Good Grief! I would vote for Lee too if I could. For goodness sakes have you seen there are more than a thousand page views for Lee’s page? Or maybe she keeps checking in? (kidding Lee)
Lee Platt from the Bob Buehler thread talking about the DCC,
The organization is charged with supporting all democratic candidates equally.
I’m not seeing that when one member of the DCC stole and destroyed a campaign sign of a DEMOCRATIC candidate that he doesn’t support. Do you, as ViceChair of the DCC, feel Vincent Ippolito should be asked to resign his membership? Is there anything being done in the DCC to kick this dude to the curb?
Sorry, but I’m sure there are many Democrats who don’t want someone like Mr Ippolito representing them.
I am sure seahorse there are- probably including some on the Committee. You know its the same with both parties- there seems to be some instability on both sides. This just makes some of us Republicans feel much better about some of our members.
Lee Platt from the Bob Buehler thread talking about the DCC,
The organization is charged with supporting all democratic candidates equally.
I’m not seeing that when one member of the DCC stole and destroyed a campaign sign of a DEMOCRATIC candidate that he doesn’t support. Do you, as ViceChair of the DCC, feel Vincent Ippolito should be asked to resign his membership? Is there anything being done in the DCC to kick this dude to the curb?
Sorry, but I’m sure there are many Democrats who don’t want someone like Mr Ippolito representing them.
I suspect there are quite a few members on the Central Committee who are humiliated and outraged by that behavior. The Central Committee’s next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, 1 June. Recommend any Democrats with concerns voice them on the CCDCC website before that date. There is a “Contact Us” link on the site. http://www.charlesdems.org. The louder the outcry, the more likely appropriate action will be taken.
It may also be appropriate to voice concerns to the State Central Committee. Their next meeting is June 12th. State and County Central Committee meetings are open to the public.
Lee Platt from the Bob Buehler thread talking about the DCC,
The organization is charged with supporting all democratic candidates equally.
I’m not seeing that when one member of the DCC stole and destroyed a campaign sign of a DEMOCRATIC candidate that he doesn’t support. Do you, as ViceChair of the DCC, feel Vincent Ippolito should be asked to resign his membership? Is there anything being done in the DCC to kick this dude to the curb?
Sorry, but I’m sure there are many Democrats who don’t want someone like Mr Ippolito representing them.
I suspect there are quite a few members on the Central Committee who are humiliated and outraged by that behavior. The Central Committee’s next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, 1 June. Recommend any Democrats with concerns voice them on the CCDCC website before that date. There is a “Contact Us” link on the site. http://www.charlesdems.org. The louder the outcry, the more likely appropriate action will be taken.
It may also be appropriate to voice concerns to the State Central Committee. Their next meeting is June 12th. State and County Central Committee meetings are open to the public.
Good Grief is not me, btw. I will try to respond to this later; I’m in the middle of a time-sensitive project and can’t take the time right now.
I suspect there are quite a few members on the Central Committee who are humiliated and outraged by that behavior
Good Grief (good name), I hope you’re right. I can’t imagine the likes of Vinnie doing what he did at the most important Democratic get-together for the year especially with the Governor of Maryland and the 2nd most powerful Congressman in attendance.
If Ippolito thinks stealing a Robinson campaign poster is going to make any difference, he’s delusional (small D, no Duck). Ippolito’s lack of respect for the democratic process will, hopefully, help Robinson garner more votes. If this is what Graves’s supporters do, what’s that tell you about Graves? I think we all know the answer to that!
It is a shame that something like this occurred at all, regardless of who was involved and where it happened. As I stated a few months ago in another thread, people are people. People do stupid things all the time. People say stupid things all the time. Why, people even post stupid things on fora such as this one all the time. Sometimes human behavior is inexplicable. Does it reflect badly on the committee as a whole? It shouldn’t, any more than it reflects badly on, say, all middle aged white men or all Waldorf small business owners.
Our committee is made up of twelve very diverse people. Our backgrounds, educations and life experiences span the spectrum. I think we truly do provide a representative sample of the general Democratic population in the county. Are we all outraged? Probably not. Are we all of one mind on how to best address this unfortunate situation? Probably not.
What do I think personally? I’m part of a committee; everything we do is by majority vote. I will make sure that if this item is on our agenda, that I will make my position crystal clear in that forum. My job is to participate in the most intelligent and professional manner possible. I can leave every meeting knowing that I acted responsibly, maturely and made contributions consistent with our charter and purpose. Sometimes I am part of the majority and sometimes I’m not. I do my best to present the most compelling arguments for my positions and back them up more often than not with facts and data. That’s the best I can do.
As good grief stated above, our next meeting is on Tuesday at the American Legion in La Plata. It begins at 7 pm and you are certainly welcome to attend. You can see for yourself.
It is a shame that something like this occurred at all, regardless of who was involved and where it happened.
