When DECs Get It Right

Most of my life, I've had a pretty negative opinion of DECs. The image I had -- based on some evidence, but probably not enough -- was that they were simply a collection of entrenched good old boys who cared more about their own fiefdom than actually winning elections or changing society for the better. The more I get involved in politics, the less accurate I find this stereotype to be. For example, I've recently joined the Leon County DEC because I really, really like what they've been doing. A lot of people are contributing to the success of the Leon Democrats, but as people from commissioners John Dailey and Andrew Gillum to Congressman Allen Boyd to Senator Barack Obama has publicly said, the key to the great things happening in Tallahassee is Chair Rick Minor. Here's what is going on under his supervision:

1. 2006 elections were a rousing success in Tallahassee. If I remember correctly, no Republican defeated any Democrat in local elections. Most of the statewide elections were significantly more in favor of the Democratic candidate than the Republican.

2. Barack Obama appeared at the annual Collins-Steele fundraiser. Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but Obama only appeared at two fund-raising events in Florida -- Tallahassee and Miami. Miami is much more of a swing district has a lot more donors for presidential campaigns and has a lot more voters. And yet we got Obama too. And he helped Leon Dems raise a whole heck of a lot of money -- Enough money to impress even Ray Seaman. ;)

3. The DEC is pursing policy proposals. Instead of passively waiting for things to happen, the Leon Dems are actively seeking to push the local policy agenda. After a campaign finance scandal with a county commissioner, the DEC has stepped up to push for non-partisan lobbying reform. In addition to pursuing an actual policy proposal with the help of Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, we also spent the last meeting with a diverse panel of speakers who not only gave us the run-down on the issue, but answered the exhaustive questions of the large audience. It would be difficult for anyone who attended that meeting to not have a good grip on the issue.

4. The Takin' It to the Streets program is a great idea. What is happening is that each month at the DEC meeting, instead of having the meeting at the same old stuffy city commission chamber, the meetings are rotating to different locations in each district. This not only benefits those people who don't want to drive across town every month, it has brought out tons of new people to each meeting, the last of which was standing room only (in my district).

5. Rick is great at community outreach. My theory is that no public event in a county should go without a Democratic Party presence. I don't go to every event out there, but I couldn't tell you the last time I went to something in the community when our DEC chair wasn't present and actively talking to people to promote our agenda and learn what the people are saying and thinking.

6. We're also trying to improve outreach to African-Americans in the community by focusing on No Party Affiliation voters. Leon County is like a lot of the state where African-American turnout in elections is lower than we would like it to be. By reaching out to the NPA voters and letting them know about Florida's closed primary rules, we have a chance to change that.

And all of this is just in the three months I've been actively participating in the organization. I hear talk of numerous other things that I don't even know enough about to get into. The point is that this is exactly the type of activity I think a DEC should be engaged in and the activity and excitement you see around here is impressive. A lot of that has to do with Rick Minor.

Like I said before, Minor didn't do any of this alone, but that's one of the keys to why he (and we) have had so much success lately -- he recognizes others, regardless of race, gender, age or personality, who want to help and can help and he gives them the trust and responsibility to succeed and they, and he, do succeed. That helps all of us.

Marion Democrats Launch New Website

After several months and a lot of learning and hard work, the Marion DEC has launched their new website:

www.mariondems.org

I have to say that despite all of the work and some hard lessons, this project was a lot of fun for me and my two nerdy compatriots: Peter Manon and Mr. X.

We still have some bugs to fix, but most elements are working just fine. The site combines Drupal and CiviCRM into a very good package.

We also launched the Marion County Democratic Party Facebook group at the same time. You can check that out here. If you're on Facebook, anyone can join our group!

Update: Did I mention we have a blog, too? Bookmark and link to us as much as you can!

She Should Run

Local activists should take a look at the great website, She Should Run.

Those involved in candidate recruitment should pay particular attention to female candidates. In Marion, we found out in 2006 that voters were tired of voting for men. Undecideds, and in races where voters didn't know much about the candidates, voted overwhelmingly for the female candidate.

Besides, regardless of electablility, we need more diversity in Florida government - at all levels.

Precinct Captains Are The Key

so says Mike Lux of OpenLeft.

