Developing The Next Wave Of Leaders

We all know that there was a huge influx of people that volunteered on every level of the Obama campaign. Thousands of people just in the Portland Metro area, individuals that had never been involved in politics before, provided sweat equity to ensure the Democrats prevailed in the fall. The effort now though is to find a way to keep these dedicated people engaged and involved as we move into the less energizing time between campaigns.

The Obama administration is working very hard to keep that momentum from the campaign by providing opportunities for these folks to remain involved. They have been leveraging their list of volunteers, donors and friends to host events that ask for participation in the ongoing idea generation effort that is essential for good governance. This effort presents an opportunity at the local level to find the people in our communities that are more likely to be active, maybe even become candidates, in the next election.

I saw direct evidence of this at a recent event that was part of the nationwide effort by the Obama administration to generate support, personal stories and solutions in relation to the stimulus package. A friend of mine, with the Washington County Democrats, hosted one of these meetings. The meetings were being held around the country, mostly in people’s homes. This one though was being held at the county party headquarters. There were twenty people who signed up for the meeting and fifteen of those eventually showed up, not bad for a Sunday afternoon. Thirteen of these people had never been involved with the county party directly on any level.

For many, thirteen people might not sound like a significant number. What you must consider is that, at this point in the election cycle, this type of outreach, that draws first time participation, is really exceptional. We are currently at a point in time when political participation is traditionally at its lowest point, a month or so after the new pols took office. For the Washington County Democrats to get thirteen unique individuals to come through its doors in one day, outside of any election being contested, is something that must be given deeper consideration.

The politically minded should understand this as an opening for those who wish to ascend to a position of leadership in their community. The ability to meet engaged and active voters a year or more before any significant campaign activity affords potential leaders an opportunity to build the kind of grassroots political framework needed to run for office. These ongoing meetings sponsored by the Obama Administration are a way newly minted civic leaders can introduce individuals to the importance of local elections and earn their support.

I am not sure if these ongoing meetings were conceived of as an incubator for leadership at the local level. Given the philosophies that guide community organizing it would stand to reason that developing a more inclusive route to civic leadership was probably on the minds of the Obama Administration people who initiate these events. Now that we have been given this chance to drive participation and allow for a more dynamic Democratic Party, it would behoove political activists to go to these meetings and look for potential candidates and create a broader base of participation for future elections.