What is our response to the catastrophic failure of government in Michigan?
Will we say, oh, it’s too hard, they have too much money, we can never hope to push back—or will we continue to ORGANIZE and to stand up for ourselves and for our communities?
I can tell you where my sympathies reside. Now it’s more important than ever for us to reclaim our public space, exercise our community-building muscles, and kick these right-wing extremists to the curb. It’s OUR state to enjoy and protect, OUR children to nurture and teach, not theirs to plunder and ruin, or to limit and oppress.
With me so far? Good. The next step might be a little more challenging. I’m going to ask you to step forward in your communities and help with party organizing by becoming a Precinct Delegate.
Every voting precinct in Michigan has at least one Democratic Precinct Delegate. Officially and formally, the Precinct Delegate’s job is simple and the responsibilities are few: show up at county-level and state-wide Party meetings, and vote on party platform planks and convention delegates. (This year, those responsibilities may well be unusually important.)
Unofficially, Precinct Delegates are the grassroots of the party. They--we—are the people on the ground, in the neighborhoods, talking with neighbors and finding out what issues and concerns are at the top of people’s minds. They can help convey information from elected officials to their constituents, and from the constituents to the elected. And, of course, they are of key importance for GOTV efforts.
NOW is the time to sign up to be listed on the August 2nd 2016 primary ballot as a candidate for Precinct Delegate. All you need to do to run is be at least 18 years old; a U.S. citizen; a registered voter; a resident of the precinct you wish to represent. Easy, no?
The whole process of filing is not that much more complicated. No filing fee and no petition signatures are required. All you need is a notarized Affidavit of Identity which you must complete and submit to your County Clerk by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, May 3rd—or two weeks from yesterday.
This year, we in Michigan are at a crisis point. We cannot afford to continue with this profoundly misguided and corrupt GOP rule in the legislature and the governorship (to say nothing about the ostensibly non-partisan courts). When we vote, we win—a message we’ve all heard thousands of times if we’ve heard it once. We must win in 2016.
Lucky for us, it’s a presidential election year. We can *hope* that Democratic turnout will be strong, regardless of the party standard-bearer at the top of the ticket. We can *act* to make sure that the GOP owns all of their mistakes and misdeeds, every last one of them, and we can *plan* to take over the MI House—at least. We have some great candidates on tap, and we could be looking at a wave election here if all goes well.
But it’ll take more than good candidates, adequate campaign funding, and a solid platform to turn things our way. It’ll take the effort of every Michigander who is reading this post, and then some.
There are around 3,000 precincts in Michigan. If every single precinct had at least one delegate, think of what we could accomplish. Right now, if my county’s experience is any guide, we are running at around 20-25% of capacity—and that’s not even considering whether the current delegates are doing any substantive work. Instead of 750 people who may or may not be particularly active or committed to party-based activism—we would have 4 times that many.
Well, I can dream, can’t I?
And YOU can help me turn my dream into our reality.
Check out this link for a blank Affidavit of Identity. (The site is county-specific but the affidavit is not.)
Fill it out completely, including the oft-overlooked lines/boxes for U.S. citizenship status, years in residence in county and in the state; your party and the date of this primary—namely, August 2, 2016. Turn it in to your county clerk’s office ASAP—and definitely before May 3rd.
And then persuade someone else you know to do it too.
Next week, please come back here and let us know how YOU are faring with this persuasion effort. Feel free to update us about the progress in your county as well.
Once you have signed up, watch this space as well for SUPPORT for you as a Precinct Delegate. My county party will be offering Canvassing Trainings along with data-mining strategies you can use to target your GOTV efforts. We also have resources you can use to help grow your activist base close to home. We would love to know if your county party has information and strategies to share with us. It’s win-win-win if we do pool our knowledge and develop our base from the ground up.
Make no mistake: We’re not the only ones in Michigan who are aware of the stakes this year. It will be a hard and expensive battle. The better we do now, the better prepared we will be for 2018 and 2020—when, if it can be believed, the stakes may be higher yet.
Please help us build this weekly Michigan thread so that it includes any information relevant to turning MI Blue again that you would like me to highlight. MI contributors are always welcome! You can reach me through kosmail at peregrine kate. Or say hi through email here: peregrinekate@gmail.com And please follow me on Twitter @peregrinekate
Please feel free to drop in on ANY State Open Thread! So far, we have these regulars:
Colorado: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Mountain
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern