Hello Everyone. My name is Melissa Fazli and I live in Yorba Linda, California with my 3 sons and husband of 19 years. I am the newly elected California Democratic Party Executive Board Member for AD55. I am also running for the DNC Vice Chairperson for Civic Engagement and Voter Protection.
There are currently a total of 4 of us running for the same position; Karen Carter Peterson, Chris Reeves, and Yasmine Taeb. The 447 members of the DNC will get to choose on February 25th who will get this title, but rest assure no matter the outcome I will be truly dedicated to this division of the DNC. I am willing to bet that all the candidates feel the same way or they would not be running. We are all well qualified for this position and we all love the Democratic Party.
Just yesterday I sent out an email outlining Civic Engagement of what elected officials should be doing now. I spoke to Dr. Ferguson Reid of 90for90.org and shared them with him. You should definitely take a look at the amazing work they have done. He suggested that I post here at Daily Kos, so you can take a look at what I wrote, so please comment below any corrections and or additions you think are needed. I believe in an open door policy to all members of the Democratic Party, so feel free to contact me on Twitter @MelissaFazli. Next post will be my ideas on Voter Protection/Registration. Thank you.
I've been on a few conference calls lately with different groups of Democrats. They are rightfully angry, but no one had any ideas on how to harness that anger except to channel it in local civil rights organizations. I've come up with a several ideas on how to harness that anger to better the DNC Civic Engagement.
1. Every Democratic elected official needs to participate in their local protests and get on television and social media. Wear a button with your name and position, chant with the protestors, and do a small speech. Take Elizabeth Warren as a prime example.
2. Do not use any sugar coated language. Say what you mean and don't apologize for it. The days of using politically correct words need to go. Take Maxine Waters as a prime example.
3. Take lots of pictures and video on your smart phone and post them to your social media. There are times when the media can't get to the protests, so they get permission to use media from those who posted online.
4. Hold a town hall or a conference call with your constituents. They want to hear from you and know where you stand on the votes and issues.
5. Put online petitions and surveys on your website. If you have an active Twitter account ask a polling question. This is very easy to do and it's very engaging to the public.
6. If a constituents calls and leaves their phone number, call them back. This will lead to them feeling like their voices are being heard and will spread quickly that you care.
7. Take voter registration cards with you to a protest or a town hall meeting. Ask the Independents to join the Democrats and more power to you if you can get a Republican to defect.
Don't wait and use these ideas now. We have to strike while the iron is hot.