Thanks for an excellent article, Michelle. I have been a Democratic Precinct Coordinator for my precinct for a year and have been acting as the Precinct Chair for this period in the absence of one. It helped me build relationships with Democrats in my precinct. I am running for TX State Representative in District 121 in Bexar County and 38 of the 78 Precincts in my district are without a chair, which hurts in voter reach out. So I totally agree with your recommendation in the article and will share it.
The Bexar county Democratic Party has been very helpful and they have awesome volunteers. For example, they record the video of short two to three minutes speech for each Democratic candidate and give it a professional look. Quite a few precinct chairs offered to distribute campaign literature for all Democratic candidates even though they stay neutral in the primary. As Precinct coordinator, I got trained by very dedicated volunteers. They organized events to let candidates speak and answer questions. I am amazed by their dedication to help Democrats win. This is why it is so important to get the vacant precinct chairs filled to expand their sphere of positive influence. Their fundraising is mostly local.
The state party has deputed a person to make sure that we file our campaign finance reports on time. They provide access and support for VAN voter database, which is a critical resource.
This is a compelling argument for why we must immediately start recruiting and training precinct chairs. My county's number is quite low - we have a lot of work to do!
Yes, I agree. That's why I'm putting this out there. Hopefully it makes a difference. I'll probably talk about it more later this year. But more precinct chairs (that are active) is a key ingredient to flipping this state.
My sense is that we're playing the long, long game much as I'd prefer that not to be the case. Results show that areas with active PCs have higher turnout. Before we go blue, we'll have to go purple. Even that in the current ultra MAGA red environment is an uphill climb. But doing nothing won't fix it. And at some point, inch by inch, we'll get to the tipping point.
I saw your comment from today and I accidently deleted it when I was trying to delete someone else's comment (sorry). Just wanted to let you know it wasn't on purpose.
I’ve recruited a few people in Hidalgo County. It’s a desert out here. But I’m working hard to bring people in. In fact, I’m sending this article to people I’ve asked to become PCs. It really does make a difference.
i understand what ur are saying about voter contact....the term of art is 'touch'..how can u "touch" a voter
Colin Allread is 'touching' the hell out of me,,,emails 5-10 x a day............like Willie's song.......He is always on my mind. So that is cost effective.
our CD 12 candidate said he has to go begging for access to VAN from our Chair.
Yes to this! And if you're not a Precinct Chair, find out who is in that role in your precinct and get in touch. If there isn't one, get in touch with the one nearest you.
I have a system going in my organization. I had to start from scratch. I had to dig for the information, pc district borders, pc lists, application form… I’m now teaching others and they are recruiting.
Bexar , Dallas and Harris have this funy habit....you all win............Tarrant was purple and now red.......our county party has no engagement what-so-ever with voters...............to the average Tarrant Dem the Dem party is invisible. Hell the R party calls us America's largest MAGA county. TCDP reacts by proving them right.
We have had 2 'selected ' chairs, IOW picked by the EC*. Neither had the skills necessary to engage the voters nor evidentally the desire.............Take a look at the staff directly. Its a advertismet for "DEI needed here'. Could it be the problem? IDK. Could it be 'Club for Gail**? Again i don't know but TCDP seems not to be functioning on behalf of voters. Like i said I haven't heard from my pct chair in 8+ years , and I have one, at least i have a Chair listed. What's a voter to do?........Soros/Beto group skipping Tarrant County so i guess TDP and everybody else thinks we are a right off...............
You can't enthuse voters if you don't talk to them. Last one to do that was Beto for Senate, even Beto for Govenor overlooked us..............
I tell anyone who will listen, and as i posted here recently, 70% of voters are seniors and 70% of seniors don't do SM........................Our only point of contact from any candidate or the party is SM, except Colin who emails all the time....hitting us senoirs , with our cheater's on, reading our emails 10x a day. The Tarrant County Dem Party doesn't even have a functional FB.....So i ask u, whats a voter going to do?
You will never turn this state blue without Tarrant County but now we are the proverbial red-headed step child.
*this leads to 2 questions.........i offered organization and cash to set-up voter outreach tables in malls to educate folks on HC during open enrollment......i even had a slogan....."Dems-We Own HC and we got UR Back". No one but no one, not the Chair, the ED, or any EC's even wanted to discuss it...our current Chair ,Crystal Gayden, got ugly when i was persistant.
