middle blue color halfway down the pyramid is the Indiana Central Committee, which elects the executive leaders like Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl.

Within each of Indiana’s 92 counties is a County Party, in dark blue.

But as the image shows, the largest and most fundamental part of the Democratic Party is at the grassroots in green.

In every neighborhood in the state, politics is a matter of Precincts - the most granular, neighborhood-level grouping of households, and Precinct Committeepeople - the leaders elected to organize within them.

It is these local neighborhood leaders that are the heart and soul of the party, and the grassroots strength that keeps leaders accountable and rooted in our communities.

Right now at the grassroots, the sod is rotten and the roots are dead.

In Marion County, the city is divided into 621 precincts. Each one of them should ideally have a competitive election to decide on the elected Precinct Committeeperson, and that person should appoint a Vice Committeeperson of a different gender identity.

According to the Party Rules, these Precinct Committeepersons should (A) poll residents; (B) register voters; (C) maintain a current poll list of voters; (D) identify and assist absentee voters to register; (E) promote Party candidates; (F) operate an election day organization; (G) encourage voting by persons preferring Democratic Party candidates; (H) recommend persons for the precinct election board; (I) recruit volunteers for the Party; (J) attend training and other party-building activities sponsored by State Committee; (K) report periodically on the state of the Party to the county chair or his or her designee.

This is a hell of a lot of work! In short, it's almost everything the party needs to be doing.

It’s no wonder, then, that the Party rules also encourage each Precinct Committeeperson not to go it alone. Instead, they should appoint a Vice Committeeperson to assist with these duties, and should further delegate and empower more neighbors by appointing chairs for polling, voter registration, social activities, and finance. (IDP Rules, Rule 11-k)

That’s roughly a minimum of five people in each precinct who should be doing the business of finding out how their neighbors feel, recruiting good candidates, raising money, and helping get those candidates elected. If each precinct only had the bare minimum recommended by our party rules, that would mean 3,105 active Democrats in Marion County doing party business.

Right now only 46% of precincts, in one of the most Democratic leaning cities in the state, even elected a Precinct Committeeperson. That means in over half the city, there was not even a single Democrat willing to step up and run as a candidate for this most important party role.

Only 17% of the precincts in our city have a Vice Committeeperson.

It’s anyone’s guess how many precincts have separate chairs for polling, voter registration, social activities, and finance. I doubt one would run out of fingers when counting.

The County Party chair’s duties include “filling promptly by appointment any vacancy in the office of committeeperson or vice committeeperson of any precinct” (IDP rules, Rule 13-s-4).

Our current County Chair, Myla Eldridge (who is also the Vice Chair of the State Party), has fulfilled her duty in part by appointing 164 Democrats to serve in vacant Precinct Committeeperson slots. Many of these appointments are elected officials, employees of the City of Indianapolis, appointed board members, and others who already have ample power and privilege within our city. This appointment of insiders by insiders is far less ideal than electing an authentic neighbor and community member residing in each precinct, but at least there are people willing to serve who are able to do the vital work of the party within the precincts.

Unfortunately, even years after Chair Eldridge’s election to serve as the County Party chair, 170 precincts in Marion County still have no Democrat representing them at all.

I cannot believe that there are no people in Marion County who are willing to serve this role. For an appointed Precinct Committeeperson role, the qualifications are very simple. One must have voted as a Democrat in the most recent primary and must be willing to serve.

Nearly 50,000 people voted Democrat in the primary last May. That's less than 13 percent of registered voters, but even still, surely one out of every 300 voters would be willing to show up to help guide and fight for the party they voted for.

Instead, I think these vacancies are not filled because it is not common knowledge that the vacancies even exist.

The list of Precinct Committeepersons is not provided upon request to most people. Precinct Committeepersons often have no way to contact each other, and often don’t know who the contact person is for a neighboring Precinct. This prevents neighborhoods from working together to collectively solve problems - which is the very function of a political party.

Worse, this important list of contact information and names is not managed well at all - my friend Rosie, a talented organizer who moved to another state well over a year ago, is still listed as the committeeperson for her precinct, despite multiple attempts by her appointed Vice Committeeperson to get this inaccuracy cleaned up. At least in that precinct, there’s still an actively involved neighbor working to represent the neighborhood to the party and vice versa.

But some data cleanliness issues are much more severe. Disgraced former Hogsett chief of staff Thomas Cook is still listed as an active, appointed Precinct Committeeperson on the Marion County data, with no Vice Precinct Committeeperson to take over for him (as I’ve heard he has left the state). Cook is not the only public official who has been in the news this year for sexual improprieties who is still listed as an appointed Precinct Committeeperson or Vice Precinct Committeeperson.

Is there any wonder why Democrats in Indiana cannot win statewide elections?

Is there any wonder why working-class voters have begun turning their backs on the party?

Is there any wonder why Marion County voter turnout is the shame of the state?

Is there any wonder why our elected leaders feel safe to protect each other and enable a culture of sexual harassment and secrecy?

I’ve spoken loudly and consistently on the need to massively reform the Democratic Party if it has any hope of surviving and contesting for power in Indiana. As Bernie Sanders says, a true political revolution must come from the bottom up.

To win real victories for not just political insiders but all of our neighbors and friends, for all working class people in this state, we need this political revolution.

To that end, a group of frustrated leaders is forming a coalition.

We are not waiting for leadership to take action; instead, we are setting up meetings to discuss how to find good people to fill these vacant Precinct Committeeperson positions.

We are not hoarding data for our own benefit; instead, we are sharing our contact information with each other and building a culture of active and engaged Precinct Committeepeople.

We are not making decisions behind closed doors; instead, we are getting to know our neighbors right out in the open, and inviting them in to help us govern the city and state.

If you are already a Precinct Committeeperson, but would welcome support in getting active and starting to better organize in your precinct, write me back.

If you are not yet a Precinct Committeeperson but are interested in the role, write me back.

If you want to conduct polling in your neighborhood, start having social activities, or help with fundraising, write me back.

Our Party is barely limping along when we need to be in fighting trim. Resisting Trump, Braun, Beckwith and Rokita requires organization and strength. Until the rank and file wakes up and gets organized, we cannot prevail. And we must prevail.

In love and solidarity,

Jesse


Postscript:

I know not everyone on my email list considers themselves a Democrat. I personally think this level of transparency and grassroots activation and empowerment is necessary for all political organizations in the state and country, and you should know that other parties are in similar levels of decline and disorganization. Hope you found this interesting all the same. And to all reading, I hope you have a peaceful, bountiful, and grateful Thanksgiving.