Of course, Mike is saying this in the context of the Iowa Caucuses. But it matters just as heavily to DECs and campaigns here in Florida, too.

Precinct captains who have been well trained and know their neighbors well alter the outcomes of elections and make polls seem inaccurate. Of course, precinct captains alone sometimes don't do the job completely - they often need the help of block captains, who manage pieces of the precinct.

Precinct captains are indeed the key.

Never Forget Why

When you're building any organization, much less a DEC, you will undoubtedly run into frustration and stress. If not, you're probably not changing anything.

There are setbacks, mistakes, arguments, etc. which can bring you down. However, in times like these, just remember one thing: why you're working hard in the first place.

For me, I grew up in Weirsdale, Florida, a rural country "town" in the middle of nowhere. Ocala and Leesburg were the "big cities." You get the picture. Poverty and desperation was everywhere with the exception of wealthy lake shore homeowners and those in nearby gated retirement communities.

The poor and their situation were largely ignored, the local elementary school was one of the worst in the entire county. It didn't start changing until people in the community started waking up, and through the leadership of local churches (one of them being my father's - Weirsdale Presbyterian) good things started happening. The school is now an "A" school and is no longer ignored by the School Board. I can't say the economic situation has improved (that will take both a Democratic President and a complete public policy priority shift at all levels) - that problem remains.

I learned that ordinary people, when organized, could do extraordinary things.

So when I face obstacles and frustrations, I always think "If we don't organize and fight - who will?" Kids aren't going to get better schools, better jobs aren't going to be created, healthcare access won't improve, growth won't be better managed if we sit around and complain.

That keeps me going - what about you?

DEC Fundraising: Q2 2007

I've only received a little more than half of the DEC figures back from the individual Supervisor of Elections office. I'll update this post as new data comes in.

Alachua $44,067.69
Orange $34,070.00
Okaloosa $20,781.18
Martin $20,085.00
Pinellas $16,197.55
Manatee $9,969
Broward $9,903.00
Hernando $9,285.41
Brevard $8,648.58
Escambia $7,231.00
Duval $6,928.74
Seminole $6,307.08
Santa Rosa $5,342.74
Marion $5,236.00
Sarasota 4,952.64
Lake $4,551.55
St. Lucie $4,199.88
Indian River $3,046.00
Putnam $2,695.00
Monroe $2,500.00
St. Johns $2,448.05
Okeechobee $2,330.00
Holmes $2,150.00
Sumter $2,098.00
Osceola $1,852.97
Nassau $1,725
Baker $1,700.00
Walton $1,495.00
Clay $1,430.00
Polk $1,410.48
Jefferson $1,337.81
Charlotte $900.00
Pasco $733.44
Bay $645.00
Leon $470.00
Gulf $450.00
Calhoun: $0.00
Liberty: $0.00
Taylor: $0.00
Lafayette: NO DEC

The big surprise is, of course, the Martin DEC. Martin County has only 25,615 Democrats (compared to 47,307 Republicans.) Raking in $20K is no small feat. It also demonstrates the potential of DEC fundraising. Now compare the Martin DEC to Broward's stats this quarter. Broward County has 480,689 Democrats (nearly 19 times that of Martin County) and was only able to rake in $9,903.00.

DECs have a long road ahead of them to build viable fundraising operations. Posts like this (every reporting period) are designed to let people within DECs know how well they are performing in relation to other counties. Its also great ammo for DEC fundraisers to use - "If Martin County with only 25,000 Dems can raise $20,000 - we can do that - and better."

Update 11:29am: Okaloosa comes in at a resounding $20,781.18. Osceola rakes in $1,852.97, and St. Lucie $4,199.88.

Update 2: A small handful of DEC people have been grumbling to FDP about this post. I thought that would happen. Let me just say that this post isn't intended to shame DECs. We all know that DECs tend to have big annual fund raisers which therefore don't necessarily show up in these Q2 numbers. This is only the first post of its kind. I will be posting summaries every quarter which will demonstrate progress.
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Florida Progressive Radio Tommorrow

Please tune in for another great Florida Progressive Radio show tomorrow afternoon from 2-3pm. Ken will be interviewing special guest Clint Curtis, Democratic candidate for Congress running against the diabolical Tom Feeney.

