Want the Democratic Party to Change?

[MineralMan]

72. Simpler than you think, really.

If you go and you're willing, you'll get more to do. Bottom line is that not many people are willing to do much, even those who make the effort to show up. There are tons of leadership positions, and most of them are filled by people who had to be buttonholed into taking on the position.

Moving up through the hierarchy of most Democratic organizations on the local level is mostly just a matter of being willing to take on whatever responsibilities go with a position. There are always open positions. Always. In Minnesota, they get filled at the various conventions for different districts. There's always an election for the open spots. Often, someone has to go around and convince someone to put their name up. If someone does, they get elected.

The only leadership positions that are difficult to get are chairperson positions. If you aspire to one of those, you'll have to fill some lower-level posts for a while. Eventually whoever is the chairperson will decide to hand the job off. When that happens, again, whoever is willing and capable and who is already part of the leadership will get the job. I've never seen more than one person run for any position, other than for entry level committee positions. For those, there are usually a couple more people willing than there are openings. People can nominate themselves from the floor for any open seat. The committee positions give you an automatic delegate position at the Congressional District convention, so people like those, so they don't have to bother running for a delegate spot. They don't involve much work, so they're easy to fill.

Above those spots, though, there's work to be done, and that limits the interest. It's a club, really. Those who are willing to lead get to lead. So, yes, it is simple. At least in Minnesota it is.