2012 State of the Party
State of the KCDP
As we reach the mid-point in the 2011-2012 election cycle, we’ll look back at 2011 and look forward to 2012. Call it a State of the Party Address.
2011 was a stellar year for the KCDP. We have over 450 “fans” on facebook, the best in the state for any county Democratic Party. We continue to have the premier county Democratic Party Office in the state. In early December the adjacent property was sold and the chain-linked fence that prevented us using the extra parking lot is now gone. Our office is one of the biggest expenditures in our budget. Your donations and membership dues help pay for our office, we couldn’t have an office without your help and everyone at the KCDP says THANK YOU!
At our 2011 KCDP Brown-Todd-Wolpe Dinner we were graced with the presence of Howard Wolpe. It was the first B-T-W Dinner that Howard had attended in several years and we were all shocked and saddened to hear the news of his passing. Howard had just recently moved back to southwest Michigan and we all looked forward to having his leadership around to guide us in 2012.
We had over 250 people attend to celebrate the life of the late Honorable Robert B. Jones. We had several speakers and guests including comments from State Senator Gretchen Whitmer and Ms. Callie Baskerville-Jones. I would like to thank our Gold Sponsors; State Representative Sean McCann, Ms. Caroline Ham and UAW Region 1-D and our table sponsors; AFL-CIO Labor Council, SW Michigan Building Trades, Dr. Michael Liepman, Mr. Jon Hoadley, Dave & Beth McShane, Dr. Charles C. Warfield and the Michigan District Council of Laborers.
With the success of the biennial Brown-Todd-Wolpe Dinner, 2011 was the best fundraising off-year on record for the KCDP. We raised over $65,500 in 2011 from over 500 different donors with 96% of those donors coming from Kalamazoo County. Included in that $65,500 is over $2,800 from local elected Democratic officials, over $1,600 from local elected Non-Partisan Officials, over $2,000 from PAC’s and over $8,100 from 32 different local businesses and local labor unions. Our KCDP Golf Outing in the spring raised over $3,600 for the Party.
With our new fundraising software, NGP, we’re able to track all the donations as well as expenditures for the KCDP. NGP is an Internet based program similar to our voter database, known as the VAN. Candidates and caucuses have used NGP for many years. The VAN belongs to the DNC and allows the MDP access to it. The MDP in turn allows the KCDP access. On January 1st, 2011, it was announced the NGP and the VAN would merge and become NGP-VAN. I am proud to announce that we are the first county party in the state to be on NGP-VAN and we are truly setting precedent. Many organizations, including the MDP are eager to learn the results of our efforts.
Our Membership Committee reports over 400 dues-paying members to the KCDP. Our dues continue unchanged at $30 per year. Lets all remember that when we talk to people about joining the KCDP, they also become a member of the MDP. MDP membership allows them to vote at all MDP Conventions. I want to give a special THANK YOU to Kathleen Garland-Rike for her leadership as Membership Committee Chair for the last 3 years. Under her leadership, the KCDP Membership Committee was one of the BEST Membership Committees in the entire MDP! Only many hours of hard work allowed that to happen. Kathleen is moving on to help run the Libby Heiny-Cogswell campaign for Oshtemo Township Supervisor. Best wishes to Kathleen in her role to help re-elect Libby!
As we look forward to 2012, we must hold all the gains we made in 2008 including holding Oshtemo Township Supervisor. Before 2008 we had one township supervisor, Tim Hudson in Comstock Township, one township trustee, George Cochran in Kalamazoo Township, and no county-wide officials. That all changed in 2008 and we must hold our gains.
Starting off we need to re-elect our 2 county-wide officials; Sheriff Richard Fuller and Drain Commissioner Patricia Crowley. We need you to talk to your friends, family and neighbors, volunteer for the campaigns and if you can, donate money to their committees. These are the most important races for the KCDP to win.
Secondly, we need to hold the gains we made at the Township level. In 2008, we elected 4 Township Supervisors - Terry Melinger in Kalamazoo, Libby Heiny-Cogswell in Oshtemo, Tim Hudson in Comstock and Doug Byas in Wakeshma. A township Treasurer, George Cochran in Kalamazoo and 8 township trustees. We also added 2 Democrats to the Comstock Township Parks and Recreation Board. Not only do we need to hold all 15 of these offices, but expand on them as well. If you live in any of these townships, especially Oshtemo and Comstock, we need people to step up and run for office, so we can have an entire slate of 7 candidates. Please consider volunteering to help us win these important township races. It is most important that we have candidates for Township Clerk in Oshtemo, Kalamazoo and Comstock Townships. The KCDP has never had a candidate for any of these 3 offices and that MUST change this year. One other office the KCDP would like to find a candidate for is County Surveyor. We haven’t run a candidate for Surveyor since 1964. There is no reason that we can’t win that office as well.
We will meet early in 2012 with representatives of the Presidents campaign team in hope of finding a location in Kalamazoo for his campaign staff. We will work closely with the Presidents team. The better President Obama does in Kalamazoo County, the better our local candidates will do.
Finally, with your continued help, the KCDP will strive to be one of the premier party organizations in the state. You can always reach us at HQ at 342-4217 or check us out on the web at www.kzoodems.com. And click here to become a fan of the KCDP on facebook. Thank you and now let’s get to work!
David C. Pawloski, Chair
Kalamazoo County Democratic Party
269.342.4217
