Earlier this morning, I met with the Ward 9 Democrats of South End/Lower Roxbury to hear their complaints about the $75 delegate fee for this year’s convention in Amherst. Their complaints have been echoed by others in my State Comm. district (Second Suffolk) and I took the issue to the recent Convention hearing at Roxbury Community College. This issue shouldn’t go away. Others are annoyed about the scheduling of a convention in Amherst the weekend of UMass’ graduation, thus eliminating the opportunity for many of us to stay out in that great part of the state on Friday or Saturday night. (granted, there are bigger issues in the world, but if we’re going to do one of these, do it right, and encourage people to participate).
I tried to raise some discussion of this today in the context of the 2008 selection of Lowell (again!) as the site for the convention. The decision however, was quick gaveled through, and when I tried to ask for details on the comparitive costs of Amherst this year vs Lowell next year (important to the fees we will be paying then), I got some murmurings from the dais about hotel rooms, but no real answers about costs. (having a microphone in the audience for those members who wished to speak today would have been a nice idea too — civic engagement begins at home …)
John W. has a great opportunity to take the DSC’s work up a notch — to engage more rank and file DSC members, rotate the committee assignments around a bit more (Platform, Credentials, etc), and find a way to recruit more young people into party activism (not just the college kids, but the ones in high school in Boston, Lynn, Lowell, New Bedford, etc.)
And lets find a creative way to lower delegate fees so that more inner-city folks, more seniors, more working people can partcipate. Chairman Johnston found a way for our party to be financially competitive, Chairman Walsh should now finds ways for the party to be financially inclusive.
Good luck, John from Abington!
PS — John’s tenure started off with a resolution introduced from the floor to have a straw poll taken at the 2007 Convention. While I sympathize with the idea as a way to bring the 2008 candidates into the state and raise the profile of Massachusetts in 2008, the idea probably should have been floated at the end of 2006 and not at the last meeting before the convention. As such, it was defeated.
Congratulations, John! Also elected were Rebecca “Dee Dee” Edmonds and Parwez Wahid to DSC membership. Congrats to all!
While I congratulate John, and love our Governor, I have to say, I for one, am checking Back Out of politics in MA.
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The lack of inclusion of the disability community’s greatest and brightest minds just makes me so angry that my head can no longer take the banging of the proverbial stone wall.
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I have personally been fighting the DSC for almost 10 years now, and I am tired of how my community (while being 25% of the state’s population, excluding seniors) is dismissed, told well you don’t go to the polls, etc. Any excuse.
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I hope it will change under the watchful eye of Mr. Walsh, but he has so many years to make up for. Outreach needs to be better on a local level. (engage the local people with disabilities, that are true advocates, not just activists). It would be nice to be asked to participate in the DSC, most, including me, can’t, it seems we don’t or can’t contribute enough money to make it to upper status of member.
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I can’t afford anything the Democrats do any more. My fixed income won’t allow me too, though I’ve not missed an election for 33 years, I don’t know how much more faithful, we must be. if they want my blood, I’m not sure, with my disability, there is much of that either.
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Someone needs to wake up and realize how many of the people that made the Democratic Party what it once was, are being left behind!
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What ever happened to Of the People, By the People, For the People!
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To which I sadly add, ALL the PEOPLE!
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I hope it is not too late for our party to re-engage!
Delegate fees are expensive, and some local Dems in Berkshire County addressed the challenge before the 2006 MDP/DSC convention by holding a fundraiser with the specific purpose of subsidizing delegate fees for first-time delegates. For a silent auction, I donated about $100 worth of Democratic stuff (mugs, donkey paperweights, postcards, joke books about W – mostly silly things by brother had given me as stocking stuffers over the years) and they brought in $300 from people who wanted to support grassroots participation. Other people donated auction items such as souvenirs they had saved from the national convention, and new items donated by local business people.
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For another Dem event where we wanted to bring in new grassroots participants, we found a sponsor or two willing to foot the bill for 10 lunches (at $10 a piece). We let a local minister know that he could invite 10 people who might otherwise have trouble paying their own way. He filled the spaces available and we ended up recruiting a number of caucus participants, campaign workers and delegates from among the newcomers.
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The MDP is not looking to finance statewide candidates by sucking money out of delegate fees, but I believe they do use funds generated by the annual convention toward some of the annual operating costs of the organization. It’s not cheap to keep good support in place.
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They also offer fee reductions for those who need it – all you have to do is ask.
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The system isn’t perfect, but there are ways to help ensure widespread participation.
Good stuff, the State Committee members from the 2nd Suffolk have been working to promote more cooperation among our 10 Boston wards. We did a successful Lt Gov’s forum last year and have encouraged various grouping of wards for other forums. Probably too late to do it this yearbut might consider it for the future. After add ons, we are usually the biggest delegation to the convention, so would have to consider whether to support add ons as well as elected delegates.
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Maybe the State Committee could offer some type of “match” to incentivize the local committees to raise funds where needed.
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Kudos to both Chairs, incoming and outgoing, for calling attention to the passing of our friend, Jack Leary of West Roxbury. Jack was the ultimate “grassroots” Democrats in that he believed in “shoe leather” campaigning, went out and did it, and brought many, many people out with him to do it. Moreover, in his work as a South Boston court officer, Jack saved so many young people who were headed down a destructive path. I had the honor of knowing him since 1979, and, with so many others, mourn his passing. We in Boston have lost a number of great civic leaders before their time in recent years — let’s hope that the young people saved by Jack Leary are among those who step forward to carry on his and others’ good deeds.