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By around 8pm tonight I'm going to need a new signature line here at Blue Jersey - it's been a link to a post I wrote - An Open Letter to the Next Democratic State Chair - with a few suggestions for Party reform to bump up Outreach, Transparency and Platform. I'm not the only one thinking reform.
The marriage equality fight was a moment of growing up, and new muscle, for the progressive forces in NJ. Losing says more about you folks in the Legislature - especially some of you Democrats - than it says about us. The new muscle - don't mistake it - grows around the way the leadership & membership of so many formerly-separate progressive groups stood together.
On Party leadership, I've said it's more about what's done than who's elected. Yeah. I've changed my mind. It's also about process. I wasn't thrilled with a press release from Asm John Wisniewski, saying he nabbed endorsement from all 21 County Chairs. The Chairs don't vote - the 113 State Committee members do (bylaws), and the release - while obviously a show of strength for a Chairmanship long ago worked out in a room somewhere - seemed an unfortunate admission that political orthodoxy, deals, and the Way Things Have Always Been Done are what rules.
Then, the last couple days, we hear that a viable candidate for Vice-Chair, Janice Kovach, Corzine's Division on Women Director and current NJDSC Secretary is now likely dropping out of a race to move up to Vice Chair because Dana Redd wants to stay.
I would be delighted with a floor fight tonight as the State Committee chooses Party leadership. But given how undemocratic this vote seems like it will be - with candidates stepping back in favor of their seniors, and politico dealmaking long before the vote - I don't think I'll see one (I'll probably get a lot of nasty looks tonight though, c'est la vie).
Dana Redd brought shame on her Party during marriage equality consideration, not only - as Asm Reed Gusciora points out - because she snubbed Julian Bond when he came to testify, but also because she made a point of avoiding the New Jersey citizens and Democratic Party rank-and-file who wanted to talk to her about it. I hope she gets last-minute competition tonight.
The vote tonight - 7pm at Forsgate Country Club - belongs to NJSDC State Committee, not the Chairs, not the dealmakers, not outgoing party structure. I think Asm Gusciora is right in calling on them to consider Redd's recent choices, and I hope tonight's vote is anything but boring.
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