Guest Blogger, Bobbie Walton, is a member of the Genesee County Democratic Party & the Democratic Women’s Caucus, political activist, & progressive.
The Democratic Party exists to elect Democrats to office. You have heard this said so many times. Our party exists to elect candidates. We elect Democrats so Democratic values and policies will prevail in governing our country. This is the most important work we do. If we cannot elect our candidates we have failed in our work.
The biggest challenge we face is to educate, invigorate and activate the voters to vote with us on election day. We organize to do this. We speak to voters where they are. We listen to voters who are willing to talk with us. We take in their concerns, the trust they may have lost in government, the cynicism of the non-voter. It is a challenge for sure, even though it sounds so easy. It takes us from point A to point B to point C in our campaigns. So, how do we know we are being effective in our messaging and our work to deliver the message? We can check all the boxes but that may not get the job done. Our effectiveness is evident when the votes are counted.
We begin by taking an inventory of our shared values. Democrats value individual civil rights and the right to vote. We value public participation in government, and we value an open and accessible government. We value justice and public safety, and we value an economy that works to provide a good standard of living for everyone. We work hard so we can provide affordable healthcare in a system everyone can access. We value the environment we all live in. We work to preserve it for our heirs.
We speak to each other at every meeting of the Democratic Party but we need to speak to others, those who do not come to our meetings. We need to speak to people who may not agree with us. We may help them clarify their own thinking and they may help us clarify ours.
Our message must have substance and it must be something we are prepared to deliver whenever we speak. Voters need to know we value them and their quality of life. We must not only promise but we must demonstrate what we have done. We need clarity in showing how we govern to better the lives of all. We do that by being clear on our values and convincing in our dedication to deliver on our promises.
We can show what Democrats have done to bring better governing and better opportunities, better economic growth and less poverty, better quality of life to our communities. Specific Democratic priorities, programs and successes must roll off our tongues and appear on the front of our T-shirt.
Our Genesee County Democratic Party is charging forward to lead us in working hard during this upcoming election cycle. Our committees are bringing us along in doing this work. Find the committee you most want to work with. Your skills will be recognized. Your energy will be appreciated. Your ideas will be put to good use. Your time will be valued. Your presence will be enthusiastically received!
As co-chairs of the Elections Committee, Tim Sneller and I urge you to give our committee a try. We meet at 5:00 PM on the second Thursday of the month at the Region 1-D headquarters at Atherton and Van Slyke in Flint. This is one hour before the GCDP regular monthly meeting. We will bring together the hard workers and quick-thinking people needed to take us on to victory. It is the work that we Democrats must do.
