George Wenschhof
 |
| Myrna Whitworth |
After, a
disastrous 2010 election for local Democrats who saw only two Democrats elected
from over twenty local offices on the ballot, Frederick County, Maryland
Democrats are focused on gains in 2014.
Myrna
Whitworth, chair of the Frederick County Democratic state central committee,
shared with me their preparations for the upcoming election, during a recent
interview.
She
acknowledged her disappointment there were no Democrats who ran for sheriff,
state’s attorney or register of wills in 2010. She said they were hopeful there
would be Democratic candidates for every position in 2014 and were doing what
they can to help them be competitive.
Whitworth
spoke enthusiastically about the all day training class they held last month
for 35 potential candidates. The
comprehensive training was geared to help demystify the campaign process with
experts sharing their knowledge on different areas surrounding running for office.
Travis
Tazelaar, City of Baltimore, Office of Policy and Communications spoke on making
the decision to run, how to file, make a campaign plan and plan your
announcement.
Fundraising
and voter targeting was covered by; J.R. Lentini, Senior Vice President for
Communications, Bulldog Finance Group and David Goodman, Partner, TruBlu
Politics, spoke on messaging and social media.
Myrna Whitworth
tells me that early next year the central committee will also hold a retreat to
develop plans for the upcoming election.
She
pointed out the central committee has 12 elected members who are determined by
Democratic voters in the primary election held on June 24, 2014. Their by-laws required gender balance so
voters will be electing 6 women and 6 men.
With, the
general election immediately facing the newly elected central committee, she
believes it is important to the have the framework of a plan to assist
Democratic candidates in place, which is what they will develop during their
retreat in January.
The
Frederick County ballot will be full. At
the top of ballot will be Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller. There are
also two congressional races and eight races for the statehouse delegation in
district 3 and 4.
The change
to charter government will go into effect with the 2014 election when voters
will elect a county executive and a seven member council. The council will have five members elected by
districts and two members elected at large.
In
addition to electing a sheriff, state’s attorney, and register of wills, voters
will elect a clerk of the court and three orphans court judges.
Myrna
Whitworth told me the central committee will be equally supportive of Democratic
candidates who run in contested races in the primary election and will not take
sides.
In
addition to developing their plan to help candidates, the central committee will
also be holding, prior to the primary election, their annual Jefferson-Jackson
Day dinner. This event has become a major fundraiser for them.
The bulk
of the support to candidates from the central committee will come following the
primary election on June 24.
Whitworth
shared with me there are currently two open positions on the central committee
resulting from the resignations of two male members and per their by-laws on gender
balance, the committee is soliciting applications from males who are registered
Democrats and Frederick County residents to replace them.
Applications
should be mailed to Frederick County Democratic Central Committee, PO Box 793,
Frederick MD 21705; or you may email them to fc.demcc@gmail.com. Deadline for
submission is Monday, December 16.
Interviews
will take place on December 18 and the selections made the same day.
The
general election will be held on November 4, 2014.
Stay
tuned.
---
Please donate today to Frederick Politics by clicking on a Donation Button in the right hand margin of page - Thank You!
No comments:
Post a Comment