It’s another Saturday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic Campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up anytime: Just visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I tackle issues I’ve been asked about, and with the help of other campaign workers and notes, we discuss how to improve and build better campaigns.
With a title like “Dividing a county party,” you might be thinking about harms that can come to any Democratic organization. Instead, I want to focus on ways that county organizations have successfully divided their workloads in larger counties, and combined resources in less-populated counties.
Ready to look at strategies for your county organization?
The first goal of any Democratic organization is always the same: It exists to support and elect Democratic candidates at all levels. Around the country, county organizations have adapted the way they function in order to accomplish that goal. If your county organization is struggling, you might consider some of these efforts that have been proven effective in other areas of the country.
Large-population counties? Divide the workload
Large-population counties are home to a lot of elections for Democratic activists to work on. They can have numerous state House and state Senate races. They may be the heart of an entire congressional district. The growth in population can present complications in handling a county organization. High population means large numbers of precinct committee members looking to complete the task of electing a Democratic candidate. So, considering those challenges, around the country we’ve seen county organizations organize to divide the workload.
While county organizations have the traditional structure, often required by state statute, of a chair, vice chair, and treasurer established for state ethics reporting, large counties create new roles and staff them with volunteers. Some solutions have included:
- Dividing workload by cardinal direction: meeting of the Northern County Democratic Party; Western County Democratic Leadership Committee.
- Create voting district captains or chairs to allow each state Senate or state House district to elect its own leadership, determine who will arrange and hold meetings for the district, and communicate with precinct committee members.
- Divide functionality by key tasks: creating committees by task to help lighten the load.
These divisions make for a lighter workload. They can also make for a more successful organization.
Low- or sparse-population counties? Divide and multiply
While large counties have to work to make sure that they can use their resources effectively, organizations in low-population counties struggle to have anyone show up at all. County meetings can boil down to four or five people who show up every month, with growth remaining stagnant. With so few people, what can you really divide?
Low-population counties have a different need for division. Some successful methods have included:
- Divide the number of meetings. Instead of meeting monthly, schedule a quarterly meeting. This gives you more time to have things to discuss. This is especially true if membership is small, as most communication happens outside of meetings.
- Divide the workload by joining with other county organizations to support candidates. If you can work with other counties, you can divide your workload by combining resources. No reason for only one organization to carry all the weight, especially in areas of the country where multiple counties may comprise a single state Senate or even state House seat.
- Take some tasks away from the county organization. Candidate recruiting and candidate training and support are things your county organization may struggle to provide. Instead, take some of these tasks and help connect candidates with better resources in another county or through your state organization.
The goal is the same
It doesn’t have to be complicated. The goal for every organization is always the same. If dividing the workload helps you succeed, do it. If creating suborganizations inside of your county helps you function, do it. If your county is small and you need to subtract tasks from the organization, do that too.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and work on finding solutions that work within your county. You don’t have to be a county chair or a major Democratic supporter to suggest changes that might help make your local party better.
Next week: How your campaign can write successfully at Daily Kos