*Our last 2 Chairs were on the EC when they were selected by the EC to be Chair....What could go wrong?
I learned a lot from Beto. I’m just doing my thing. I’m not waiting for a cavalry to arrive. I’m recruiting precinct chairs, people who are like you and me. I had them be VDRs and had them go to VDR events organized by other organizations.
We are the party, in the sense of grassroots organizing. People know we are working. My hope is that the local party doesn’t feel intimidated by our presence. I hope the party sees us as a group of fierce mothers with the only goal to make a difference and bring out democratic voters.
Congrats VBD.....that is exactly what is needed, to basicaly to ignore the party if its not doing anything....some are , Travis , Bexar ,Dallas , Houston are winning....Tarrant never....Beto 2018 is a close as teh county came even if the City of FTW is purple. something to conside if any is paying attention.
My Pct. Chair is an Election Judge >Meaning she ought to know how to pct chair, right?.....Does she think it an honorarium or something. Like I said, not a peep in 8+ years. I have told HQ this a dozen times....They don't acknowledge the problem.
From the only guy in my pct. and zip code with beto, peeples, hunt yard signs..............E/ven with that i can't get any outreach...
I feel your frustration, Tim. And share it to some extent. The reality is that the Rs have more money in this state and they use some of it to recruit, train, and support their PCs. It becomes a coveted position. In Williamson county, for ex, in the recent primary, there were a number of contested races for PC. Even here in Travis Cty, most PCs are the only person who agreed to take on the role. Being an Election Judge from what I know doesn't prepare you to be a PC. A HUGE issue is how to best reach people. Door to door yields maybe one good conversation for every 20-40 doors. I have 3500+ doors in my precinct. It's not feasible for me as a volunteer to get to all of them. People don't answer their phone for #s they don't know, dontt respond to text or email. I wish I had someone as passionate as you are in my precinct!
thanks Lucy for describing the nuts and bolt of the thing.......
one thing to consider is R's have done this....so its not inventing wheel...i
If Dems ever want to win Texas they have got to come to Tarrant County.........if they don't we won't perform...look at our Masthead...er...home page...........not a picture of diversity. I wonder who they are working for.... as a lawyer u can be a Chair in a failed county party and still it works for ur law pratice.
ask my former boss Chas. Soechting...he rode failure all the way to the State Chair.
news bulletin: a week before the primary TCDP doesn't have a communications0 director
no primary news will be reported
no one will write the Bulletin which is mostly cut and paste from national news but it has delivered some party news to those who read it. It is better than nothing if only to show some engagement with the electorate.............The last issues was maybe 2 months ago
to quote Michele 'The Democratic Party will give you access to training and resources. This can include everything from voter registration drives to digital organizing tools and enhancing community organizing."
the only way to do that is to have an email list. Our CD 12 candidates have FB with 83 and 400 followers respectfully...........so that ain't it...mail?..way too expensive.....door knocking* maybe once and then 3/4 don't anwer /not home....phone banking same.........................
email list ...that's another thing....TCDP and TDP haven't said if the have any kind of email list and if would they share it.....i have a pct chair..haven't heard from her in 8+ years.
so ask someone to chair and then given them no material resources but a hand out and a pep talk is not gonna to work
* i door knock with AFL_CIO in North FTW.............................................nobody but nobody was home
and they never did it again..TCDP never has organized any major door knocking or phone banking campaign....they have $350,000, a pct chair has loose change and a generous spouse
Yeah. Some Democratic primaries are not as visible as we'd like. I would expect that to change in March, and if it doesn't, they aren't doing it right.
Thanks for an excellent article, Michelle. I have been a Democratic Precinct Coordinator for my precinct for a year and have been acting as the Precinct Chair for this period in the absence of one. It helped me build relationships with Democrats in my precinct. I am running for TX State Representative in District 121 in Bexar County and 38 of the 78 Precincts in my district are without a chair, which hurts in voter reach out. So I totally agree with your recommendation in the article and will share it.
Yes. Thank you. We need more precinct chairs. It's an important piece to flipping the state.
what resources did county party or state party give u?
