Now What?

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

So you've been involved in a Presidential Campaign (maybe for the first time in your life). And you have all this nervous energy left over from Election Day and you don't know where to go with it.

If you're not already a Precinct Executive in your county's Democratic Party, let me implore you to look into the possibility.

The position of Precinct Executive is the lowest elected position on the ballot in the State of Ohio. Precinct Executives are elected during the primaries during Even-Year Elections, but they can be appointed at any time.

Qualifications? You must be a Democrat. To get on the ballot, you must circulate a petition among Democrats in your precinct and obtain five valid signatures -- that means the signer must never have voted a Republican Primary Ballot (at least in the past three election cycles). Signatures from Independent and Non-Affiliated voters are OK.

Elections. The ballot is then usually submitted to the County Democratic Party, which then submits all the Precinct Executive petitions to the county Board of Elections in one group. Once the signatures are validated, you're on the ballot and need only vote for yourself in order to win.

Duties. You are the human face of the Democratic Party in your precinct, and it's your responsibility to maintain contact with the other Democrats in your neighborhood, to recruit individuals to help out with Democratic campaigns, and to assist with other tasks like placing yard signs.

A Huge Committment? Not really. What you did on Election Day on behalf of the Kerry Campaign represents more than half of the effort by a Precinct Executive in any given election year. The rest of the time is pretty low-key, although you can be as aggressive in your activities as you wish.

Worth It. Campaigns can't win without committed grassroots support. You say you want the Democratic Party to be more progressive and abandon the "mushy middle?" That only happens when progressives come out and steer the party in the right direction.

As someone a hell of a low smarter than me once said, "You must become the change that you want to see in the world."

To get started, I suggest you go to www.ohiodems.org and look for your county Democratic Party website. If you live in Hamilton County, P.M. me and I'll give you a hand. If you don't live in Hamilton County, I'll help you out as well, but I can't guarantee how much help I can be.

If you haven't taken this very important step toward being involved in the future of the Democratic Party, please do it today.