You’re right and thank you for your response. For something like this to occur at the T/K Dinner, though, is sort of worse than some kid stealing a campaign sign from a front yard.
Well, now it’s official. There are 11 of us running for 9 seats, so campaigning will be required.
I would like to appeal to the DD community members who are registered Democrats to get out and vote for me. I’d also like you to vote for Debra Hobbs. Together, we can accomplish a lot. There are several other candidates that I would like to recommend, but until I speak to them personally, I won’t mention them here.
While I believe that passion for the party can be positive, I also believe that disregard for other points of view is suicidal. I see the role of the committee being much more proactive than it has since I’ve been involved. I see the need for us to amp up the fundraising so it’s more than one event per year (an event, that I might add, takes 9 months to organize - even though by now it should be formulaic). Our investments need to be earlier in the election cycle, should target more potential contributors, should attract people representing all segments of our changing population and should be organized and conducted in a way that maximizes return on investment. Oh, and no sign stealing would be a big plus.
What will convince you to vote for me?
What will convince you to tell your friends to vote for me?
One of the things I envision is forging a stronger working relationship between the committee and the local elected officials. We need to have opportunity for candid discussions and two-way feedback, including constructive criticism. Ultimately, together we should strive to provide the best government for our constituents.
Sadly, we’ve been marginalized - or perhaps we’ve marginalized ourselves.
I think we could have helped during the past four years, given the opportunity.
Well sorry I cannot vote for you Lee, I would if I could but not in the primary even though I do know you are a good choice. But my wife can so you have hers.
Eric its good to hear from you again and see that you are running for office. Lee, I would vote for you if I could. We have talked and I appreciate your strength and honesty.
Well, things are heating up. It is interesting to observe the dynamic within the committee when now there are a number of us who are competing for office. I don’t know what it would take to change the cycle, but it seems counterproductive to have this situation at a time when we should be focused on getting our candidates elected. From past experience, I believe that after the primary it will take the new committee (regardless of the probability that it will include many current members) a few months to regroup. Or group, for that matter. Bad timing, considering we should be in high gear to support the general election!
Our first “official” event after the primary is the Charles County Fair, at which we always have a booth. Candidates are permitted to “campaign” at the booth, but not at the fair proper. We expect that we’ll have all of our candidates there throughout the weekend…local, state and national. As in the past, I’m sure the Republican Central Committee booth will be directly across the aisle from ours.
Meanwhile, the meeting regularly scheduled for the first Tuesday of the month will be rescheduled in August so as not to conflict with National Night Out. It is at that meeting that I expect findings will be presented after researching the various options to consider for addressing the resignation of the Commissioner’s President. Unfortunately, because of the date change, I won’t be at the meeting once again - on business travel
I would still appreciate any feedback, constructive criticism or guidance from readers of this blog that will help me focus my limited resources over the next few weeks.
Now it is just over two weeks before the primary election. It has been very difficult to remain impartial when there are multiple qualified Democrats running opposed. What makes it even more difficult is that in the small world that is Charles County, impartiality is complicated by relationships-some of which have existed for decades, if not generations.
I have personally tried to remain impartial. Yes, I have friends running for office and I wish them the best. As a Central Committee member, I take the responsibility to support all equally very seriously. Only I know what I will do and who I will vote for once in the booth.
I regret that during my tenure on the Committee that we, as a body, have been mostly irrelevant. If I am elected, either that will change or I will stop trying.
I appreciate having this forum, and hope those of you who can will vote for me in September. I am looking forward to the Committee being a more integral part of Charles County politics.
I am not running- but that is what my goal has been these last few years- get the pot stirred so we will have change for the better. “If I am elected, either that will change or I will stop trying.” My feelings is I will have tried and put all my energy into it and if it doesnt change I can at least know I tried. And then I will just move on.
Lee ~ I can vote for you on the 14th and I really look forward to doing just that!
If I could just comment on the booth at the County Fair. Can you see what you can do about getting whoever is actually working the booth to engage visitors in some sort of conversation?? I have been by year after year and zippo interest from anyone sitting behind the table. I even tried to start a conversation and was just ignored. It is really sad to see how empty and unengaged the CCDCC booth is in comparison to the CCRCC.
The booth at the fair is paid for by the committee, but staffed by the various Democratic Clubs during the weekend. I am personally always there on the first and last days. Since it’s an election year, I expect that our primary winners will be there throughout the weekend. I will pass along your request at the next committee meeting and make sure we have folks there willing to engage.
Since the fair is immediately following the primary, I have been assured that it will be infested (joking) with candidates running for office. All of them will undoubtedly be willing to engage in discussion with visitors to the booth.
The three county Demcratic clubs as well as committee members will also be there. I plan to be there on the first night and the last day, so find me and let’s talk.
Don’t know if I’ll be a committee member again that day, but I do know I will be at the fair anyhow - to drop off baked goods for competition.
(kidding Lee)
