Neither candidates nor county committees were beholden to the State Party, and we were relegated to electing officers and passing a platform, the results of which were generally ignored. In doing so, however, we failed to give enough consideration to elected officials, county central committees and Democratic clubs that were already there and functioning. In some areas, the relationships among the various independent entities work out well, but in other areas there has been constant infighting over who is in control. Elected officials, whose future depends on voter approval, obviously want to control political activities in their districts. County committee members feel they were elected by the voters to run the Democratic Party in their county.
Clubs see themselves as grassroots organizations that most accurately reflect the view of voters.
And AD committees are the direct and local representative of the State Party. Look at your copy of the State Party bylaws and you will not find a clear and definitive mission statement for the Party, the executive board, the regions or the AD committees. Except for administrative tasks or liaison functions, there is no description of duties for State Party officers or AD committee chairs. And there is no discussion of the roles and relationships of the State Party to other Democratic groups. The results has been lack of communication, coordination and purpose.