Jonathan B. Robison

We – Progress Pittsburgh, DFPittsburgh, other organizations and individuals – are urging that people be Democratic Committeeperson, The position is up for election in the primary next Spring. We all agree that the Committee and the Democratic Party needs more active people involved.
However, should we ask everyone? Should you encourage a person who might be in any district – even mine? Some committeepeople are progressive, active, and doing as much as they can.
My answer is YES, especially if they are activists, strong Democrats. progressives. BUT, you should tell anyone interested in running that the first step should be talking with current committeeperson. Talking with the incumbent in the election district where you live has several possible good results for you as a possible candidate.
On one hand, the incumbent may tell you “Look, kid, if you want it, you can have it. I’ve been on the committee for thirty years, and all I ever got was free tickets to a boat ride. Anyway, I’m retiring from the County in January, and they can all kiss my dupa.” Or the committeeperson may persuade you that, instead of spending energy and time on a committee fight, you should work with her or him. You might decide to give the committeemember some of the help which he or she needs. (We committeepeople always need more help to do the job properly, and we committeepeople all know that.) Or, you might find out that the incumbent can’t run, because they are moving, because of health reasons, or whatever. In that case, you can ask for their support.
On the other extreme, you may walk away with more reasons why you should run and win. Even then, you are likely to leave with more understanding of the incumbent’s base of support.
We have lists of committee members in the City of Pittsburgh, including appointments. The list has most phone numbers. We can get names for districts in municipalities elsewhere in Allegheny County.
If the incumbent won’t talk with you as an interested Democrat, you can consider that a negative response and act accordingly. At least, you tried.
This is another reason to talk with the incumbent. It’s the courteous thing to do. People, some of us at least, care about this kind of courtesy.
What do you have to lose by trying to talk with the incumbent, as someone who plans to run next year. Nothing is lost except maybe an element of surprise. But that’s of dubious value. As Ben Franklin, that wise old successful revolutionary and roué said, “A secret is safe with three people – if two of them are dead.”
On this basis I conclude that we should tell everyone to consider running for Democratic Committee. Selecting who we encourage is awkward, complex, and would put us in the inappropriate position of deciding which committee incumbents should have opposition in their district.
A related question is what if several people want to run? I suggest that the solution to this apparent embarrassment of riches is simple. The candidates should talk with each other. They can decide who can spare the energy and who really wants a committee position. We needn’t worry about getting the “wrong” person. We have a lot of potentially fine committeepeople, and anyway, selecting among potential candidates isn’t our responsibility,
Getting on the ballot for district Democratic committeeperson in the May 16 Primary requires a petition signed by at least ten Democrats registered in that district. The first day to circulate petitions is Tuesday Feb 14. Petitions must be filed by Tuesday Mar. 7.
Comments, criticism, and expressions of interest are welcome - on this blag, by e-mail to jon@jonrobison.org, or by phone, 683-0237.
Love and Peace, Jon

