Informative Discussion of DWC Elections and Steering Committee at Friday's Monthly Breakfast

For those of you who missed our monthly breakfast on Friday, the Steering Committee led an informative discussion on how the Steering Committee is organized and does its work, the DWC election process, and the offices that are open for the upcoming two- year terms. We include a brief recap here and encourage any of you who might be interested in running for the Steering Committee to send an email to[email protected] as soon as possible so the nominating committee can begin formulating the slate for elections at our monthly breakfast meeting on Friday, January 4th. If you have questions about anything discussed at the meeting or in this newsletter, please contact Amy Swain [email protected] or any of the other Steering Committee members--we would be happy to help.

We began by explaining that the Steering Committee is the "board" of the DWC which sets the strategic direction of the organization and ensures that it is fulfilling its mission to Fund, Inspire, Recruit, Support and Train progressive Democratic women to run for election. In addition, as a Political Action Committee, the DWC raises funds to support its operations and fund endorsed candidates. The Steering Committee manages these obligations via monthly Saturday morning meetings, and through committees. The committees include the following:

Communications (manages the website, social media and the Monday Morning News weekly newsletter)

Endorsement (runs the process of preparing candidates interested in running for office for possible endorsement by the DWC)

Membership (steers the DWC's efforts to expand and diversify its membership)

Fundraising (spearheads the organization's fundraising efforts, including planning the annual fundraiser and other events with a fundraising component)

Nominating (prepares the slate for annual elections)

Programs (organizes the topics for monthly Friday breakfasts and plans other events and meetings)

Training (plans training programs put on by the DWC)

Steering Committee members who serve on several committees spoke about what it involves. Please note that many committees include DWC members who are not on the Steering Committee. So if any of these committees sound like they are right up your alley, please email [email protected] and let us know. We'd love to have more people involved!

We then discussed elections. There are four officers of the Steering Committee--Chair, Secretary, Vice Chair and Treasurer. Chair and Secretary are elected in even numbered years. Vice Chair and Treasurer are elected in odd numbered years. Every year, we also elect five at-large members of the DWC to serve two-year terms. So in January, we will elect a Chair, a Secretary and five at-large members. Several current Steering Committee members and other DWC members had already nominated themselves prior to Friday's breakfast, but at the breakfast, we took additional nominations from the floor. We are very pleased that a number of women are interested in serving on the Steering Committee and we hope any others with an interest will email us so we can make sure you are part of the nominating process. Between now and the election at the first monthly breakfast meeting in January, the nominating committee will contact all nominated candidates to make sure they understand what serving on the Steering Committee involves and to assess their interest in running for either of the offices, before recommending a slate for the election.

Our final topic of discussion was the endorsement process.  Our process for endorsing candidates can always be improved, and in fact, it has been formally re-evaluated five times since 2005, shortly after the DWC was founded. After this year's election, which featured a record number of DWC endorsed and supported candidates, we decided it was time once again to review the process. We interviewed all of the 2018 endorsed and supported candidates to get their thoughts on the experience. But we also want to hear the views of the general membership on this important topic. To that end, the Steering Committee posed the following questions and asked members at the breakfast to write down their responses. We would like any of you who could not attend the breakfast to have the same opportunity, so we include the questions below. 

Please email your answers to [email protected] by Wednesday, December 12.

We will review all comments we receive and consider them at our December Steering Committee meeting as we work to make our endorsement process better.

Big Question: Should the DWC PAC continue to endorse? If so, what should we improve? If not, should we redirect efforts to training, or create a new way to support candidates?

____ Yes, with some improvements

____ Yes, with major changes

____ No, it's not effective

____ No, we should try something new

____ I don't know

1. Reflect on why we endorse. Why have we endorsed candidates in the past? To what purpose? Does that purpose continue to have relevance today? If so, how do you think our endorsement process should change to reflect the current situation?

