By Deborah Angell Smith, Collin County Democratic Chair, 2003 – 2007
Most people don’t understand what’s really involved in being the County Chair of a local political party, so, since I’ve “been there; done that,” let me fill you in.
While there are the obvious public responsibilities – leading meetings, and representing our Party in the media – most of the real work goes on behind the scenes.
There are certainly similarities to leading clubs, neighborhood associations or other not-for-profit organizations you may belong to, but many of the responsibilities of a County Chair are far more serious. Much of what we do as a Party comes with strict guidelines, deadlines and responsibilities required by state law, and the County Chair is the person ultimately responsible for all of them.
For example, running the Primary Election is, in fact, a full-time job, in some cases managing a budget of more than $100,000. Of course, it’s really the taxpayer’s money, so the County Chair is held personally responsible and must account for every penny. If funds are mismanaged or used inappropriately, no matter by whom, he or she could go to prison and/or pay thousands in fines. One thinks very carefully before delegating these tasks.
Other anxiety-inducing responsibilities include accepting and verifying candidate applications, petitions and fees, defending our votes in general elections, as well as participating in hiring, and potentially firing, the County Elections Administrator. Even if they seem routine, errors or questionable judgement on any of these can also result in legal issues or a public relations nightmare.
As the official spokesperson for the Party, the County Chair is at times called upon to comment on local, state and national issues, so he or she should be up on current events and ready to respond at a moment’s notice. In a suburban county, we’re down the call list for regional media, but occasionally, we get lucky. When we do get coverage, the County Chair must be careful to say just the right thing. A mis-statement of facts or hot-headed response could be a real problem for our Party and all Democrats.
And then there’s politics. Let’s talk about external politics first. As the leader of the Party, the County Chair is responsible for developing and implementing long and short-term goals, as well as the strategies and tactics to achieve them. But with a constantly changing political environment, and widely varying influences from the national level on down, this can be extremely challenging. Even if we’re doing a fantastic job on the local level, if the national and state party organizations don’t have a strong, clear message and effective strategies it can be hard to make progress.
And then there’s the internal politics, which can be even more complicated. At times, it can feel like being an overwhelmed kindergarten teacher, with competing egos, passionate arguments, complex issues and never enough resources. The ability to stay cool and calm while arbitrating disagreements is a highly valued skill.
The care and management (and often literal feeding) of volunteers is critical. While you can certainly pin a star on those who contribute their time and resources consistently, those who don’t “play well with others” can’t be consigned to the corner. Every volunteer, even the troublesome ones, must be respected and appreciated, or it can discourage the rest.
Trying to keep everyone happy, motivated and moving in the same direction should be a full-time job, but wait – most of our County Chairs already have one – and ours is an all-volunteer organization. Balancing this very demanding volunteer job, along with a professional career and a personal life is a very difficult feat that very few master.
Ideally, a County Chair should be able to serve without endangering their marriage, career or health. Given the size of our organization, it’s no longer possible for one person to keep track of everything, so our County Chair must have trustworthy “middle managers” to depend on. This means being able to recruit and retain volunteers with management skills, and who are willing to devote a significant amount of their spare time to the Party.
Having found a number of these paragons, the County Chair must delegate effectively, monitor their progress and encourage them all to get along. Of course, it’s easier said than done. Invariably, despite our best efforts, leaders drop out for personal and professional reasons, and have to be replaced, often at the most inconvenient times. We have likened it to the “Whack-A-Mole” game, and that’s not too far off. The one thing we can count on as volunteer leaders is constant change.
Of course, our most important job is electing Democrats. Since we haven’t elected Democrats in partisan races in Collin County in decades, some say we’ve failed. I say that’s far too simplistic and doesn’t consider the history and dynamics of our state and region.
Texas has always been a conservative state. When I first got involved in politics in the 70’s it was solidly Democratic, but the Democrats who were running things were conservative. For a variety of reasons, most of them migrated to the Republican Party in the 80’s. Even though Collin County has experienced an enormous growth spurt, with many residents moving in from more progressive states, we have remained a majority Republican county.
I’ve seen many enthusiastic newbies declare they’re going to completely remake the political landscape in one election cycle. One doesn’t want to squash their enthusiasm, but honestly, that’s just not realistic. Growth of 4 – 5 points in our base vote is very good, and the amount of work necessary to exceed that is tremendous.
When you have more registered voters than several entire states (c. 500K+), as we do in Collin County, and a strong and reliable base of Republican voters, that kind of change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a consistent, ongoing effort by a very large group of regular volunteers. Each potential Democratic voter, including independents and persuadable Republicans, should be “touched” several times, ideally in a personal way. Do the math and you’ll see why changing the landscape is a long-term proposition.
Successful leaders know how to set reasonable expectations and achievable goals. While we certainly wanted to win local races in recent years, it’s important to recognize that we achieved important goals, and all the hard work by candidates and hundreds of volunteers made a real difference.
Growth in engagement, activism, candidates and donations are all leading indicators for improvement in voting trends. We’ve also flipped precincts and contributed significant percentages to regional and statewide races. Most importantly, we increased our base vote and our network of identified Democratic voters.
I’ve heard County Chairs say it’s a “thankless job,” and I admit there are times it feels that way, but in retrospect I feel like it was one of the most important things I’ve done. It was tremendous to see, in a very tangible way, that my leadership and the work we all did made a difference. Because of our activism, policy changes were made, more people engaged in their government and lives were improved.
Given my decades of experience in politics and in Collin County, I think Mike Rawlins and his team have done an outstanding job. We as voters and Democratic activists should be thrilled that he is willing to continue as County Chair and resoundingly support him and his team at the polls and throughout the next term as volunteers and donors.