Florida Keys Democrats

A Message and a Plan for 2012 From the New Monroe County Democratic Executive Committee Chair

First, I would like to recognize the other officers who were elected with me to guide Monroe County’s Democratic Party efforts over the next two years: Liz Lustberg, Vice-chair; Sue Sullivan, Secretary, and Kimberly Sloan, Treasurer. Along with our two State Committee representatives; Pam Martin and Ian Whitney we commit to continue strengthening the Democratic Party in Monroe County.

I would like to also acknowledge the hard work of everyone who helped out in the 2010 elections by making calls; talking to neighbors; distributing candidate materials; donating money and time; helping to Get Out The Vote – all of these efforts help nurture the Democratic Party in Monroe County. Thank you for what you did as Democratic citizen-activists!

While we didn’t get the results we wanted in this past election we must look forward. 2012 will be a pivotal election nationally and we have an important role to play in that contest. The most important of course is the re-election of President Barack Obama! On the state level Senator Bill Nelson will be met with a strong challenger funded with enormous resources – thanks to the Supreme Court’s recent decision. While we are a small county every vote counts in this Democracy and our votes are as important as anyone’s vote in Miami or Palm Beach. We must Get Out The Vote in 2012 to help keep the White House and U.S. Senate in Democratic control.

In addition to those important races we also need to re-elect our State Representative Ron Saunders so that he can continue doing his best to hold at bay any of the excesses of the Republican dominated state legislature.

Add to that the fact that all of our Constitutional Officers are up for election along with several City, County, School Board and other commission seats – we will have our hands full in 2012. I should note that along the way we will also need to marshal critical support for our local candidates in 2011 in the Key West and Marathon City Commission races as well as the Key West Utility Board.

To be successful in our work we need to build on what our immediate past Chair, Liz Lustberg, created over the last few years. I was a proud part of her team and we were able to build a new infrastructure for the Monroe County Democratic Party that was very effective in 2010 and will be more so as we continue to build on this foundation.

My proposed plans for 2012 are as follows:

• Expand our base of Democratic voters
According to the Supervisor of Elections there were 1,220 more Republicans than Democrats in Monroe County as of January 4, 2011. We need to emphasize registering new voters and converting independents to our important cause.

• Strengthen our DEC Membership and the Grassroots Volunteer Network
My goal is to have precinct leaders in all 33 precincts of Monroe County by 2012. This will sustain us as an organization into the future. At the same time we need to continue to grow our Network of Neighbors to make certain that we have on-the-ground capacity to Get Out The Vote when we need to!

• Recruit and Develop Democratic Candidates for Offices at all Levels
In addition to our important efforts to find and support solid Democrats to run for office across Monroe County we need to groom a cadre of potential candidates. One of our best “training ground” for that purpose would be the large number of appointed commission and board seats that are available to be named by city and county commissioners. (e.g., Planning Board, Historic Preservation, Tree Commission, etc.) We will pursue willing Democrats who are ready to use these entry level roles as a stepping stone to their future contribution as Democratic candidates for elective office.

• Fundraising! Fundraising! Fundraising! Fundraising!
Nothing on our agenda will happen without money. Fundraising starting NOW is critical. Along with the races for the Presidency, U.S. Senate and Florida State Representative we will have another 15 – 20 very important local races that immediately affect our way of life. It will be an enormous challenge for us to be able to provide GOTV and financial support for all of these candidates.

You can help in this effort starting NOW!
If you would like to contribute to the Monroe County DEC using a credit card, please visit:

Please watch for our new initiatives on each of these fronts over the months ahead. We encourage anyone who is interested in helping build the future of the Democratic Party in Monroe County to join us in one of the many ways available. Please look at the Volunteer Section of our website and find the place where you can make a real contribution or contact me directly for more information.

The principles and ideals of the Democratic Party include the right of all people to have freedom of expression, religion and the pursuit of happiness as well as a quality education, a clean and safe environment, a secure and healthy future, a fair living wage, secure retirement, equal opportunity, and access to quality health care. This is what we are fighting for as Democrats – won’t you please consider taking an active role in the Monroe County Democratic Party and help us pursue these goals?