Craig Axford running for State Party Chair

[helderheid]

For Immediate Release
Craig Axford
Announces Candidacy for
Democratic State Party Chair

February 17, 2005

Craig Axford will be filing paperwork this week with the Utah Democratic Party announcing his intention to seek the position of State Party Chair at the upcoming party convention scheduled for May 7. Craig has worked in a variety of positions running the No on Proposition 5 campaign in 1998, serving as Coordinator for a non-profit environmental group and later as Program Director of the Utah Environmental Congress. Since 2003 Craig has been the co-chair of the Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus (UDPC).

“I believe the Democratic Party is at a crossroads” Mr. Axford says. “If we are to begin moving toward a new Democratic Majority in Utah we need leadership willing to stand up for Democratic values such as fiscal responsibility, a living wage for every working man and woman in Utah, and universal health care coverage.”

Axford also believes the Democratic Party too often circles the wagons and shoots inward. “We need state party leaders willing to bring all Democrats together behind issues that matter to working people. Instead we frequently see Democrats attacking each other in the press over issues that frankly don’t matter much to the average voter.”

The Craig Axford for Chair campaign has a website, www.AxfordforChair.org up and running. He can also be reached for comment at [phone]

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1. Weekly update

On Monday March 7 I was interviewed on KCPW Radio's Midday Edition. If you were not able to tune in, the interview can be heard via my homepage at http://axfordforchair.org/news.htm

During the course of the past week I have written three new position papers. The first discusses how the Utah Democratic Party can better utilize the internet to enhance outreach efforts, the second describes a 29 county strategy for our party, and the third focuses on the important role of fundraising and how I would approach it as Utah Democratic Party Chair.

All three of these documents can be found on my website at www.axfordforchair.org under the "Vision for The Party" button at the bottom of my home page. The first paragraph of each article can be found at the end of this email with links to the full article. I urge you to read these and other documents on my website and email or call me using the contact information provided at the end of this message with feedback.

We are establishing a State wide team to explore and implement the concept of a solid internet outreach strategy that involves all counties and party membership. Preliminarily we are exploring such concepts as county based interactive web sites (such as www.soutahdemocrats.com), interactive Yahoo Groups, MeetUps, forums and chat rooms. But these are simply initial notions. This is a call for every Democrat in Utah who has an interest in such a project to become involved in the development of a state system. The extent of your computer knowledge isn't relevant, but your enthusiasm and ideas are.

Please join our effort; you do not have to endorse my candidacy for State Chair to participate, just be interested in exploring the possibilities of internet outreach! Contact David Van Landingham ([e-mail] )if you are as fascinated by the concept as other Utah Democrats I have spoken with.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write or call. I truly appreciate your questions, your offers of support, and your desire to build a stronger Democratic Party in Utah.
Sincerely,


Craig Axford for Utah State Democratic Party Chair
Office:801 755 7195
Personal:[phone]
Cell:[phone]
[e-mail]
www.axfordforchair.org
Visionary Leadership for a New Democratic Party

Greater Outreach using the internet
As was demonstrated through both the Howard Dean presidential campaign and at the national level with record numbers of small donors using the internet to contribute to the Democratic Party in 2004, the internet has become an incredibly effective outreach tool. Unfortunately, our state party has yet to utilize this tool to its fullest potential.
More here:
http://axfordforchair.org/vision.htm#internet

Creating a 29 County Strategy for Utah
Taking a look at the numbers it is clear Democrats have a serious problem on their hands. Outside of Carbon County, virtually all of our elected Representatives and Senators come from the Salt Lake City area or nearby suburbs. We have a few Democrats elected to county councils or commissions outside of this island of Democrats, but otherwise the state is almost completely dominated by Republicans where partisan offices are concerned. One delegate I recently spoke to said it best, “We can no longer in all honesty even describe ourselves as underdogs any more.”
More here:
http://axfordforchair.org/vision.htm#county

Raising Funds to Grow Utah’s Democratic Party

Fundraising is a critical part of the job description for the chair of the Utah Democratic Party. Without sufficient resources, any strategy, no matter how well thought out, cannot be fully implemented. As someone that has managed a campaign and worked in the non-profit community over the past decade, I have learned the role money plays in fulfilling an organization’s mission.
http://axfordforchair.org/vision.htm#fund

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2. Weekly Campaign Update

Two Press Releases issued through UDPC this past week:

First press release: Progressive Caucus Leaders Critical of Cannon's Position on Nuclear Testing. (March 9, 2005)

Second press release: Progressives Speak Out Against Senators Hatch & Bennett
Support for Drilling in ANWR. (March 16, 2005)

Both can be read in their entirety at http://www.axfordforchair.org . Just click on the “In the news” button. Also, you can visit http://www.udpc.org to view these documents.

