I want to thank Sean over at Nashville for the 21st Century for his thoughtful response to my last post. I also want to say I agree with his sentiment that the two year term essentially allows us to give a progress report after every election. I think this is good and necessary if the Chair is to have any type of legitimacy.
I do take one issue, however, with his comments about people outside the I-440 loop. Sean asserts that people outside this loop don't really know or care what's going on with TNDP bylaws. I suppose this would include the EC members from East TN and West TN that I spoke with who are unsure as well.
I take issue here because it's indicative of broader attitude in the Nashville area. I have lived in all three grand divisions, in all of Tennnessee's 4 major cities and I have been active with those Democratic Parties. They are strong, they are active and they are where the action is. The decisions made inside the 440 loop have just as much--if not MORE--effect on them as democrats than they do on the Nashville area. Those outside areas are where we lost seats, those outside areas are were the majority of Democrats reside and those outside areas care just as much about whose running our party and for how long as those in Davidson County do.
I think this is a bad idea. I think we need input from our party chairs and volunteers, those people on the ground who do the actual work.
When it comes to EC members outside the 440 loop, I would have assumed they knew about this proposed amendment simply because it has been on the agenda for a few months now, it was discussed at the last EC meeting, and there have been emails for and against it that were sent out to all the members of the Executive Committee. Now, if they are unsure of the reasons for this or how they will vote, I completely understand, as I'm not entirely clear on why this is necessary or how I will vote. But that's why we have debates on the floor and open communication among the committee.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm sure there is some interest outside of Nashville among non-committee members about the inner-workings of the party, my feeling is that those people are few and far between. But, for anyone who does take a keen interest in the internal workings of the Exec Committee, nearly every meeting I've ever been to has been open to the public and activists, both while I was on the committee and the years preceding it. So, I would encourage, as it seems you have been doing, all Democrats who do care to keep in contact with their Executive Committee members to know what is going on. In my capacity as TNYD President, I would be happy to answer questions or discuss any matters some might have regarding what is happening at the party.