In this year's primary every precinct in Pennsylvania will elect two local committee members. What do these committee members do? According to the Delaware County Democratic Committee's bylaws, they:
1) elect the chair of the county and local parties in reorganization meetings after the election. These positions are important because they control almost everything the party does.
2) participate in committee meetings such as ones where we vote on endorsements
3) register more Democrats
4) circulate and file nominating petitions to get Democrats on the ballot
5) recruit candidates for local offices
6) organize political activity, such as canvassing, phone banking, holding events, staffing the polls on election day, etc.
For Democrats to win, we need committee members that will connect with their neighbors, both keeping them informed and listening to their concerns. We need people that will help us with fundraising and canvassing. We need people that will show up on election day to greet their neighbors as they vote or staff the polls so the precincts are open and elections are conducted properly. Being a committee person means you get a say in how the party is run and which candidates are endorsed, but we also need people that will show up to help get the work done.
If you’re interested in running for committee, either contact the chair, Christine Reuther or email us at npdemscom@gmail.com . To run for committee, you'll need to get at least 10 signatures (25 or more is recommended) on a nominating petition from registered Democrats in your precinct. While committee members gather signatures to get on the ballot they can also collect signatures for other Democrats running - especially Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky this year. Petitions start Feb 13 and run through March 6th. Petitions will be available to pick up and sign at February's meeting, so please bring all the registered Democrats you can to our February meeting.
In many precincts, we have more than two Democrats that would be great committee members. After the election, the chair has the ability to appoint 26 at-large committee members. These have slightly less voting rights at the county level, but we will be appointing hardworking Democrats to these positions after the election in May. Even if you don’t want to run now, let us know you're interested in being appointed.