11 Things Democrats can do:

Over the course of the remaining seven weeks or so of the campaign for state party chair, my weekly updates will focus on 11 things Democrats can do to retake the initiative in Utah and begin building our party both locally and throughout the state. These 11 points are borrowed, with some minor changes, from George Lakoff's book “Don't think of an elephant! Know your values and frame the debate.”

I feel Lakoff's suggestions are, at a minimum, worth careful consideration and discussion. I hope you will agree with me and use these 11 suggestions and my response to them as a starting point for discussions you have with fellow Democrats and others interested in revitalizing the Utah Democratic Party.

Each week will feature two or three of Lakoff's 11 points. I encourage you to email or call with feedback regarding each of his suggestions and your opinion on how best to apply them to our efforts in Utah. This week's update will feature Lakoff's first two “things we can do” to renew and build our party.

First, recognize what right wing extremists have done right and where Democrats have missed the boat. It is more than just control of the media, though that is far from trivial. What they have done right is successfully frame the issues from their perspective. Acknowledge their successes and our failures.

The right wing is incredibly disciplined. Many Democrats were taken by surprise when the Republicans became the majority party in Congress in 1994 for the first time in more than 40 years. However, the far right had been organizing for decades with an election like 1994 in mind. Their focus and willingness to set aside small differences in order to eventually get into a position where they could implement their larger agenda provides Democrats with an example of what works strategically.

We must move beyond blaming Nader for 2000 or blaming those within our ranks that don't share our views on certain social issues for our losses. Let's take responsibility for our past mistakes and move on to offering a vision for the future that once again will give people a reason to vote for us. Uniting behind the larger themes of economic opportunity, a quality education and healthcare for all, human rights, and environmental stewardship and setting aside differences over wedge issues used by the Republican Party to keep us bickering with each other is the only way we can begin to move forward.

Second, remember “Don't think of an elephant.” If you keep their language and their framing and just argue against it, you lose because you are reinforcing their agenda.

Though listed second in Lakoff's list, this strikes me as perhaps the most important of his points. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with some delegates that were upset because their Republican neighbors kept coming at them on the issues of gay rights and gay marriage. I asked them why they engaged with their Republican friends on this issue if it was not important to them as Democrats. They replied they felt they had to because this is what the opposition wanted to talk with them about.

The Republican Party loves it when we oblige them by talking about their issues and doing it while using their language. When they talk about gay rights, all our responses should only refer to “human rights”. Furthermore, we should use the issue to expand the discussion of rights to include a right to healthcare, a right to a decent education, a right to clean air and clean water. After all, the Republican Party is not simply ignoring “gay rights”, but just about everybody else's when you consider it from a Democratic perspective.

What it comes down to is this. If you don't want to talk about what they want to talk about, don't. The very fact a Republican wants to talk to you about something is a signal someone somewhere within the Republican Party has figured out talking about it works for them. Start framing the debate by shifting the discussion to a local issue that matters to you and reflects your reasons for being a Democrat. We have fallen into the trap of allowing the Republicans to determine the subject of our debates. No matter how much of a minority we have become in Utah, we should never give the Republicans the power to dictate the terms of public discourse. As long as they do, our minority status will be assured.

Traveling the State:

As a candidate for chair of the Utah Democratic Party it is important my campaign reach out to Democrats in as many communities as possible. Candidates need to hear what problems and challenges you are facing, and it is vital you hear from candidates what their vision is for the Democratic Party in Utah and how that vision impacts Democrats locally.

This past week saw the beginning of what will be many road trips through Utah between now and the May 7 state convention. On Sunday, May 13 I visited Moab with state party vice-chair candidate Laura Bonham. There we visited with a dedicated group of Democrats and community volunteers working to renew their local party and plan for challenges facing a growing community.

Both Laura and I came away more optimistic after seeing the growing level of organization within Grand County. I look forward to meeting other Democrats throughout Utah in the coming weeks that have already begun to roll up their sleeves and get to work building our party.



Craig Axford for Utah State Democratic Party Chair
Office:801 755 7195
Personal:[phone]
Cell:[phone]
[e-mail]
http://www.axfordforchair.org
Visionary Leadership for a New Democratic Party