New Nye County Democratic Central Committee Members Elected

The election of the new members of the Nye County Democratic Central Committee took place last Saturday, April 4, 2009 in Tonopah. I wasn’t there, being in Washington, D.C., so what I write here is second-hand information. Here are the newly elected members of the Central Committee:

There was no candidate for the seat of Secretary. The identity of the new Secretary will apparently be named and known at some future date.

Thirty-six people showed up in Tonopah for the election. Of the 36 those who voted was 33. Only one person was from the Tonopah area.

The next meeting of the Central Committee will be held Monday, April 27, 2009 at the Ruud Community Center in Pahrump at 7:00 p.m.

Now that the election is over I’d like to thank the outgoing members of the Central Committee for their past service. Though in recent months I have disagreed with their handling of various aspects of their duties as Central Committee members the fact remains that for years they have performed necessary acts to keep the Nye County Democratic Party alive. It takes effort to attend Nevada State Democratic Party functions and conventions, which they have done. They have managed to keep open the Central Committee headquarters which necessitated raising funds to do so. That task, alone, isn’t easy.

So, where do we go from here? Here we are in the 21st century in a political climate full of challenges. How do we meet them, on the local, state and national planes?

Just how the new Central Committee intends to move forward is not yet known to any of us. The first question that comes to mind is – just who is us? Does the Central Committee constitute the definition of the Nye County Democratic Party? Or is the Democratic Party of Nye County the sum total of the rest of the Democrats in Nye County?

From my perspective I see the Central Committee as the “business” arm of the Democratic Party. I perceive the rank and file Democrats of the Party as the real power base which directs the Central Committee to the path which the rank and file members want to go. That concept is a fundamental departure from the view of the old Central Committee.

I hasten to point out, however, that if my perception is accurate then it imposes a responsibility on the rank and file Democrats to actively participate in Nye County Democratic affairs. The burden of becoming a successful Democratic Party depends on the rank and file members of the Nye County Democratic Party guiding the Central Committee toward goals which the rank and file want to achieve. That will take some effort. Both the rank and file members and the members of the Central Committee must freely communicate with each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.

There is a long list of improvements that need to be accomplished before movement forward can even begin.

First, I think, those 2001 by-laws should rapidly be scrapped and dropped into the trashcan of history. A new set of by-laws should be drafted, debated, voted on and adopted by the rank and file members.

Second, Roberts Rules of Order should be meticulously followed in the conduct of all party meetings. Both the Central Committee and the rank and file members should listen to each other and then by a majority vote of the membership decisions should be made after reasonable debate. Those decisions should be executed by the Central Committee.

Indeed, early on in the new Central Committee’s tenure a platform of principles should be adopted by the rank and file members as the guideposts for the new Nye County Democratic Party.

Third, some method must be devised and implemented by the Central Committee to interactively communicate with the 9,400+ Democrats in Nye County. A concerted effort needs to be made to establish Precinct Captains in each precinct in Nye County. Personally, I think the Central Committee should establish it’s own website accessible to all Nye County Democrats, coupled with a periodic newsletter and blog to keep all Nye County Democrats informed about matters of mutual interest.

As I stated, there is a lot that needs to be done, but those three items above is a start in what I think is the right direction.

Related posts:

1. Where is the list of the 128 “anointed” voters who the Nye County Democratic Central Committee has deemed eligible voters for members of the Central Committee?
2. How to elect a County Central Committee
3. Wake the Nye County Democratic Central Committee Up!
4. Suggestions for Nye County Democratic Central Committee
5. Nye County Democratic Central Committee