My name is Jessica Podhola and I am the Executive Director of the Jackson County Democratic Committee. I grew up in the Democratic Party, I have been an active volunteer since I was 8 years old, and I could canvass with my mom with out complaining too much... I am committed to changing Missouri one vote at a time, and working with the Jackson County Democratic Committee to Make Missouri Blue Together.
I love the great peace makers of history, the men and women who brought about change and solved conflicts through profound social justice. Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Dr. King, Caesar Chavez. These are examples of people who were enthusiastic about their convictions. They saw a wrong and struggled to right it, they were passionate in their persistence. They were great organizers; they could fire up their bases. The each had a profound impact not just on their communities but on the world. I believe passionately in what I was hired to do. I have been working the last three months meeting with people, working in the office, raising my salary. Praying that I can raise my salary. Learning as some say "where all the bodies are buried."
However, I remain passionate in my persistence in my belief that we can not focus our attention on the past, that in order to win we must look forward and work together to settle our differences.
We are really lucky that in parts of our county, the real race is in the primaries. The committee does not involve itself in primary politics; I encourage all of our candidates to concentrate on staying positive and focusing on their message. While it is true that in some parts of the county we have an embarrassment of riches in other parts of the county the Republican Party is stealing plays right from our handbook and they are out in the community building relationships and raising their profile. Tip O’Neil told us that all politics are local, and by that he meant the most important part of the political process is the local relationships. The local connections. We’re Democrats so sometimes we fight, and when we fight, we sometimes take it personally because we forget that it’s not about personality, it’s about the ideas.We are all fighting for Democratic Values. So sometimes, I have been told, we fight to spite. Times, they are a changing.
The committee is focused on working together to Make Missouri Blue. You know some people have told me, that I won’t be able to unify this county party. My minister has a saying:"Don’t give up before the Miracle", I won’t. Some people think that I am naive, they say it’s hopeless, you can’t change that. My mother told me, "a thousand times they will tell you no, and you will tell them yes."
Change, that’s the new buzz word we hear it all the time, in the presidential primary, on the blogs, in local races. Politicians have been running on change since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. We all want change, change in the 48th district of Missouri, change in Jeff City, and change in Washington. There is always change, it is good, it is constant, it is predictable in its unpredictability. I know what I want to change. I want to change the world, and I can do that with your help.
We hear politicians and pundits say it all the time Missouri is a bell weather state, everyone in this room knows the importance of our state, and we all know how crucial Jackson County is to the hopes of Democrats. We know the importance of Jackson County to the Presidental race. I challenge you to find a county, any county that is more important to this country, than ours. I know why I got involved in politics, and I bet it’s not dissimilar to the reasons why all of you in this room became involved. It’s because we are patriots, we care about our neighbors, we care about our communities, and we know that we are the change agents. We have been working for real change on a local level, because we know that what we do in clubs and on blogs like this one helps to elect Democrats to take our message to city hall and the county legislature, to work for real change in Jeff City and DC. We make a difference everyday.
We are working on real change in the county committee as well; we are asking that our committee members become more involved on every level. We are committed to raising the profile of the committee in the county. We want to be at community events, we want to be a central place where democrats and activists can come to get involved in their communities. We have set a goal to increase our fundraising; we want to be proactive, not reactive. This committee is committed to rising above the bickering and infighting and focusing our attention where it belongs: ideas and winning the hearts and minds of our constituents. We believe that our ideals and our ideas are better than our opponents. They aren’t evil people, most of them.
There will always be primaries, and we will always have to remain impartial during that process, but we believe in our candidates, all of them. Because we know that their ideas are the better ones for the citizens of Jackson County. We will always stand up for Democratic Values and principles.
For the first time in a long time, rural voters, fiscal conservatives and Regan Democrats are evaluating their choices and as Democrats we are benefiting. Senator McCaskill would hard for the votes in Outstate Missouri, let us not give them back. So I say come on in, take a look at what inclusivity really means. Join the party that is passionate in it’s persistence to fight for you.
If you believe...
in Restoring the Constitution
in Real National Security
in Affordable Healthcare,
in Good Jobs, with a Prevailing Wage and Protecting Worker’s Rights,
in a Great Education for All of Our Kids,
if you believe...
We can do it.
Please Support the Jackson County Democratic Committee
Fighting for the Citizens of Jackson County, Missouri and the World.
Together we can Make Missouri Blue.
In order for this grand experiment to work we need your help, we need you to become more involved to sign up for our emails, to show up when we ask you, to participate in community events, like parades and fairs. We need your help in identifying voters that we have no data on. We need your help building relationships in your neighborhoods. We need your help in getting out our message and our platform. We need your help financially. We need you. You are our life of the party, our true blue dems, and the party faithful. Let’s stand up, join together and put our differences aside and fight for every vote in every ward, in every township and make Missouri blue together.
You can help Make Missouri Blue. You can have a direct impact on the #1 governors race in the nation, you can have an impact on the ground. We are working hard to Make Missouri Blue, will you join us?
Help us Make Missouri Blue
Jackson County Democrats