The work of grassroots activists at the 2013 Democratic State Convention

I find that the best part of the Democratic State Convention is re-connecting with friends and fellow activists, who not only work so hard to elect Democrats to office, but also are leaders on important public policy issues.  Beyond learning more about the work that Democratic committee members and activists are doing in their communities, it’s also an opportunity to understand how Democrats feel about their state government, elected officials, and the policies that they care the most about.

I saw that particularly in two separate parts of the convention, the first being the amendment process to the 2013 Massachusetts Democratic Party platform (final version) and the breakout sessions after the convention.

As strong as the proposed draft platform was, in the weeks leading up to the convention, I heard a fair amount of feedback from Democratic activists that they wanted to add some specifics to the platform section “Ethics and Transparency,” which Mike Lake and I co-chaired.  Several delegates wanted to propose an amendment, mostly focused on transparency in government and leveling the playing field for both candidates for public office, and public officials themselves.  We came up with the following language, which was adopted unanimously:

AMENDMENT TO DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM ETHICS & TRANSPARENCY SECTION

Massachusetts Democrats Support:

• Merit-based hiring of employees in the public sector through a transparent process, including the public posting of positions, in the interest of eliminating patronage hiring.
• The public financing of all partisan elections in Massachusetts, in order to reduce the influence of lobbyists, corporate special interests and wealth, increase election competition, and provide an opportunity for every citizen, regardless of economic circumstance, to run for public office.
• Ensuring that the public has convenient, inexpensive, and quick access to all public documents, at the executive, legislative, judicial, and local levels of government.  In order to achieve this, all public information should be posted on government websites, using a machine-readable format.
• State constitutional offices and the legislature should be as transparent in its deliberations as possible, including holding open public meetings as part of all decision-making processes concerning legislation, budgets, and policies.
• The Legislature should be an institution that empowers every member of the House of Representatives and the State Senate to have an equal voice in how decisions are reached.  The Legislature should also post all roll call votes online, including votes on the floor of the House of Representatives and Senate, and by legislative committees.

After the convention had ended, it was great to see so many activists headed to the breakout sessions.  As the co-chair of the party’s Public Policy Subcommittee, along with Mara Dolan, we planned many of the issue-oriented breakout sessions, including civil liberties, global warming, restorative justice, the War on Drugs, and sustainable economic development.  I was really happy at the turnout for each session, which I think really speaks to the impressive knowledge of Democratic delegates, and the hunger that activists have for not only discussing policy, but seeing it become law.

I saw this passion up close at the two breakout sessions that I served as a panelist, one on public policy objectives, with Mara Dolan, and how they relate to the party platform, and the second on progressive taxation, with Northeastern University professor Peter Enrich.

During the sessions, it became very apparent that not only is there a disconnect between what is being discussed on Beacon Hill and the party platform, but also with how Democratic activists utilize the party platform as a way to further the policies they care so deeply about.  For example, when I asked the audience at the public policy objectives breakout session how many Democrats had ever held a public forum on the Democratic Party platform after the platform had passed, and no one raised their hand.  That idea generated a fair amount of interest, as well as some excitement around Democratic activists meeting with their legislators to discuss the new party platform.  I would also agree that Democratic lawmakers, including myself, need to do a better job of connecting our work with the values and positions found in the party platform.

Finally, at the progressive taxation breakout session, after an excellent presentation by Peter Enrich, we had an in-depth discussion around what had transpired over the past three years – namely, some impressive organizing by progressive organizations, labor unions, community groups, some progressive legislators and Governor Patrick to advocate for a progressive tax package, and why the effort had failed.  There was deep frustration over why all of this organizing had fallen short, and why there was such a large gap between the organizing and the merits of a strong progressive tax package, and how those efforts were received by the Legislature.  Some activists talked about their interactions with their legislators about An Act to Invest in Our Communities, as well as their thoughts on Governor Patrick’s tax proposal, which many activists liked, but found confusing to explain.

I’m always re-energized by the Democratic State Convention, and the work of so many Democratic committee members and activists, whether electing Democratic candidates to public office, working on an issue of importance in their community, or advocating for a bill to pass, or changing a policy.  I just hope that going forward the issues that are discussed on Beacon Hill have a closer relationship to the policies found in the Democratic Party Platform or representing the work of an activist or group of activists in Massachusetts.  I believe that everyone who currently participates in the political process must work hard to achieve that vision.

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