Shaping Our Future, Right on Your Block

Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by Marcos Salazar in All Politics is Local

Adelphi Street Block Party, photos by Tei Blow

Do you know who your elected county committee representative is? And yet that is your most accessible representative. I would venture to say that the vast majority of people do not. Along with District Leader, County Committee is a political position that only political insiders know or care about. However, your committee person plays an important role in the political structure of New York City and getting involved by either finding out who your representative is – or even running for the position – can greatly benefit you and your neighbors on the Hill.

What is a County Committee?

County Committee members are the lowest level of party leadership and while they have few formal responsibilities, they serve a vital function in selecting candidates for special elections, adopting the Party platform, and helping to organize their neighborhoods. Committees can select candidates for elected offices, adopt platforms, fill certain vacancies in elected offices, organize campaigns and may provide a source of government appointees. In short, the individuals and groups who make up the party structure can have a tremendous influence on national, state, and local policy.

What is the County Committee structure?

The County Committee of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, for example, is made up of 5,000 or so volunteer positions which each represent an Election District. This is usually just a couple of blocks where 700-1,000 voters live. A local committee person is elected to represent all the members of his or her party that exist within this small election district. What this allows is for the committee person to be the most accessible and nearby elected official for residents on the Hill.

Why should you care?

Political parties play a central role in determining who governs and what issues they prioritize; The individuals and groups who dominate the party structure have tremendous influence in national, state and local policy.

An example of this is the increasing power of Christian conservatives in American politics. Christian conservatives make up roughly 13% of the American public (LINK) . Beginning in the late 1980′s, they began running for local political party committee seats in mass numbers. As of 2002, Christian conservatives held a majority of seats in 36% of all state Republican Party committees (18 states), plus large minorities (25-49% of members) in 81% of the rest (LINK). Through their presence in local party committees, Christian conservatives have now become a major force shaping policy at all levels.

The County Committee poses a great opportunity for people who want to fix dysfunction and clean up corruption in local politics. As elected community representatives, County Committee provides a great advocacy platform for individuals and groups to help advance their agenda and advocate for the causes they care most about.

Americans of all types and backgrounds deserve a seat at the table. Luckily, there are literally thousands of vacant seats in political party committees in Brooklyn. The only question is who will step up to take these seats and secure their voice in determining our nation’s leaders and priorities.

What do I do if I want to run for County Committee?

If you are over 18 years old and an enrolled voter of a political party, you can run for a local committee seat in your party. To learn more about how to run visit: http://www.gograssroots.org/newvoices/facts.php