Learn more about Clint here.

Evaluating Local Republican Websites

We've talked about the need for better websites for DECs, and websites for DECs that currently don't have one. Fortunately for us, local Republicans fare just as bad if not worse. Here are some observations:

1.) There are around three particular cookie cutter designs.
a.) The waving banner type (Alachua, Santa Rosa)
b.) The glowing title type (Dixie, Holmes, St. Lucie)
c.) The red top banner type (Gadsden, Jackson, Washington)

2.) Most incorporate the "GOPUSA" News Feed (the liberal media can't be trusted, ya know.)

3.) Other than the cookie cutters - most local GOP sites look like most low-end DEC sites: websites that we're built in 1998. The difference between the two is that there is a lot of common widgets and blocks used by GOP sites (GOPUSA being one of them), while there is little such lock-step uniformity among DEC sites.

In other website news, the state Republican Party has rolled out a new website. Its nothing to write home about, they've just finally caught up with the modern age in terms of podcasting and video.

The Value of Service Projects

As many of you know, I spent last weekend working with my fellow Democrats remodeling Marion Dems HQ. It was a lot of work, but it was also very enjoyable. I can't always say that about a lot of the service projects I've been involved with. I was a Boy Scout for virtually all my teenage years, and service projects we're frequent. They weren't all bad, as I liked hanging around my fellow Scouts, but the projects were often tough and sapped the life right out of you. My own Eagle Scout project was no exception: the development of an emergency food center which took several workdays and hundreds of volunteer hours.

The point here is that DECs should try and do service projects when they can, particularly if they have a HQ. These activities build camaraderie, and Democrats therefore get to know each other better. Those partnerships become critical as big projects arise, and Election Day draws nearer.

Of course, all projects have to be planned out in advance, so people don't end up getting burned out instead of turned on to the Democratic Party.

Recurring Donors

Barack Obama is now taking his campaign to put much of his support base on a recurring donor program on the front page of his website. He's using this nifty little graphic:

Whether or not Obama gets the Democratic nomination, I personally believe this will be one of his greatest contributions to the Democratic campaign/organizational playbook. Using recurring donors really pays off and helps build and sustain campaigns.

GusWatch: A Model Local Blog

Some disclosure: One of the main contributors of GusWatch is a fellow manager at the Florida Progressive Coalition.

One of the many things that was discussed at the Netroots Luncheon during JJ Weekend is the need for more local and specialized blogs. The same thing was said over the weekend during the first edition of Florida Progressive Radio. I've talked about the need to set up and develop local progressive blogospheres in the past.

The blog GusWatch is an example of what we would all like to see more of. GusWatch was founded during the 2006 Elections to keep an eye on Gus Bilirakis, the then Republican candidate for Congress. They did a terrific job, and despite the fact that Bilirakis would end up winning the election - they didn't stop. This is what we dream of the blogosphere doing more than it already is - stepping into the void traditional institutions and the MSM have opened.

DECs should do everything they can to encourage activists to start blogs geared towards holding elected Republicans accountable, while searching for Democrats to challenge them. Each specialized blog acts an attractor of potential new volunteers, donors, and activists.

In addition, let's not forget big local issues which demand accountability. Growth management is the first thing I can think of. Isn't there a need for a blog which tracks those sneaky land use amendments being pushed by developers? Shouldn't there be some watchdog out there tracking votes on important things like this?

So again, we should renew the call for more local blogs. They are badly needed, and local parties can play a big role in connecting activists with relevant blogs.

The Importance of Municipal Elections

Back in 2005, I proposed to the small Coordinated Campaign team at the Marion DEC that we should really focus on municipal races (that is, city council races.) They are incredibly small and easy to win, and they pay huge dividends down the road when we're looking for candidates at the county and state level. I was basically told to go ahead, yet due to my own greenness and naivety, I really got nowhere. Besides, I had to go attend my first semester of college at UF at the end of the summer.

Yet had I been successful then, we could have started seeing some of that effort bear fruit for the 2008 elections. You see, as I alluded to earlier, city councilmen and women make great candidates for the county commission, school board, countywide constitutional offices (tax collector, property appraiser, etc...) and state representative. The bottom line is that city councils are where we incubate and develop future candidates. This, by the way, is how Republicans slowly took power in Florida: they started at the municipal level and slowly but surely worked their way up the ladder.

