I called every Dem I could in my District.

Greetings-

I needed signatures to get on the ballot for Democratic County Committee, so I went to the Municipal Clerk to get a petition, got it signed by her and then I went to the County Clerk and got a list of voters in my District (Independence, Dist. 2). 67 Democrats.

There were no phone numbers, so I spent two hours last night and two hours tonight (free minutes after 7) looking them up on the online white pages. I got 34 phone numbers and I called them all. Two were disconnected. I left 17 messages. That means I spoke to 15 people. 16 if you count the mother across town (unusual last name) who seemed upset that I was asking if her daughter still lived in the Towpath apartments.

Last night, around 8:35, I left a message on a machine that had no message, just a beep. The gentleman I was trying to reach picked up the phone speaking unintelligibly, but forcefully, like he had a lot to say. It turns out that he had an acoustic neuroma (something like a stroke, I think) at some point, and now he lives with it in an apartment in my district. I remembered back to when my father was living with what turned out to be Supra-Nucleo Palsy, and was similarly unintelligible. I persisted until I did understand these words, "I will sign your petition." Then, "I will be ready in 15 minutes." At which point, I drove over to his apartment and spent a half hour with him. A real nice guy. And a strong Democrat (who drools on petitions - who doesn't love that?). I left with my spirits lifted like they haven't been in a long time. God bless that guy.

So tonight, I called the last half of the numbers on my list. I got one promise of a signature, which gives me three, including myself, and should put me on the ballot if none of them get rejected. Two people asked me to call them back tomorrow. And then there's all of those messages I left on the answering machine. So, barring an act of God, I'll be on the ballot. The bottom of the ballot, but that's okay with me.

I highly recommend that all of you do it. The deadline to file petitions is April 11th (Edit: in NJ, where I live, that is). I was thinking that, even if there is somebody else running, wouldn't it be great to have a contested race? In some districts, who knows? That might be the only one on the ballot. The more Democrats on the ballot, the better. That's all I've got to say.

great, i just posted this far and wide (three DU forums, and 25 Yahoo! groups), and it may be the case that not every county in America has a county committee.

Way to get excited, Kire.

advice I can lend is to follow up on your list and try to visit with Dems at their doors. The face to face makes a huge difference. It also allows you to actually interact and understand what the people in your area would like to see done by their party.

I'm a precinct captain where I live. I wrote my name in during the primary and won with my one vote! There are tons of precincts that have no county Demo central committee representation and it's a great place to start getting involved.

I'm a Green but produce entertainment here in town. A man who I worked with on a campaign wanted to run for the local Dem council. I spent two nights helping him get signatures because WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE HIM. And, there is a point where party labels become an obstruction.

Best of luck to you! And, thank you for your effort on our behalf.