Basic responsibilities of a County Committee member are:
- Attend one or two meetings each year
- Elect party leadership
- Help fill judicial vacancies
- Choose Democratic nominees in state special elections
- Vote on matters brought to the committee, including party rules
What CAN you do as a member?
- Improve how the party is run!
- Organize in your area with your neighbors!
- Get out the vote efforts and engaging voters!
- Participate in the judicial election process!
- Create buzz around issues you care about!
- Support the campaign of a candidate for office who you support!
- Get to know local elected officials better!
- Create and lead an Assembly District Committee!
What is the time commitment of a County Committee member?
- It is as small or as large as you want it to be!
- Members serve a two-year term.
- You will spend time petitioning to get on the ballot.
- Meetings are twice a year in the evenings and can last a few hours. Meetings have been conducted remotely due to the pandemic. If you cannot attend a meeting, you can give permission to a fellow trusted member to vote for you (voting by proxy).
- Some members choose to do more than the minimum requirements of the position. You could end up spending more (hopefully quality) time connecting with and organizing neighbors, participating in an Assembly District Committee, and advocating for change within the party and with elected officials.
What is an Assembly District Committee?
While it can feel easy to get lost in the mix as part of a 5,000-member body, once you’ve been elected to County Committee you can also participate at a more local level as part of your Assembly District Committee, or ADC.
ADCs consist of all the County Committee members in an Assembly District. The structure of an ADC mimics the structure of the County Committee. You will elect officers, have standing subcommittees, and hold meetings based on quorum rules. An ADC is a formally recognized body filed with the Board of Elections.
ADCs can provide an opportunity to hold meaningful debates about our party, and to learn about voters and issues in your district. They can provide a channel for members to communicate with party leaders and elected officials. A request for a meeting with a State Senator or Assemblymember may carry more weight when it comes from an ADC rather than an individual County Committee member.
Unfortunately, very few Assembly District Committees exist. Fortunately, that is changing, and more and more County Committee members are organizing to form ADCs in their districts. Hopefully this will lead to greater participation, a wider diversity of voices, and more inclusive practices at all levels of the Party.
Rep Your Block can help you find out if your AD has an ADC and, if they don't, how to help get one off the ground.
Ready to run? Sign up now to Rep Your Block!