All across the country, the most basic element of our Democratic Party infrastructure is in a state of chronic shortage; the precinct-level representative.
The office is unpaid in most cases. You have to be elected in most cases. You have to walk your Precinct and drop off literature to its voters advising them who your candidates are. You're only a household name in a few houses near yours. People might look at you a little sideways for taking this on. "Why?" they may ask.
Because of many reasons. I'm going to start writing a note a day about reasons why I became a Committee-whatever. I'll call it "Why I'm a PC: Reason of the day."
Let's start with this one: getting to know your neighbors.
These days, it seems like few of us know the people who live around us are. Do they care about anything? Do they need help with anything? What are their talents, hobbies, hopes, and dreams? Have they just moved in, are they moving out, have they lived here for years? What neat little neighborhood things might they know that I don't? What is the most local of local history? Is there a hidden path or trail I don't know? Community garden plots? A little park that could use fixing or cleaning? Great recipes in their family? Local artists, craftsmen, or musicians?
Being a Precinct Whatever can give you a chance to find some of those things out. It also can give you a chance to help build a sense of local community. It doesn't have to be just politics - that's just your minimum function.
I want to get better at this. I think this part of it is key.
Food for thought, hmm?
All the best,
Dan
Yep Dan it is food for thought. By law (the Illinois constitution) we're called precinct committeemen no matter what sex. I know some people don't like the inherent sexism in that term but to change it we'd have to change the constitution. The way Republicans are these days if we tried to pass an amendment to change this they might use it as excuse to open a pandora's box of problems. Don't even get me started on what they'd do if we had a new constitutional convention.
ReplyDeleteMark, thank you for stopping in. I do understand that the terminology is codified in law, but I didn't realize it was set in the constitution. I'm not advocating a constitutional convention. This is more my ironic sense in play. I was raised by a single-parent feminist mother, so it gets under my skin a tad.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Dan
This is the full text of the Illinois Constitution:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/conent.htm
I could've missed something, but I don't see where it says anything about precinct committeemen. I'm pretty sure that they're defined by statute, not the Constitution.
Thanks for that link to the State Constitution, Gary. I'm going to add it to my link-list on the right sidebar of the blog.
ReplyDeleteDan