2. If we decide to continue to offer endorsements, on what basis/criteria should we do so?

3. How, or on what basis, should we distribute funding to candidates?

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

EVENTS:

Thursday December 20, 2018 6:00pm
Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus Monthly Meeting & Holiday Pitch-in
Democracy Lab, 116 S. Madison St., Bloomington
The December meeting of the MCBDC will be held on Dec. 20 at 6:00pm. The meeting will also serve as a Christmas dinner (of the pitch-in variety). If you want to contribute to the pitch-in contact Nicole at [email protected] to coordinate food items.
The meeting will also feature biennial elections (postponed from the November meeting) for the offices of President, Vice President and Treasurer. Each member of record in good standing is entitled to vote with the exception of associate and honorary members. A member is considered to be in good standing immediately upon payment of membership dues. A member must be in good standing for a period of at least one year in order to be considered as a candidate for office.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019, 12:00pm
Swearing In Ceremony for Elected Officials
Monroe County Courthouse, Nat U. Hill Room
You are invited to attend the swearing in ceremony for our recently elected officials. This is a bi-partisan event, open to the public. We are very pleased to congratulate all Democrats and Republicans on their hard earned victories and thank them for answering the call to public service.  We will also extend our deepest gratitude to those whose campaigns were not successful.

Saturday, January 12, 2019, 9:00am - 5:00pm
IN Dems Municipal Candidate Training
Ivy Tech Conference Center, 2820 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Ready to make a difference in your community? Do you want to build a better quality of life for your fellow Hoosiers? Are you ready to run for public office?
The Indiana Democratic Party is organizing  a municipal Candidate Training on January 12th at the Ivy Tech Conference Center (2820 N Meridian St Indianapolis, IN 46208).  At this training, you will learn all the tools and tips you need to launch a successful campaign. More women, first-time candidates and young people have stepped up to move Indiana forward. If you're ready to do the work, let us help you get started. Sign up for the training by clicking on the following link: https://secure.ngpvan.com/EzO5QpFB_U--xU4pNtO3bA2

Sunday, January 13, 2019 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Democratic Party Caucus for County Council and MCDP Chair
Monroe County Courthouse, Nat U. Hill Room
With Lee Jones’ victory in the County Commissioner race there will be a caucus to fill her position on the Monroe County Council. In addition, Mark Fraley has announced that he will be stepping down as Party Chair.  You may find his statement of resignation here. On January 13, 2019, at 1pm there will be a Party Caucus to select replacements for these two positions. If you have any interest in these positions or would like more information, please contact Mark Fraley at [email protected]. The deadline to put your name in for consideration is January 10th at 1:00pm.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 10:00am - 3:00pm
League Day at the Indiana Statehouse
Indiana State Library, 315 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis
Before you go, set up appointments with your Indiana representatives at the Statehouse and advocate for issues that affect your League and your community. Redistricting reform is the top priority but they encourage you to bring to them all your concerns including women's health, education, natural resources and gun safety. LWVIN State Advocates will be on hand at the Indiana State Library to give you support and answer any questions you may have. More details to follow.

Sunday, January 27th, 2019 1:00 - 3:00p.m.
Monroe County NOW January Chapter Meeting
Monroe County Library, Room 1B

ACTION ITEM(s):

1. Renew your DWC membership. Dues are $20 for the year and you can renew online at https://democraticwomenscaucus.nationbuilder.com/membership.

2. Consider running for the Steering Committee. Up for election this year are the positions of Chair, Secretary and five at-large members. If you have questions, please contact Amy Swain. If you know you want to add your voice to DWC leadership, just email [email protected] ASAP and let us know.

3. Think about the endorsement process. Then please review the questions posed by the Steering Committee and register your thoughts by emailing them to [email protected]

BECOME A DWC MEMBER: The DWC is dedicated to inspiring, recruiting, training, supporting and funding women to increase the number of progressive, pro-choice women in the political arena. We ALL help with this mission, together, collectively. Make sure you have full rights and privileges of membership.
Only $20 for one year’s membership.  
Join online here: https://democraticwomenscaucus.nationbuilder.com/membership

Do you have news items? Send your items of interest to us at [email protected]
Deadline for MMN is noon on Sunday.

Paid for by DWPAC - Democratic Women's Political Action Committee
Democratic Women's Caucus
http://www.democraticwomenscaucus.org/