The Bexar county Democratic Party has been very helpful and they have awesome volunteers. For example, they record the video of short two to three minutes speech for each Democratic candidate and give it a professional look. Quite a few precinct chairs offered to distribute campaign literature for all Democratic candidates even though they stay neutral in the primary. As Precinct coordinator, I got trained by very dedicated volunteers. They organized events to let candidates speak and answer questions. I am amazed by their dedication to help Democrats win. This is why it is so important to get the vacant precinct chairs filled to expand their sphere of positive influence. Their fundraising is mostly local.
The state party has deputed a person to make sure that we file our campaign finance reports on time. They provide access and support for VAN voter database, which is a critical resource.
Shekhar is in Bexar County. Their local party is different. Idk if that's good or bad, but different.
Also, the State Party has rolled our new training resources this year (2024) under the leadership of Monique Alcala.
This is a compelling argument for why we must immediately start recruiting and training precinct chairs. My county's number is quite low - we have a lot of work to do!
Yes, I agree. That's why I'm putting this out there. Hopefully it makes a difference. I'll probably talk about it more later this year. But more precinct chairs (that are active) is a key ingredient to flipping this state.
My sense is that we're playing the long, long game much as I'd prefer that not to be the case. Results show that areas with active PCs have higher turnout. Before we go blue, we'll have to go purple. Even that in the current ultra MAGA red environment is an uphill climb. But doing nothing won't fix it. And at some point, inch by inch, we'll get to the tipping point.
I saw your comment from today and I accidently deleted it when I was trying to delete someone else's comment (sorry). Just wanted to let you know it wasn't on purpose.
I’ve recruited a few people in Hidalgo County. It’s a desert out here. But I’m working hard to bring people in. In fact, I’m sending this article to people I’ve asked to become PCs. It really does make a difference.
Wonderful! I hope ya'll get behind Michelle Vallejo! https://www.michellefortx15.com/
There’s a supporter next to Michelle. 😉
https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2024-03-06/rematch-set-for-competitive-south-texas-congressional-districts-15-and-34
Absolutely. I think I'm mutuals with her on TikTok, but I think she's a fantastic candidate and absolutely am behind her.
I agree. Thanks!
i understand what ur are saying about voter contact....the term of art is 'touch'..how can u "touch" a voter
Colin Allread is 'touching' the hell out of me,,,emails 5-10 x a day............like Willie's song.......He is always on my mind. So that is cost effective.
our CD 12 candidate said he has to go begging for access to VAN from our Chair.
Yes to this! And if you're not a Precinct Chair, find out who is in that role in your precinct and get in touch. If there isn't one, get in touch with the one nearest you.
I have a system going in my organization. I had to start from scratch. I had to dig for the information, pc district borders, pc lists, application form… I’m now teaching others and they are recruiting.
I'd be interested in learning more about that. Email me if you're open to sharing.
Bexar , Dallas and Harris have this funy habit....you all win............Tarrant was purple and now red.......our county party has no engagement what-so-ever with voters...............to the average Tarrant Dem the Dem party is invisible. Hell the R party calls us America's largest MAGA county. TCDP reacts by proving them right.
We have had 2 'selected ' chairs, IOW picked by the EC*. Neither had the skills necessary to engage the voters nor evidentally the desire.............Take a look at the staff directly. Its a advertismet for "DEI needed here'. Could it be the problem? IDK. Could it be 'Club for Gail**? Again i don't know but TCDP seems not to be functioning on behalf of voters. Like i said I haven't heard from my pct chair in 8+ years , and I have one, at least i have a Chair listed. What's a voter to do?........Soros/Beto group skipping Tarrant County so i guess TDP and everybody else thinks we are a right off...............
You can't enthuse voters if you don't talk to them. Last one to do that was Beto for Senate, even Beto for Govenor overlooked us..............
I tell anyone who will listen, and as i posted here recently, 70% of voters are seniors and 70% of seniors don't do SM........................Our only point of contact from any candidate or the party is SM, except Colin who emails all the time....hitting us senoirs , with our cheater's on, reading our emails 10x a day. The Tarrant County Dem Party doesn't even have a functional FB.....So i ask u, whats a voter going to do?
You will never turn this state blue without Tarrant County but now we are the proverbial red-headed step child.