Real Party Discipline

Do we now need party discipline in the Democratic Party? Yes, not top-down, artificial unity. We don’t need the kind of discipline some party leaders have whined about for years.
Once upon a time, the Democratic committeemen and committeewomen could be relied upon to support the “party slate.” At least, they handed out the party slate card at their polling place, unless their boss at work told them to do something else. Much of the time, that was all they did. They didn’t do voter registration, they didn’t drive voters to the polls, they were not active in their block club, but they were loyal Democrats.
This loyalty prevailed even before the rank-and-file committeepeople got to choose the “endorsed” candidate. Until Sheriff Gene Coon of blessed memory was Democratic Party chairman, the endorsed candidates were chosen by a “Policy Committee,” a group of less than a dozen top elected officials and party big-shots. And the endorsed slate usually won the primary.
The party slate relied on an Allegheny County Democratic Committee dominated by “payrollers,” people whose employment was based on years of loyal political service somewhere. Some were competent and hardworking, others not.
Those days are gone forever. Tight budgets prevent what some people called a private welfare system. Civil service has made workers less vulnerable to being given political orders. More widespread education has increased the number of people who want to be hired on their merit, on their ability to do a job. And perhaps the most overlooked factor in the demise of the payroll is unionization. If a public employee with a union contract is told to distribute some slate cards, the employee is likely to give the slate cards back, possibly with a suggestion what can be done with them.
But now we Democrats frequently lose statewide general elections. Voters are persuaded by talk show hosts or confused by advertisements. Some people just don’t register and vote, especially poor or non-white people who lose the most from the Bush policies. We need an invigorated Democratic Party, active and progressive.
This means that we need a party discipline, a new party discipline that is not based on obedience or on a contrived “unity”
We Democratic committeepeople should discipline ourselves to BE committeepeople. We should register voters. We should encourage people to vote. We should help inform our voters who is running and why. We should represent the Democratic Party in our communities and represent our communities within the party. Working with others in our community, we should raise our voices on important issues, local, state, and national.
Being a committeeperson should mean more than passing out a slate card at the polls twice a year.
Potential committee candidates should not be intimidated. It won’t take more than an hour or two a week to do more then many incumbents. Mover, some neighbors will help, in their block or their apartment building.
Who will enforce a discipline that committeepeople should work with their voters? The voters, of course. No party leaders can force committeepeople to be active. If a committeeperson doesn’t do the work, someone can run for that position. Some committeepeople are trying to do the job, and just need help. Others may need replaced.
Fortunately, there is a source of people to do the work in their districts, to be potentially active committeepeople. There are many new, younger people, veterans of the Kerry campaign, the Dean campaign, and other campaigns. People are stepping forward to take leadership where it is needed – at the grassroots, district level. This is the goal of some of us old-timers, and of groups such as Progress Pittsburgh and Democracy for Pittsburgh: a Democratic Committee that works.

Talking with your neighbors – that’s the biggest part of bring a committeeperson. You encourage new people to register to vote, you give people information about the election, and encourage them to VOTE twice a year. If you do half of that, you do more than many committeepeople.
Maybe your committeepeople are active, and you may want to work with them, not run against them. Just talk to them. Tell them you want to get involved. Good committeepeople always want more people to help with the job. We have a list of who is on the Democratic Committee in Pittsburgh, usually with phone numbers. And, if you have no idea who your committeepeople are, maybe someone should run for the position. People have been saying that state of the Democratic Party is pitiful. Next spring you can DO something about it.
In each election district – one polling place – the Democratic voters elect one committeeman and one committeewoman in the primary in even-numbered, non-presidential years – that’s 2006.. The committeepeople after the primary will vote by secret ballot to elect the chair, vice-chair, and secretary in each city ward and each municipality. We will also meet to elect the chair and vice-chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, currently Jean Milko and Ben Woods.
Before each primary, the committeepeople choose who shall be the “party endorsed” candidates. (Maybe you’ve been wondering who gets to pick the names on the “party slate card.”) This is one of the major responsibilities, and official powers, of committeepeople.
To run for Democratic committeeman or committeewoman, you need the signatures of at least ten voters registered Democrat in your election district. Petitions may be circulated starting Tuesday Feb 14 and turned in by 5 pm Mar.7. Petition forms are picked up and filed at the Allegheny County Elections Division. There is no filing fee for this unpaid position.
You or anyone interested in involvement with the Democratic Party structure is invited to call me, Jon, at 412-683-0237 or jon at jonrobison dot org.. I am vice-chairperson of the 4th Ward Democratic Committee in Oakland. (I also plan to run for 4th Ward Chairperson in 2006.)
Many new people were activated during 2004. Thankfully, most remain active despite the recent election. Groups such as Democracy for Pittsburgh and Progress Pittsburgh are working to build teams of people who want to do serious work in their neighborhood. This is important for our party, our communities, and our country.
You’re worked in elections. You want to make a difference for your candidates and your causes. You have worked for progressive changes such as peace, the environment, economic justice, lesbian and gay rights, reproductive rights, civil rights, and civil liberties.
To be effective over the long haul, you want to increase your own personal political power so that you can better help your candidates and your causes. Building your own personal political power can help accomplish personal goals for you and your community, and also can be fun.
Why not work for yourself, too? Why not build your own personal political power?