I was working for a local city council candidate and he won

[WCGreen]

came in first, a great guy....

The reason I bring this up, is this....

We must get involved at the local level....

Too many of our volunteers want to jump right to the big time without ever learning the ropes in the trenches...

Me, I have run a county commissioner race, which we won hands down, I was involved with several county wide races....

But still, it is going back to the basics, the grassroots of the grassroots where you learn the voters, learn the mechanics of an election and come out for the better.....

I'm just sayin'

[obxhead]

1. glad to hear it.

congrats on your victory.

[WCGreen]

5. This is like my fiftieth election.....

Including a couple when I was a candidate....

We gotta get back to basics....

It's a long term commitment, not just an every four year thing...

I was heartened by the Paul Hackett race, I really was...

But the naive approach many had going in just shows you we have to do more work at the base level in order to better understand voters, campaigning and politics at the loval level...

remember, Tip O'Neil said All Politics is Local...

It is....

[evlbstrd]

2. I'm with you there.

Going to DC actually made me realize that. Talking with new friends on our bus, I found out that our city and county are looking at electronic voting, and people were meeting about the issue to have a voice in the process. I am getting involved in that issue.

[WCGreen]

6. It is really important.....

[don954]

3. thats right, if we take the local govts

Election fraud is much harder.
if we then take the state govt
Election fraud is next to impossible
Then we can take the national back..!

[WCGreen]

8. You got it....

And the experience is invaluable....

[MADem]

4. Your experiences will really be helpful in 06 and 08

All politics is local, and you have earned your stripes!!!!

[WCGreen]

7. I have been doing campaigns since 1976...

this was a reach back so that I could reconnect with the local level.....

[MADem]

9. Those connections will pay off, I'll bet

Howard Dean should have your name on his list!!!!

[WCGreen]

11. I was the Treasurer for the Democratic Party for 8 years.....

[MADem]

16. Wonderful! And I will bet you accounted for every dime

I really think the way we can win is with strong, grassroots, systematic work from people like you. And verifiable ballots, as well!!!

[WCGreen]

19. It was for the largest Count between New York and Chicago...

We raised about three million while I was the Tresurer....

And yes, it was all accounted for....

And we also took complete control of the county government....

[In_The_Wind]

10. Excellent news!

[WCGreen]

12. It is, indeed.....

[faithfulcitizen]

13. So true, and we should all be involved in our county Dem Groups

They NEED people so badly.:thumbsup:

[WCGreen]

14. This is the time to get to know the local political landscape...

Not nearly as glamorous working on a Senate campaign or President....

But still, almost as important...

[faithfulcitizen]

17. exactly, and this is precisely the people you need already organized

for senate or prez elections. Plus, frankly, we need good dem candidates for the entry positions, like boards and councils. And this is from where they are drawn.

[MADem]

18. More, in some ways

The local pols of today are the future national leaders of tomorrow. It's like investing in the future.

[question everything]

15. Great News

I think that it is important to be involved in elections for school boards, that most of us, if we don't have kids in the school systems, do not care.

This is where the ones supporting "back to basics" and "traditional values" - meaning creationism and prayers in school - start.

[WCGreen]

21. Well this was for a Council At Large Seat for a city of about

22,000....

I am also working on a Mayorial Campaign where the dem has an honest chance of winning for the first time in living memory...

And the guy is an old friend, we have worked on campaigns together for years....

That one is coming up in November....

[Vektor]

20. I'm glad to hear it.

Congratulations!

[WCGreen]

22. It's always good to win......

Now, I'm about 35-15....

Over the years, in campaigns where I have a say in how they are run....

[calimary]

23. YAY! Excellent news. Building from the bottom up.

That's where it starts - at the local level. Plant the seeds and watch them grow!

Congratulations!!!

[enigmatic]

24. That's how the Fundies got a foothold

The Christian Coalition used the local political elections to gain a foothold across the country in the 80's, and it worked. We have to do the same as a party if we expect to take back the system from the Fundies..

[tjcrowe]

25. Awesome!

Congratulations. Local elections aren't always as sexy as national ones but they're tremendously important.

Have you got any tips for any of us working on local elections? I'm part of my university's College Democrats and we're about to get to work.

[newyawker99]

29. Hi tjcrowe!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[JNelson6563]

26. Good work and thanks for posting

Enough of the daydreaming about a knight on a white horse showing up for 08! We have lots of work to do starting with our county commissions, school boards and city councils. Not nearly as glamorous but very important.

We're doing that here in my county. Tomorrow night is a fundraiser for our city commission candidate and she was the top vote-getter in the primary. In May we also got our candidate in on the school board, again, top vote-getter.

Get busy, get involved and let's win some elections!

Julie

[NoPasaran]

27. Congratulations!

This spring I had worked for a city council candidate who led in the general election (YAY!) but lost in the runoff (TOTALLY SUCKED).

Local races are especially important because local government ususally affects our day to day life much more than the presidency does.

[SCDem]

28. Local races are also important

because that is when it is most likely that people vote more for the person than party affiliation. Because I heard it from a local prominent Republican in my county "locals aren't that important so I have no problem voting democrat in the local election". That's how we should start farm raising our future generation of leaders.

I've been active in the past in national and state campaigns. This October I am active in our mayoral race. Politics (as a volunteer) is non-stop for me now adays.