*this leads to 2 questions.........i offered organization and cash to set-up voter outreach tables in malls to educate folks on HC during open enrollment......i even had a slogan....."Dems-We Own HC and we got UR Back". No one but no one, not the Chair, the ED, or any EC's even wanted to discuss it...our current Chair ,Crystal Gayden, got ugly when i was persistant.
*Our last 2 Chairs were on the EC when they were selected by the EC to be Chair....What could go wrong?
**Question 1
WTF?
Question 2
Who wants to work with these people?
I learned a lot from Beto. I’m just doing my thing. I’m not waiting for a cavalry to arrive. I’m recruiting precinct chairs, people who are like you and me. I had them be VDRs and had them go to VDR events organized by other organizations.
We are the party, in the sense of grassroots organizing. People know we are working. My hope is that the local party doesn’t feel intimidated by our presence. I hope the party sees us as a group of fierce mothers with the only goal to make a difference and bring out democratic voters.
The local party should join forces with you. We all need to work together.
Congrats VBD.....that is exactly what is needed, to basicaly to ignore the party if its not doing anything....some are , Travis , Bexar ,Dallas , Houston are winning....Tarrant never....Beto 2018 is a close as teh county came even if the City of FTW is purple. something to conside if any is paying attention.
My Pct. Chair is an Election Judge >Meaning she ought to know how to pct chair, right?.....Does she think it an honorarium or something. Like I said, not a peep in 8+ years. I have told HQ this a dozen times....They don't acknowledge the problem.
From the only guy in my pct. and zip code with beto, peeples, hunt yard signs..............E/ven with that i can't get any outreach...
"Welcome to TCDP....Alienating voters since 1992"
I feel your frustration, Tim. And share it to some extent. The reality is that the Rs have more money in this state and they use some of it to recruit, train, and support their PCs. It becomes a coveted position. In Williamson county, for ex, in the recent primary, there were a number of contested races for PC. Even here in Travis Cty, most PCs are the only person who agreed to take on the role. Being an Election Judge from what I know doesn't prepare you to be a PC. A HUGE issue is how to best reach people. Door to door yields maybe one good conversation for every 20-40 doors. I have 3500+ doors in my precinct. It's not feasible for me as a volunteer to get to all of them. People don't answer their phone for #s they don't know, dontt respond to text or email. I wish I had someone as passionate as you are in my precinct!
thanks Lucy for describing the nuts and bolt of the thing.......
one thing to consider is R's have done this....so its not inventing wheel...i
If Dems ever want to win Texas they have got to come to Tarrant County.........if they don't we won't perform...look at our Masthead...er...home page...........not a picture of diversity. I wonder who they are working for.... as a lawyer u can be a Chair in a failed county party and still it works for ur law pratice.
ask my former boss Chas. Soechting...he rode failure all the way to the State Chair.
Dang!
news bulletin: a week before the primary TCDP doesn't have a communications0 director
no primary news will be reported
no one will write the Bulletin which is mostly cut and paste from national news but it has delivered some party news to those who read it. It is better than nothing if only to show some engagement with the electorate.............The last issues was maybe 2 months ago
They don't? WTF. That's not good.
That's how it is in other places. It's weird how some want the Precinct Chair title so badly and refuse to give it up or do any work.
to quote Michele 'The Democratic Party will give you access to training and resources. This can include everything from voter registration drives to digital organizing tools and enhancing community organizing."
the only way to do that is to have an email list. Our CD 12 candidates have FB with 83 and 400 followers respectfully...........so that ain't it...mail?..way too expensive.....door knocking* maybe once and then 3/4 don't anwer /not home....phone banking same.........................
email list ...that's another thing....TCDP and TDP haven't said if the have any kind of email list and if would they share it.....i have a pct chair..haven't heard from her in 8+ years.
so ask someone to chair and then given them no material resources but a hand out and a pep talk is not gonna to work
* i door knock with AFL_CIO in North FTW.............................................nobody but nobody was home
and they never did it again..TCDP never has organized any major door knocking or phone banking campaign....they have $350,000, a pct chair has loose change and a generous spouse
Yeah. Some Democratic primaries are not as visible as we'd like. I would expect that to change in March, and if it doesn't, they aren't doing it right.
it is March.