In areas of the state where Democrats are currently out of power, DECs should really focus on recruiting city council candidates as a way of building the bench for future elections.

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Thank you for your input!

Mitt Romney and Microtargeting

The Washington Post has an article up about Mitt Romney's data mining campaign and the larger history of microtargeting. Check it out:

Romney's Data Cruncher

DECs can't do scientific microtargeting on their own as they can't afford it. They can use VAN and work with the FDP to develop scripts and questions that help us better target voters.

Speakers Bureaus

One of the many problems I've noticed in clubs is the poor meeting structure. Club meetings have a social time at the beginning with refreshments, then everyone sits down to hear a speaker, which if you're in a Marion club revolves around Social Security or Medicare with the occasional candidate thrown in. Any actual action or organizing is left to "The Board", some distant body of hand chosen people. This reflects the ancient mentality that all the hard work and big decisions are made at the top, and then given down to the peons for implementation. It doesn't reflect that grassroots "from the bottom up" theme that Howard Dean and many progressive activists have been articulating for some time now.

Clubs, particularly those that have been around forever and consider themselves for the most part autonomous from their sponsoring DEC, can be a tough crowd to change. Change in well-established clubs, will inevitably come in increments. For new clubs and caucuses, getting them into a grassroots, bottom-up mindset is a lot easier.

Speakers Bureaus are a way to begin to democratize older clubs and put new clubs and caucuses on the right track. Typically, every club's leadership (or leader in most cases) hand picks the speaker for the meeting and designs the entire meeting. And typically, without any DEC leadership from above, each club kind of meanders off on its own path, cut off from any larger vision or purpose.

With a club coordinator, each DEC can start finding good speakers who are passionate about certain issues, particularly local and state issues. However, here's the catch, each speaker should be trained beforehand in the need to articulate to older clubs the need to organize and do things from the bottom up. For instance, an education speaker can say "We won't be able to get the kind of funding we need for our schools unless we have a well-organized dialog with our neighbors. We won't be able to do that either if were waiting for someone else to do this for us. We as individuals need to get together, organize whether through this club or not, and take action."

Every speaker should have the importance of grassroots organizing built in.

Of course, speakers bureaus are important for several other reasons:

Get Everyone On the Same Page: If July is going to be healthcare month (perfectly timed with the release of "Sicko"), the club coordinator should work with their clubs to make sure that pre-designated healthcare speakers are lined up to speak. For baby boomers, make sure that there's going to be some kind of action item associated with the arrival of the speaker, such as the formation of a healthcare action group (more on this idea in another post.)

Get the Base More Excited: Which would you rather hear, a speaker on Medicare discussing the difference between Part A, B, C, and D? Or would you rather listen to someone excoriating the problems of our current system (linking them to the Republicans), and discussing the new ideas being proposed by the individual Democratic candidates? I would say most would go for the latter, but the former is what I've currently seen in many Democratic clubs.

Deliver a Clear and Consistent Message: I hear a lot of misinformation out there about issues, even among hard working Democrats. Some think the property tax amendment on January 29th is a good thing. Of course, it would probably be one of the most destructive things ever enacted in Florida history. The point is, having a month dedicated to educating Democrats and the public alike (through "open meetings") on an issue like property taxes is important and can get everyone on the same plane. Democrats aren't robots and don't just accept everything that their told (which is good), but they can be consistent and well-armed in their conversations with their neighbors.

The Vision Thing

If there's one thing I see DECs doing more than anything else its short-term thinking. We're getting better at it for sure, but its still a never ending obstacle I see DECs and progressive organizations alike trying to overcome.

How do you know whether or not your DEC is suffering from short-term thinking? Here are a few signs:

Gatherings Don't Seem to Have Any Purpose: Ever go to a meeting, not just a DEC meeting but any meeting and all people do is really just announce things to everyone else? Are people really just talking to hear themselves talk? Do your meetings accomplish anything? If not, your DEC or organization is suffering from a lack of long-term focus or vision.

