Thoughts Regarding DCDP

Walter Wm. Hofheinz
wwh@hofheinzlaw.com
214.363.2400
Revised April 11, 2005

Introduction

Although a long-time active Democrat (I actually was an organizer of Youth for Yarborough in the distant past, and was very active in Taylor County before moving here in 1990), I was on sabbatical during the ‘90s while raising my kids. It was relatively astonishing to me that during that period I received absolutely no communications from the county party, and only a few from democratic candidates. I saw Ken Mohlberg a few times on TV while he was County Chair, but otherwise the party was invisible.

In 2002, as many of you know, I became active again. As a relative newcomer to Dallas County and democratic politics here, following my race in 2002 and during the 2004 campaign cycle I talked with many candidates and other people about what the county party might be doing that would in the long run improve our chances of becoming the dominant party. During the 2004 election cycle, the only communications I received from the party were fund solicitations, without any corresponding reporting of what the party was doing or hoped to accomplish, and an occasional periodic email which basically was an event announcement list-serve.

Last November, I prepared the the precedessor of the following “Discussion Draft” of what has occurred to me as I have considered what the county party should be doing. Obviously this is not a solo or overnight project, and will required prioritization and follow-through on a long-term basis. If we provide this type of outreach and support to our candidates, however, I believe we have a chance to make Dallas County, Texas, and our country a better place to live. You will note that fund raising is not listed as a goal. This is intentional, because while necessary to accomplish some of these goals, it is a means not an end. I believe that if our goals are clear and supported, funds will be forthcoming (albeit with some effort....).

As Chair, I would approach the job on the basis of the following principles:

1. Keep attention on the long term, while meeting short-term needs within that context. 
2. Focus on development of policy, oversight of execution, and public relations and visibility, not on performing day-to-day operations.  The executive director should act as the chief operating officer of the Party.
3. Actively work to include all of Dallas County — south, north, west, and east, inside and outside LBJ, of all ethnic heritages — in Party activities and efforts, and listen effectively to all those who would contribute.

I look forward to your comments.

Initial Priorities

1. Provide tools and resources that candidates and Precinct Chairs say they need to be effective.  These may include a comprehensive campaign task guide and checklist, additional information about campaigning, public relations and press distribution support, accessible voter information, and other direct resources.  The actual resources and their order of priority should be determined in consultation with candidates (past and present) and the Precinct Chairs.  This is not an overnight task, but will require prioritization and long-term effort, beyond what can be done in preparation for the 2006 election cycle. A detailed list of items that might be considered follows below.

2. Facilitate development by the Executive Committee of local rules and structures for orderly, trained transition of DCDP governance, and optimized communications and accountability, including: 

• A permanent Advisory Committee
• Regular meetings of the Executive Committee
• Standing subcommittees
• Documented procedures and guidelines, and
• Transparent financial management procedures and guidelines. 

Such actions would provide the framework for long-term stability and success.

Many of the fundamental problems that the Partgy faces are simply the result of what has effectively been ad hoc administration of the Party—sometimes effective, sometimes benign, and more recently problematic.  Simply changing who is focusing on an ad hoc basis on the particular task at hand will not correct the larger systemic problem of a lack of broad participation, communication, accountability, and accumulation of shared knowledge.  While a step in the right direction, the recently formed Advisory Committee and functional area committees are not sufficient alone.

3. Begin the process of regular, non-fund-raising communication to the core Democrats of Dallas County. I believe that if we are to be effective in the long run, it is important that we build a community of interest larger than only the self-motivated activists and club members, officials, and candidates.  Just as every church needs a congregation, not just ministers, lay leaders, and the choir, the county Party needs to create a larger community and context, which will sustain and support effective campaigns and a continuing perception of presence of the Party in the community. This might begin with a semi-annual newsletter including Party and candidate information distributed to DDDDs, and eventually be expanded to all those voting in a Democratic primary.  While I am a firm believer in technology, passively making information available on the rapidly improving Party website, or email distribution only, is not sufficient.  I believe that broader on-going communications will increase the involvement of under-represented parts of the County, expand the available volunteer base, and indirectly increase the contributor base both to candidates and the Party.

Four basic goals:

1. Outreach to Base of 40K Core Dems

• Newsletter or other non-fundraising regular communication
• Guest columnists, paper and email
• Regular non-fundraising events
• Candidate and officeholder forums (various distributed locations)
• Link to candidates and officeholders
• Issue write ups
• Website
• Calendar

2. Candidate Training and Development

• Identification
• Assistance in understanding needed commitment
• Assistance in obtaining skills needed to campaign effectively
• Media presentation and relation training
• Make sure all races have a Democratic candidate
• Try to discourage primary competition if there are still equivalent empty slots

3. Campaign Infrastructure Development

Comprehensive campaign task guide and checklist, and identification of additional information about campaigning

Direct resources

• Voter information access via web (perhaps in conjunction with state party?)
• Maps and boundaries
• Geographic information systems
• Archive of information developed by campaigns
• Media guide with contacts
• Webhosting
• Cooperative purchasing
• Phone bank systems and support
• Precinct chair and party organization support

Resource lists (with evaluations)

• Printers
• Mailhouses
• Graphic Design
• Campaign staff
• Mentors
• Campaign consulting
• Webhosting
• Vendors (signs, stickers, etc.)

Volunteer support

• Volunteer clearinghouse
• Scheduling infrastructure

4. Public Relations and Visibility

• Regular and continuing media comment and contact
• Create on-going relationships with relevant news distributors
• Access to appropriate comment expertise
• Consolidated advertising (like billboards or Garland published aggregation)
• Media presentation and relation training
• Encourage letters to the editor – email Dems on topics, provide contact list on website

Other thoughts

• Direct research to determine demographics and motivators for 42% who did not vote in 2004
• Religious outreach
• Outreach to democratic clubs
• Election oversight (support Citizens for Equality for election oversight and voter education)
• Alliances/cooperation with other groups
• Negotiate airtime on KERA and other stations for all minor candidates
• Voter registration
• Maintain the momentum and channel the anger and energy that people have today before it fizzles out!
• Commentaries on relevant topics to provide suggested talking points and useful ways to frame arguments
• Development of local rules and structures for orderly, trained transition of DCDP governance, including Advisory Committee recently established, regular meetings of Executive Committee, standing subcommittees, documented procedures and guidelines, transparent financial management

Paid for by Walter Wm. Hofheinz. ©2005 Walter Wm. Hofheinz.
Last modified April 20, 2005 10:11 pm