Berks County Reorganization
Berks County Democrats convened yesterday (well, some of them) to elect a new slate of officers. SEIU official Tom Herman was elected Chair, Darlington Hoopes, Jr. Vice-Chairman, Gloria Seifrit Vice-Chairlady, Frank Denbowski Recording Secretary, Boyd Winegardner Treasurer, and Barry Groebel as Financial Secretary.
The old guard, local machine was victorious over the progressive faction which has seen enormous growth over the past few years. The union vote came out for a rare appearance and voted in a bloc for their slate. It will be interesting to see if they'll also turn out to do all the volunteer work necessary.
The results were spawning calls from some progressives to leave the Party. We are feeling very unwelcome by the unions even though we're staunch supporters of unions, labor rights, and raising the minimum wage. I'm completely mystified by some of their actions. Our new Chair, a union official, actually undermined my efforts to the extent I stopped my volunteer work for the Minimum Wage Coalition because of what he was doing. Of course it was all about him winning his races rather than working for the common good. I felt there had to be some accountability and couldn't justify continuing the considerable amount of time I was devoting to the cause.
It's going to be difficult, once again, to convince many outraged progressives not to leave. I'm not sure how convincing an argument I can continue to make against that. I still believe we must work within the Party to effect change. I'm just not sure my heart is still with that argument.
These results were disheartening, especially considering the incompetent manner in which yesterday's meeting was conducted. No one had a clue about what they were doing. No ten day notice was given in advance of the meeting and I know of numerous committeepersons who weren't even notified of the meeting.
I thought they should have convened the meeting in accordance with the bylaws then immediately recessed for two weeks to provide proper notice to newly elected committeepersons. This would have satisfied all of the bylaws and insured the integrity of the process.
I also hope to someday see a treasurer's report that conforms to Roberts Rules of Order and whose numbers actually add up. Not to mention one that's complete and accurate.
The old guard, local machine was victorious over the progressive faction which has seen enormous growth over the past few years. The union vote came out for a rare appearance and voted in a bloc for their slate. It will be interesting to see if they'll also turn out to do all the volunteer work necessary.
The results were spawning calls from some progressives to leave the Party. We are feeling very unwelcome by the unions even though we're staunch supporters of unions, labor rights, and raising the minimum wage. I'm completely mystified by some of their actions. Our new Chair, a union official, actually undermined my efforts to the extent I stopped my volunteer work for the Minimum Wage Coalition because of what he was doing. Of course it was all about him winning his races rather than working for the common good. I felt there had to be some accountability and couldn't justify continuing the considerable amount of time I was devoting to the cause.
It's going to be difficult, once again, to convince many outraged progressives not to leave. I'm not sure how convincing an argument I can continue to make against that. I still believe we must work within the Party to effect change. I'm just not sure my heart is still with that argument.
These results were disheartening, especially considering the incompetent manner in which yesterday's meeting was conducted. No one had a clue about what they were doing. No ten day notice was given in advance of the meeting and I know of numerous committeepersons who weren't even notified of the meeting.
I thought they should have convened the meeting in accordance with the bylaws then immediately recessed for two weeks to provide proper notice to newly elected committeepersons. This would have satisfied all of the bylaws and insured the integrity of the process.
I also hope to someday see a treasurer's report that conforms to Roberts Rules of Order and whose numbers actually add up. Not to mention one that's complete and accurate.
posted by PA progressive @ Sunday, June 04, 2006
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