If you aren’t up to speed on this week’s Democratic National Committee leadership elections, that’s understandable. Like most inside baseball, the process isn’t designed for widespread attention – even from long-time party activists and enthusiastic Democratic voters.
Unless you’re one of 447 voters anointed to cast a ballot, the process isn’t meant for you. That’s a problem in the age of conspicuous resistance. It’s in our power to fix.
Illustrious DNC voters like Indiana’s John Zody and Virginia party guru Frank Leone needn’t worry. I’m not advocating a revolution in the rules. But it’s time for a reinvigoration of our strongest asset: the millions of voices that make the Democratic Party a party of the people.
I have no party vote, but I do have principles and a voice. That’s why I’m supporting Adam Parkhomenko for DNC Vice Chair.
Our party process is a throwback to exclusivity and insularity that no longer serves our ideals or our practical goals. There are good reasons to limit voting at the DNC – but there is no longer any excuse for making the process so opaque that it remains a struggle even to find clear information about our procedures on the Internet.
Can you find a list of current and past DNC officers? Can you find a “Who We Are” section, or easy contact information for DNC members in your state? Go ahead, I’ll wait.
The quality of our leadership at the top means little if we forget that the spirit of the Democratic Party is bottom-up. The grassroots. The people. Local and state activists and young Democrats are the lifeblood of our operations, but often find themselves unable to meaningfully engage with a Democratic National Committee that seems increasingly to move independent from the state parties that make us competitive.
I don’t care about resumes – though Adam has a sterling one. What inspires me about Adam is his ability to transform our ideals into actionable changes for openness and grassroots involvement within the DNC.
Adam is an organizer in a time when organization means everything. We face something new and dark in the Trumpian view of America, and our recover from that darkness won’t come from offices in Washington, D.C. Our recovery comes from empowering state parties to compete for legislatures, governorships and seats in Congress. That’s going to take a lot of people.
Adam has been a clear advocate for engaging netroots activists, young Democrats and our grassroots in planning for the future. Those are easy words to say, but difficult to make real. That takes organizing – and Adam is one of the clearest voices in calling for increases in DNC funding to state parties and the hiring of in-state staff to manage organizing and local fundraising.
If we want to win in the states and localities, our party must look like the states and localities. Empowering local and state teams and their intimate knowledge of political operations localizes our message to reflect the concerns and hopes of small communities. More than anyone else, Adam is a champion for telling our local leaders, “You still matter to the Democratic Party.”
Adam isn’t afraid of a debate in good faith. He isn’t scared of disagreement, or inviting diverse activists together to hash out a problem. He understands what many have forgotten – our party has strong values, and we should never shrink from talking about them. There is no shame or harm in a willingness to talk about who we are, and how our values are interpreted by those who spent precious sweat and time bringing those values to voters.
One of the largest challenges the DNC faces is its siloing of valuable organizational technology within the national infrastructure. Adam wants to share the technological prowess we have with state and local parties – after all, we’re all on the same team. If we aren’t listening to how states are using technology, we’re not listening at all.
More than anything, I believe Adam is telling the truth. He was a regular attendee at Arlington Young Democrats events during my time as president, and the conversations he began with young Democrats and grassroots activists continue today. Even with his frantic schedule, Adam responds. No one is too small to merit a response, and that responsiveness mobilizes us.
I’m not asking activists to vote for Adam Parkhomenko – most likely, you can’t. But we can do something even more powerful: we can raise our voices on the phones and on social media to let the Democratic Party know Adam’s ideas are strong and his values are real. DNC voters ignore that message at their own peril.