Meck Dems on Solid Footing and Ready to Move Forward

I spent time at the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party convention yesterday and have decided to take a brief sabbatical from criticizing my local party. There is new leadership and an almost entirely new executive board. There were positive briefings from the state and city and a spirited talk from James Ferguson, a local civil rights leader. The only thing that seemed to be lacking was a good supply of Democrats.

Hopefully, that too will change as new leadership and the approaching presidential elections breathe new life into our local party. The key will be keeping the folks involved year round who just seem to crop up during the big election cycles. Helping make that happen will be the positive energy from new leadership. It will also help to have positive energy from local elected officials and that will improve the further we move away from the scandals surrounding former NC House speaker, Jim Black.

Good news on the financial front for local Dems. We aren't rich, but all bills are paid and there is money in the bank in every account - from GOTV to checking. Woo Hoo! That doesn't let donors off the hook, though. Our party deserves a nice permanent facility. We need a place to hold phone bank sessions and meetings, to organize and to celebrate. If you're worried your money won't be used wisely, then get INVOLVED!

One thing I'd like to see our party do is move away from paid canvassers. If more time, money and energy was put into organizing precincts with effective local volunteers, our outreach efforts would be so much more effective. People would open their doors to canvassers who are their neighbors and not to strangers they are less likely to trust or listen to. Door-to-door canvassing works, but not if people won't open their doors.

Back to the convention......

The meeting chambers were too dark and my flash wasn't powerful enough to get good pictures inside, but I was able to get pictures of a couple of our local candidates before the meeting started. Patsy Kinsey (disclaimer: she's my mother), who represents city council district 1, enjoyed chatting with friends and supporters. I'm not sure how many people were there from her district, though.

Senator Dan Clodfelter was scheduled to bring greetings from the state legislature, but appropriately enough Tricia Cotham stood in for him. Most of you know she's one of our newest reps in the lege, having replaced Jim Black in district 100. She gave a spirited speech that I wish I had caught on tape so I could quote for you. Toward the end she was almost cheering us on and Pam B., my mother's campaign manager and a true saint of a woman, turned to me and said, "I really wouldn't want to have to follow that." Cotham received a healthy round of applause.

Many of the usual suspects were in attendance, but I noticed a few missing as well. One person in attendance, John Autry, announced his intention to challenge Larry Kissell for the Democratic nomination for the 8th Congressional District seat. Most of you, knowing my love for Larry, might assume that I would immediately eviscerate John Autry. Nope. I happen to like John and think he will do great things as an elected official. It just won't be as the congressman from the 8th CD in this state. He doesn't have a snowball's chance on a warm day of winning the nomination. Trust me. I would support Autry in a campaign for just about any other elected office and I hope I will have the chance.

Finally, a word about the MCDP's new chair, David Erdman. First, I know and trust David Erdman. He is a good man and has been a good friend to my family for years. In a past endorsement for political office, the Charlotte Observer had this to say:

Mr. Erdman has a thoughtful demeanor and strong analytical skills and is a creative thinker about government. He has presented an insightful and challenging view of Charlotte's future, from improving neighborhood quality to enhancing the police force....(He will be) the most effective in analyzing the city's needs and contributing to the council's efforts to meet them. We recommend David Erdman, who knows the city well, has an incisive mind and is likely to work effectively with others in charting the city's course.

This is the talent we now find leading our local party. The Mecklenburg County GOP should be quaking in its boots.

Working Families Win & ACORN Kick Off Campaign for a State Earned Income Tax Credit

Working Families Win and ACORN held a kick-off rally Saturday, April 14, for their campaign to promote the implementation of an earned income tax credit in the state of North Carolina. Several elected officials were there to speak and between 20 and 30 enthusiastic supporters cheered them on.

Many of those supporters were at the Police Athletic League to take advantage of another service offered through ACORN. PAL had been chosen as a free tax preparation site by ACORN. Benita Little, the Executive Director of PAL was gracious in her welcome and thanked ACORN for choosing PAL as a site for the tax prep service. According to Little, the families that had taken advantage of the free tax service at PAL had collectively received almost $150,000 back through the federal EITC.

One of the first speakers, Niksa Grier with Working families Win is a very passionate advocate for this cause. The crowd behind me were vocal in their agreement as she spoke. You can see a brief portion of her speech in the following video:



The next speaker was Charlotte's Mayor Pro Tem, Susan Burgess. Some of you might remember a couple of months ago when I posted that Burgess had been diagnosed with cancer. She is undergoing fairly extensive chemo, but that doesn't seem to have slowed her down one bit. Her energy level is just as strong as it was when she and I campaigned door-to-door for Larry Kissell back in early November last year. If the campaign can find one advocate with the enthusaism and energy that Burgess brings to her support, this issue should have no trouble finding the support it needs to get pushed through the legislature. For an excerpt of the Mayor Pro Tem's comments please see this video:



A friend who worked hard on the Kissell campaign here in Mecklenburg county introduced me to the next speaker last summer. Becky Gomer is an organizer for Working Families Win and she is phenomenal. Tami, known as Working for Change in the blogging world, and my friend mentioned above has asked Becky to write a guest post for BlueNC. If I ever needed information on issues that impact working class families or those living at or below the poverty line, I would ask Becky. The following video gives you a preview of what she has to say:



After speaking, Becky called on our friends from the legislature in attendance, newly appointed Rep. Tricia Cotham and long-time state Senator Charlie Dannelly. Rep. Tricia Cotham was selected to replace ex-speaker Jim Black and many (including myself) were not happy with some of the methods used in the selection process. However, Cotham is working hard to learn the ropes and to get out and meet constituents. She attended four events on Saturday and was holding a meeting at her home for Young Dems of Mecklenburg County on Sunday evening. It is admirable that she is working as hard in an off year as she will have to in an election year.

She also didn't do a bad job speaking to the issue. Her experience as an educator obviously is already coming in handy. With the condition of CMS schools as poor as it is, her background in education will be a benefit to Mecklenburg County.



State Senator Charlie Dannelly was the next to speak and he kept it brief. He has been representing this area in Raleigh for a good number of years and let it be known that he doesn't make a lot of promises. It means a great deal that he publicly offered his support for this issue.





My mother, Patsy Kinsey who represents district one on Charlotte's City Council joined her voice to the voices of the other elected officials to offer up a few words of support as well. Her district includes a good number of famlies that would benefit from a state EITC, so it was important for her to join in support of this issue.

The Charlotte Observer had committed to attend the rally, but was a no-show. Sue Myrick must have had a hang nail or Robin Hayes had another textile mill to close and they thought that was more newsworthy. Fortunately, Chanel 3 news came and interviewd Niksa and showed coverage of the event on their evening news.

This rally was simply the beginning of the campaign to bring a state earned income tax credit to North Carolina. I'll follow up tomorrow with more details and add an action plan for Tuesday.