Saturday, January 1, 2011

My Story, My Plan

(This was originally sent as an email to the DFL State Central Committee on 12/21/10.)

As I run for Secretary of our great party, I hope to speak to as many DFLers as possible. In the meantime, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about myself, my experience and my plan.

My Story

My political life began when I was a kid pounding in lawn signs with my mom. She is a strong liberal woman who raised me to believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every individual. She taught me that there is honor in standing up for what you believe and in standing up for those who cannot always stand up for themselves.

Both of my parents are proud union members, my dad is a retired Letter Carrier and my mom is a member of the Steelworkers Union (USW Local 11-75). She served six years as a steward and was elected to the executive board for three years as the Recording Secretary (it runs in the family). I am well aware that without the security that unions provide, my mom would have lost her job at 3M to out-sourcing or subcontractors before I graduated high school. I will never take that for granted.

Since high school, I have also learned not to take the work that activists do for granted. I was a freshman in college when we all lost Paul Wellstone and in that same year we went to war in Iraq. For the first time I fully realized that it’s not enough to just believe in Democratic values, but we all have the responsibility to act upon those beliefs.

The first chance I got, I ran for and was elected Secretary of the St. Olaf College Democrats and served in that role until I graduated. Throughout the 2004 Presidential Campaign I coordinated trainings for students on ways to get involved and how to caucus. These trainings drew additional membership which we sustained throughout the years. I also organized a fundraising campaign in which we raised over $6,000 in one semester, three times more than during the previous Presidential election. We used a similar plan in the following two years, bringing in more money than ever.

During the ’04 campaign, our St. Olaf group worked closely with the local units and coordinated campaign giving me a strong knowledge of the unique challenges of campaigning in more rural areas. Our state is very geographically diverse and state wide elections cannot be won or lost in just one location. I feel lucky to have lived in, and learned to campaign in a rural area.

After graduating in 2006 with a Theatre major and Management Studies concentration, I moved back to the metro area to look for a job. I was hired by Target Corp in July 2006 to be a Merchandise Specialist. Now I’m a Sr. Project Coordinator on the Owned Brand Foods team (Archer Farms & Market Pantry). My core responsibilities are Project Management (being detail oriented is a must) and leading my team of functional experts and external vendor partners through our roadmap to hit all deadlines.

I know that Target is not in favor with many DFLers (and Democrats around the country) due to the donations it made to MN Forward. Like many of you, I sent an email to our Government Affairs team and our CEO to express my disappointment (a copy of that email is attached). It gives me so much hope and joy to know that so many of you sent similar emails and through our work together we defeated not only Tom Emmer, but the moneyed corporations that backed him. I pledge to you that I will continue to be a strong voice from inside the company if you will continue to fight from outside.

Community involvement is a very important aspect of my life. I am on the Target Volunteer Council in charge of two of our headquarters wide events in the coming year, after leading two subcommittees in 2010. I have volunteered my time at a Nursing Home in White Bear Lake, a Humane Society in Faribault, and a high school theatre group in Little Falls (among others). I served as Secretary for DFL groups in college, my Senate District, my Congressional District and statewide for MYDFL. I have door knocked, phone banked, attended meetings or conventions in all eight Congressional Districts. As Secretary of MYDFL I helped draft a state wide Youth Coordinated Campaign Plan and assisted with planning and hosting three major events throughout the last year.

This past year I decided to focus my remaining spare time on managing Rep. Steve Simon’s reelection campaign. We ran a vigorous campaign in a year when DFL votes and volunteers were tough to come by. I had a unique experience in partnering with the other local campaigns and the Coordinated Campaign in SD44. Instead of duplicating efforts and vying for the same volunteers, I, along with Cheryl Youakim (Sen. Ron Latz) and Paul Cumings (Rep. Ryan Winkler) worked with the Coordinated Campaign to recruit volunteers, hit all of our targets and streamline data entry. On November 3rd Steve reelected, receiving more votes than any single Democrat in SD44.

My Plan

There were many heartbreaking losses around our state this year, some of them right next door, in campaigns I volunteered for. We need to remember this past year, learn from each other’s wins and losses and work together even harder in 2012.

Governor-Elect Dayton deserves a State House and Senate that will work with him. We deserve a government that will get stuff done for the unemployed, the sick, the poor, for those who are struggling and for those of us trying to build a life for our families. To do this we need to be strong in Greater Minnesota, we need to be strong in the cities, and we need to be strong in the ever expanding suburbs. I have campaigned, volunteered and served as secretary in all three areas.

This is a big state and unlike the Republican’s, we’ve built a big, welcoming, party. We must use the technology available to us to make our state smaller, while not forgetting that Democrats are strongest when we reach out and speak to each other and voters face-to-face. I have the time and resources to travel to all corners of this state to meet, discuss, and celebrate with other passionate DFLers.

As Secretary, I will work to be an ambassador for young people wanting to get involved by visiting colleges and universities. I will use my extensive secretary experience to perform the job to the very best of my abilities. As Secretary of the State DFL, I will dedicate my time to traveling around the state to inform, as well as to listen to input and feedback from all of you. I will use the role as secretary to find new ways to communicate with voters, focusing on technology and ways to use the internet for messaging and outreach.

I love our party, I love the passion that comes out when we know it’s just us DFLers listening. Long ago I decided I would dedicate my free time to fighting for the candidates we’ve endorsed, the platform we’ve adopted and the values we know will move our state in the right direction. Now I ask you for your support and your vote on February 5th.

You can find me online:

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