Everyone Is Doing Their Own Thing: If your DEC's activists are all out doing what they want to do, disconnected from any larger plan or purpose, that's a problem. Every DEC suffers this in some form or another. The term "herding cats" applies well to DECs. So the question is to what degree? If its a few folks - don't beat yourself up. However, if entire committees seem to be disconnected, it maybe time for some strategic planning to get everyone on the same page.

There's Been No Strategic Planning: If you haven't gotten all of your committee chairpersons and officers to discuss where the party should be going, its something you really should try and do.

The bottom line here is that DECs have to have a long-term focus and can't become too distracted by short-term events (special elections, personal feuds, the loss of a club, or the resignation of a precinct captain, etc...), otherwise the organization could lose its rudder and some of the symptoms I described above could occur.

So how do DECs attempt to keep their long-term focus?

Strategic Planning: There should be a strategic planning meeting of the DEC's officers and committee chairpersons every 6 months. The first meeting of a new DEC administration is probably the most important strategic planning meeting, as it will set the course of the organization for the next 2+ years. The strategic planning meetings in between that first meeting and Election Day are there to measure progress and tweak things along the way. Or, if things aren't working well at all, to start from scratch.

Bold, Persistent Experimentation: To many of our readers from the '60s and 70s, I'm not referring to giving DEC members different types of drugs :) I'm referring here to what FDR said in the early 1930s:

"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

In other words, keep your DEC and its clubs on their toes by consistently trying new ideas in a push towards the vision laid out at your initial strategic planning meeting.

Keep Reminding Them: It's oh so easy for any member of a DEC (yours truly included) to get wrapped up or swept up by a short-term distraction and quickly forget long-term goals. At every possible instance, remind everyone of the long-term goal: victory in 2008. Anything that really doesn't get us there probably isn't worth the time.

Financing the Future: Recurring Donations

By now, many of you have heard about Barack Obama's incredible fundraising quarter in which he raked in $32.5 million. Pretty amazing! The back story that will undoubtedly be missed my most in the MSM, is that Barack Obama has a very visible recurring donor program. Barack is able to consistently raise a large amount of money, hold the average donation low, and therefore keep most of it for the primary because of some help from his recurring donation program.

Some of RFDECs most loyal readers will remember I first discussed recurring donor programs around 2 years ago. DECs are always struggling for money, and that really shouldn't be. Money is the mother's milk of politics, as the old saying goes, but I'll also argue its the canary in the coal mine. If a DEC isn't regularly raising funds, its a good indication that it isn't engaging the community it represents and therefore not doing its job. Some may argue that DECs can be functional without an impressive fundraising record largely through their grassroots organization. I disagree. If your DEC has a good grassroots network, then you really don't have an excuse not to be raising money. A good grassroots network can raise good funds for DECs.

The main reason I think DECs struggle with fundraising is because of the following:

Fundraisers Are A Lot of Work: Those JJ Dinners DECs put on require a lot of time, people, effort, and frustration. Often after one or two dinners, most organizers associated with the dinners are burned out and would rather do something else. They also typically don't raise a whole lot of money.

There Is No Plan: Once you have money, what are you going to do with it? I see DEC members tripping through their words on this one: "Well...we'll use it to pay for mailings, help candidates, you know..." Basically, you really don't have a plan. Big donors in particular want to know where their money is going and whether its making a difference. No one wants to throw their hard earned dollars down a black hole. Would you?

Obviously, having a finance plan is another topic for another post. The question here is how do DECs raise money more efficiently. The answer is through recurring donations. I'll refer you to my previous post on the subject here to provide some context.

In Marion, we successfully implemented a very small recurring donor program, branded "The Winner's Circle" with several levels of support (and therefore recognition.) By just talking to our membership within the DEC and out in the clubs, we were able to recruit enough recurring donors to pay for all our monthly bills (around $16K per year.) There are around 60 people in the program (an average monthly contribution of $22.22.) Our goal is around 100 by years end.

Recurring donations make the DEC's life a lot easier. Its easier to budget, plan, and prioritize funds if you know how much is coming in monthly and yearly.

Decentralized GOTV

The other "innovation" to come out of the SD3 special election for me other than than using Streets and Trips for canvassing, was decentralizing our GOTV system.

This was a test of a get out the vote system which we would like to try and use for 2008, when more precincts and volunteers are in play.

