(another great post! – promoted by Brian Leubitz)
(cross posted at Dkos)
Yesterday I had my first swearing in, ever. I pledged to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California and protect them against enemies, foreign and domestic. I pledged to uphold my duties in office without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
I am one of the newest members of the Sacramento County Democratic Central Committee. It is a committee that has done almost absolutely nothing and became so entangled in itself at one point, that it was completey destroyed and is being revamped.
Saturday we had the first retreat of the SCDCC. It was basically a 9 hour meeting where we really did get things done, an incredibly rare accomplishment. It took us about 2 hours to form a vision statement, but after that things ran pretty smoothly.
Being on the SCDCC is about as “local” as it gets in local politics. It’s an organization that *should* have power, but hasn’t in the last few years and our surroundings are becoming incredibly more red every election, even though we’re the capital of one of the bluest states in the union. We’re out to stop that, but of course, it won’t be easy. There were about 40 leaders from the sacramento area there, and I was honored to be there seeing as how, compared to the others there, I’m not that great…
There were leaders from every aspect of democratic politics, every local democratic club. Half of the members were women, there was every sexual orientation represented and there was someone from every ethinicity that I can think of. It was an inspiring group to be a part of.
Most of the day was spent in subcommittees – finance, outreach, organizational development and campaign outreach. Every subcommittee spent 4 hours discussing it’s purpose, mission, goals and responsibilities. After those 4 hours, every committee came out with incredibly ambitious goals. These goals include raising enourmous amounts of money, registering thousands of new democrats in the next two years and making sure that every local organization is coordinated as too maximize democratic victories, eventually being able to mobilize enough volunteers to help out in nevada and arizona, including much more.
These are goals that will require hundreds of other activists and central committee members. These goals will require every member to over commit themselves, attend every meeting from here on out, fulfill every single one of their responsibilities. Can this happen? Probably not. Will that stop any of us from taking action? No. There is just too much at stake. Now, in 2008, in 2012 there is everything at stake. Even if we don’t accomplish everything we’ve set out to do, even if we achieve just a fraction of what we hope to, it will be significant progress. I’m glad to be a part of it, and I hope I can hold up my end of the bargain.
And with that, if you aren’t already, I’d like to encourage you to get as local as you can in government. Whether it be a local democratic club or your local central committee – show up to a meeting, see what you can do to help. Probability says that your local government is a tragic mess and that your first meeting will scare the hell out of you and keep you from returning. But keep going back. We must all keep going back, because it is at the local level that we can, as individuals make the most difference.
If you live in the Sacramento county area and are not involved please contact me off list. We’d be more than glad to have you helping out and making a difference here in CA’s capital.
And with that, a picture of my swearing in.
I’m the goofy lookin’ one in the red =)
