On Saturday the SCDC had their caucus for electing officers to the county committee for the upcoming cycle. It was well attended and was conducted very efficiently. It was wonderful to connect with so many local, progressive activists. Several members including myself, were not interested in running for another term. I've served several times over the years and though I think it is a very important time to be on the SCDC, I don't have the time to put toward this year's very ambitious response to the challenges we face in Strafford County. We need people who can make that commitment and pull everything together.
The main set of officers were willing to stay on for the coming cycle. Several are very forward thinking and can aid in keeping us from falling back into familiar unsuccessful, political patterns. We had many, many dedicated progressive citizens running for the open at-large positions and I am elated they were the people chosen for those positions at the caucus. This is the first time I've ever seen a three way tie!
We were able to get Manny on the committee and to get Ellen on the committee, so the northern part of county has solid representation. One of my favorite people in the county, Sherry Frost, made the cut, as did David Holt and Wayne Merritt; all fierce local activists. Pat Gingrich, who has been doing so much hard work in Barrington also won a seat. Harman Droge, from the Young Dems, rounds out the at-large list. He has extensive on the ground campaign experience and some important ideas about messaging. With the fresh intellect, fire, and skill set of the new members we are well placed to make significant changes at the county and local level.
With that being said, for us to be successful at the county and local level we need people to continue to engage and pull in more citizens to their local committees. We need to continue to bring those people into SCDC events, education and fundraising efforts, and most importantly messaging and outreach to our local communities.
Kyle Leach