Second Vice Chair

Rick DeWitt

Email: Rick DeWitt

Messages from the Second Vice Chair

Thank you for electing me as your Second Vice Chair. I sought this position because I have a lot of ideas for helping this organization grow larger and more effective. However, these ideas cross over several broad areas, so the Second Vice Chair position lets me assist in several different ways at once. Over the next two years, I wish to strengthen our organization by making it both larger and more effective.

Growing the Membership

The larger our Democratic tent becomes, the more successful we become at promoting progressive values for the Common Good.

Attracting new members and PCOs is mostly a matter of offering them a personal invitation to join. If you don't ask, they definately won't join!

If you find someone who believes in the goals of the democratic party or the progressive movement, simply ask them if they would like to be a member.

If you find a dedicated volunteer, who is willing to walk a precint or two, ask them to consider becoming a PCO. The more PCOs we have, the easier the job becomes for each individual PCO.

A More Effective Membership

PCOs require training, communication, and assistance to be effective. I want to work closely with our PCO coordinator to make sure all of the PCOs know what they need to do for each election cycle.

I would like to have us implement an "Adopt a Precinct" program, to cover precincts which do not have PCOs. Precincts without PCOs would be covered by neighboring PCOs, or by dedicated members living in nearby precincts in which there is already a PCO. One of the primary goals for each adopted precinct is to find and appoint a new PCO who lives in that precinct.

I would like us to implement regional PCO support teams along geographic boundaries. Members of each regional team would communicate closely with each other, especially during election cucles. This would makes it easier to distribute campaign literature and walklists.

Using Technology to our Advantage.

• Each PCO should know how to access, update, and use our state voter database information to print walklists for their precincts.
• Each PCO should understand what makes a coordinated campaign successful.
• New members should be able to sign up and pay dues online.
• Donors should be able to donate via the web, while following PDC rules.
• PCOs without other email accounts should be able to have their email hosted at 44thdems.org, as long as they remain a PCO.
• We should have a secure, members-only online forum for informal discussion of various current topics.
• We should use the website to recruit Democratic candidates for upcoming elections.
• We should use the website to coordinate community outreach operations to fairs and festivals.

Duties of the Second Vice Chair

• Presides at all general and executive board meetings in the absence of the Chair and the First Vice-Chair.
• Performs such duties as may be assigned by the Chair.
• Becomes the First Vice Chair if there is a permanent vacancy in that office, regardless of gender.