Forgive me for lack of posts; I have been working hard with a moribund Nebraska Democratic Party to get our candidates elected (someone’s gotta work on lost causes).
I was appointed the chairman pro-tempore (vice-mayor) of the Village Board of Trustees of Broadwater, Nebr. on 5 December 2016 after reorganisation of the village board following the election. I am now the senior-most member of the village board. In this precinct, where less than five percent of the voters chose Hillary Clinton, Gary Johnson, Evan McMullin, or Dr. Jill Stein, I was rather surprised the village wanted me in the position. (The town is quite aware of my left-leaning political position and the fact I am an atheist.)
The first order of business was swearing in the person who won election to the village board (a Cherokee woman who won on a write-in candidacy). Following that, as the Chairwoman Pro-Tempore (our Chairwoman resigned as she moved out of the village) was leaving her position (she did not run for reëlection), she consulted with the Village Attorney on who might best serve as Chair and Chair Pro-Tempore. The village attorney’s (a Republican, as is everyone else in my town government) recommendation was a lifelong resident in town on the village board, and me (as I’d served the longest and understand how the Village Board is supposed to run).
The majority of the village’s residents were in attendance, both for the installation of the new member and over concern about a boil water order just issued. Had there been any serious objection to advancing my name for Chairman Pro-Tempore, the outgoing Chairwoman Pro-Tempore would have immediately withdrawn my name.
Vice-mayor does not include the duties of hookers and blow.
I was also appointed to the position of Public Health Committee Chair (which by state law must be the chair or chair pro-tempore in a village). The previous chairwoman resigned (as she chose not to run for reëlection to the Village Board).
I am now the longest-serving trustee on my village board (approximately the equivalent of a city council in a bigger town than 124 people). Democrats can fight and win in areas that are deeply red. In fact, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight noted that this House District was most likely to go for Mr. Donald Trump for President. (Surprise, it did.) We just have to find local people willing to put forth effort. My reëlection campaign here in 2014 cost $0: It consisted of talking with everyone in town.
As all politics is local, and the way you train up national politicians is to start at the bottom and work up, I encourage everyone that cares about progressive and liberal causes to engage in their communities. No one here in this very conservative village is out with pitchforks and torches to “burn the liberal” out — my community knows who I am, and knows I care about it.
"When they come, they come, to build a wall between us, we know that they won't win." -- Neil Finn of Crowded Houe (from the song "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House, 1986). Neil Finn performs in Auckland on acoustic guitar backed by strings in a mesmerising performance in 2015 (4:44)
Additional: I am aware that Daily Kos has a rule that politicians should post under their real names; at what point in my meteoric rise (ha!) do I have to give up my nom de plume and use my real name here? County commission? State senator? (I am considering running for the county board of supervisors in the next election against a person I view as a true wingnut Navy veteran. I can take away the Navy veteran talking point from him as I am as well. He gave a speech on Memorial Day talking about bathroom panic by liberals here in town that offended the majority of the village.)