Open Letter to Frederick County Democratic State Central Committee

In the recent defeat of our democratic candidate for mayor, it was not Randy McClement, but the GOP Central Committee that attacked Jason Judd. The silence from the Democrat Central Committee was deafening. This election year there should be five Democrats sitting on the Board of Alderman and a Democrat mayor. But the Democrat Central Committee of Frederick County did not pull out the stops to achieve this rare opportunity. They barely supported the candidates that were running. Where was the unity of support for the candidates in the general election? Why didn't the local Central Committee step up and pull the candidates together for mutual support and benefit? I cannot imagine any acceptable response for that inaction. We have some strong elected officials but they don't owe the party for their position. Is this why the party doesn't even ask them to campaign for our candidate for mayor? One alderman did get that kind of support but she is on the Central Committee. Is that what it takes?

The purpose of a political party is to get its candidates elected to office. I have lived in Frederick County since August, 1979 and have watched the local Democrat Party contentedly lose seat after seat over the last twenty years. Some candidates win in spite of the lack of marketing, financial support, or collegial endorsements; duties which the members of the Central Committee do not appear to believe are a part of their responsibility. Why would this group not actively employ multiple methods of support for the Democrat candidates in the general election regardless of their name, pedigree, longevity in the community, or education?

I'm not sure we actually have a Democrat Party here in Frederick County. Oh, I hear people identify themselves as Democrats. I see individuals running for office with the label D or Dem. after their name, but I'm not convinced. I was at a website the other day attempting to settle a gentleman's bet on the order of our last few mayors, and their party affiliation. As I surfed this site I found a link for FrederickGOP.com, but was there any link to the local Dems? Not a sniff, not a clue, nada. I think they are a myth.

If one is inclined to attempt to reach out and contact the Democratic Central Committee, could one get a phone number from their website? Absolutely one phone number. A diligent searcher will find one number to the headquarters for four officers and eight members and one e-mail address for the Chair at his place of business, not the party headquarters. How 19^th century. Why wouldn't the Central Committee, the main governing and marketing body for our local political party, want to find multiple ways to contact and be contacted by us, the citizens that support them with money and votes? There should be at least phone numbers and e-mail contact information for each one. There are no district or precinct captains listed, limited information on issues and the platform statement still has the 2004 beliefs posted, and in a font and background that few can read.

We will not take back City Hall, we will not lead the delegation to Annapolis and we will not be the leaders of the County Commissioners as long as the current Democrat Central Committee maintains it's complacent, good-old-boy and girl, social club mentality. Is this the group that will take back a long held Congressional seat from a candidate swept into office on the wave of term limits, eighteen years ago?!

Thank you for your service committee members, but it's past time to take the responsibility of leading the party into the 21^st century. The great Democrat hero Andrew Jackson believed in sweeping out the old and bringing in the new, "A new broom sweeps clean." That time is here. It is time for new blood, new ideas, and new leadership for the 21^st century. A new regularly updated website is a good place to start.

Sincerely,

Michael Bunitsky

----

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.