Marion used a centralized system in past elections, as we only were were working a few precincts. Which was fine, being that's all the volunteers we had to spare. However, its major drawback was response time. Marion Oaks, a set of key Democratic precincts in the southern area of the county is around a 30 to 40 minute drive from Dem HQ. Silver Springs Shores, another set of key Dem precincts, is around 15-20 minutes away from HQ. It would take even longer getting lists back to HQ for data entry and evaluation after 5pm as the workforce heads back home. Traffic is terrible on some of the arteries that lead to these two key areas.

To be perfectly honest, decentralizing GOTV, is by no means an "easier" system. It takes more work and effort, but it all pays off in both reaction time and effectiveness. Also, think long term. If a DEC is targeting more than a dozen precincts, some of which may be in different corners of their respective county, is it logistically feasible to bring a dozen or so runners back to HQ periodically throughout the day. How about response? Does your HQ have the number of phone lines to call the thousands of voters that haven't shown up to vote yet? Does your HQ have the sheer space to handle all those callers, much less those callers who bring their cell phones? What about knock and draggers (canvassers)? How do we communicate with them and get them the resources (maps in particular) they need fast enough to have an impact? As you can see, it can get pretty sticky very quickly.

Looking at the long term picture, it seems more and more likely that GOTV systems will have to be more decentralized. What we did in SD3 is take three precincts and test out decentralization. We had mixed results largely because we couldn't get the half-dozen volunteers needed for each precinct in time. That goes to show you how hard getting volunteers was for us, particularly those who would be willing to knock and drag. Most had done calling in the previous week and didn't really want to do much more: aka "burnout in the first degree."

Ironically, while we never truly tested out the entire idea in one precinct, different pieces were tested out in all three. God (or coincidence for our atheist/agnostic friends) is a funny guy. The system itself worked. It didn't produce any noticeable results largely because of a lack of manpower.

Here's how it all works in a broad sense.

1.) You have poll watchers pre-assigned to your targeted precinct's polling places. They're sitting behind the poll workers with a poll list from VAN of all the Dems (and favorable independents if you've identified them) in that precinct who haven't voted yet.

2.) Each targeted precinct has a GOTV leader, who acts as the runner (picking up lists from the poll watcher at pre-assigned times throughout the day) and the "commander" of the precinct and its volunteers. This person is typically one of the precinct captains of the targeted precinct. They've been given training weeks or months ago about what to do.

3.) Someone's home in the precinct acts a field office, technically called a "Turnout Control Center" or "TCC". TCCs are designated months before the election. At the TCC, the GOTV leader uses VAN to enter in all the Dems who have voted so far. All Dems over the age of 65 who haven't voted yet get plugged into Streets and Trips and maps are given to individual canvassing teams. Dems under the age of 65 are given to volunteers with cell phones.

4.) This process is repeated a total of 3 times during Election Day. As data comes in from the precincts, folks at Dem HQ can monitor the results on VAN, and instruct GOTV leaders in the field on any changes.

Obviously we will continue to experiment with this method as more elections (aka opportunities) come down the line.

Republicans Losing Hispanics

h/t to FLA Politics:

"Whether it's temporary disenchantment with President Bush, fallout from the immigration debate or part of a political and demographic shift, Democrats in Florida and nationally are making major strides with crucial Hispanic voters."

You can read the full story here.

With Republicans continuing to give the middle finger to this growing and ever-critical swing demographic, Democrats have reaped huge gains. Recall in 2006 Democrats won the Hispanic vote in Florida for the first time in 30 years.

Particularly with people in the Republican Party like crazy Tom Tancredo, I don't see this trend shifting anytime soon.

Taking Monday and Tuesday Off

I'm helping with the GOTV for the Special Election for Senate District 3 the next couple of days, so I'll be out of commission until Wednesday. I should have a decent postmortem up, as well as talk about a few "new" tactics we experimented with in Marion County, what went right, wrong, etc...

If you live in SD3 (Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, Taylor, and parts of Citrus, Columbia, Jefferson, Leon, Levy, Madison, and Marion counties) remember to vote on Tuesday the 26th. If you have a Democratic friend in the district, give 'em a call!

Wish Suzan Franks luck!