What is our response to the catastrophic failure of government in Michigan?
Will we say, oh, it’s too hard, they have too much money, we can never hope to push back—or will we continue to ORGANIZE and to stand up for ourselves and for our communities?
I can tell you where my sympathies reside. Now it’s more important than ever for us to reclaim our public space, exercise our community-building muscles, and kick these right-wing extremists to the curb. It’s OUR state to enjoy and protect, OUR children to nurture and teach, not theirs to plunder and ruin, or to limit and oppress.
With me so far? Good. The next step might be a little more challenging. I’m going to ask you to step forward in your communities and help with party organizing by becoming a Precinct Delegate.
Every voting precinct in Michigan has at least one Democratic Precinct Delegate. Officially and formally, the Precinct Delegate’s job is simple and the responsibilities are few: show up at county-level and state-wide Party meetings, and vote on party platform planks and convention delegates. (This year, those responsibilities may well be unusually important.)
Unofficially, Precinct Delegates are the grassroots of the party. They--we—are the people on the ground, in the neighborhoods, talking with neighbors and finding out what issues and concerns are at the top of people’s minds. They can help convey information from elected officials to their constituents, and from the constituents to the elected. And, of course, they are of key importance for GOTV efforts.
NOW is the time to sign up to be listed on the August 2nd 2016 primary ballot as a candidate for Precinct Delegate. All you need to do to run is be at least 18 years old; a U.S. citizen; a registered voter; a resident of the precinct you wish to represent. Easy, no?
The whole process of filing is not that much more complicated. No filing fee and no petition signatures are required. All you need is a notarized Affidavit of Identity which you must complete and submit to your County Clerk by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, May 3rd—or two weeks from yesterday.
This year, we in Michigan are at a crisis point. We cannot afford to continue with this profoundly misguided and corrupt GOP rule in the legislature and the governorship (to say nothing about the ostensibly non-partisan courts). When we vote, we win—a message we’ve all heard thousands of times if we’ve heard it once. We must win in 2016.