All politics is local. And in Washington State you can't get any more local than Precinct Committee Officer for one of the major political parties.
Which is why in early June I fearlessly nominated myself for election to the prestigious office of Democratic Party Precinct Committee Officer for the precinct in which I live.
The primary ballots were mailed out last week, but because I was gone for most of the weekend, I didn't get a chance to see my name on a ballot until today.
But, when I went to the mailbox and found the official envelope from the county auditor, ripped it open and saw my name as a candidate for office, I did cartwheels all the way back to the house.
Well, okay, not really. After all, I am a disabled veteran on Social Security and Medicare... But nevertheless, there was something ... empowering ... seeing my name on the same ballot with such political superstars as mom-in-tennis-shoes US Senator Patty Murray.
But all of the news is not good. There are several hundred precincts in my county, and all but two of them have either no candidates for PCO, or else no opposition for the declared candidates.
Mine, unfortunately, is one of the two. I have an opponent in the race for Democratic Party Precinct Committee Officer.
Which means what I originally thought would be a slam-dunk election now has turned into a horse race.
But that's fine, and that's what democracy is all about. I managed to finagle the list of voters in my precinct from my local Democratic Party and went through it line by line. All of the voters who were listed as "strong Democrats" and who had voted in each of the last three primary and general elections (yes, they do know this about you...) received from me a personal appeal in the form of a postcard (no letters in envelopes -- they are too easy to toss away unopened) listing my qualifications and past record as a party stalwart:
- Lifelong Democrat, strongly dedicated to the enduring values of the Democratic Party, including Equal Rights for everyone
- County Resident 25 Yrs, 18 yrs in this precinct
- 30-year Member of AFSCME; retired state employee
- 2004 Washington State Veterans for Kerry Steering Committee member
- Delegate to County Democratic Conventions 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010
- Delegate to Washington State Democratic Conventions 2008, 2010; pledged Barack Obama delegate 2008
- Disabled Vietnam veteran*
[* Details slightly edited to maintain my quasi-anonymity... It's easy enough for smart people -- i.e., liberals, to figure out who I really am, but the knuckledraggers just don't seem to have a clue...must be due to that commie-socialist public education that liberals got, as opposed to the home-schoolin' with which a lot of the opposition seems to have been burdened.]
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7 Comments:
Good luck! :)
Teehee... the power of the internet when put in the hands of people with socialist-communist university educations, allows us to know everything about you! Shhhhh, your secret is safe with me =P
Here in Pierce County, my voters book listed a guy calling himself "Goodspaceguy" who addressed voters as "fellow sheeple"....and then his diametric opposite was some teabagger who listed his occupation as "defender of the Republic" and called himself "pro-life, pro-Palin, pro-John Gault" (yeah, he couldn't even spell Ayn Rand's misanthropic hero's name right.
I was so disenchanted I needed a Scotch to keep reading.
I wish you luck and wish more people like yourself would run.
We need many more progressives in government today.
AWQM-- Thank you. I knew my "secret" would be safe when it came to my fellow progressives.
Labrys -- we've always had a tradition in this state of off-the-wall candidate showing up on the ballot--Mike the Mover being a perennial candidate for higher office. My question is, where do these guys manage to dig up the money. It's no cheap to even just file for election to US Senator, let alone run a campaign.
--The F Man
Anon-Thank you. I wish you lived in my precinct.
--The F Man
I did wonder where the loonies got the money! Color me baffled...
AROUND HERE IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY TO RUN AND WIN. AND ALL THE ONES WHO ARE THERES BACKING YOU. PEOPLE WHO WILL NOT DO WHAT THE RULES SAY THEY SHOULD WILL SPEND OTHER PEOPLES MONEY TO KEEP NOT DOING THINGS. TRY AND FIND OUT WERE THE MONEY COMES FROM.
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