The Future of RI County Dems
John Gianulis has done an amazingly successful job as head of the Rock Island County Dem organization for as long as many of us can remember (hell, since before many of us were born!). He's recognized as THE county chairman in Illinois and widely respected. He's still as energetic and active as most 20 year olds, we should all be doing that well at his age. But even Gianulis can't work forever. (though he might prove me wrong!)
Now that we're making the first steps into the 21st century, it's necessary to think of the future. The way races are run has changed dramatically and fundamentally and will continue to change and evolve at a rapid pace. Methods that have proven successful in past decades, while important, just won't be sufficient in the years to come.
The quantum leaps in the use of technology in campaigns and organization will provide those who adopt them and use them wisely a great advantage. Those who ignore this development, who drag their feet or are slow to realize their value will be left in the dust.
Many reliably die-hard Democratic party workers and activists have done a tremendous job for many years, putting in an amazing amount of work and sacrifice to ensure decades of Democratic dominance in RI County. But times, demographics, and society have all undergone vast changes in the past 30 years. What happens as this generation of people who are the bedrock of the organization gradually are unable to continue?
Though there are younger people involved with the party, I've seen precious few of them, other than paid campaign staff. This is a definite cause for concern. Once the current generation of loyal workers has passed, what then??
There appears to be no one who has been groomed as heir apparent to Gianulis. Will it be open warfare when he steps down? What is needed to ensure that the RI Dems continue to be a strong and effective organization into the next millennium? Who would be a good successor to John G?
Can the RI Dem organization be drug into 21st century political reality, and if so, how, and by whom?
posted by The Inside Dope @ 2/19/2005
16 comments
16 Comments:
There are many, including John Brown, Phil Banaszek (sp) and Bonsask (sp) not including the anti Gianulis crowd.
OK, but why would those choices be good? What would they bring to the table? Who do you feel is best qualified and why?
Share your thoughts.
Phil Banaszek has been a Republican his whole life. I don't think he'd make a county chairman of the Democratic Party.
Viva La Gianulis!!
John Brown has certainly put in the long hours and the back breaking labor as John G's right hand man. From the nuts and bolts aspect, to the precinct committee persons level up, to the day-to-day operations, to implementing a GOTV, John has been a solid Democrat, and someone who could mobilize the next generation of young dems. One key for whomever takes over for John G. will be to get the triumvirate(36th, 71st, 72nd elected officials)to work together,then the D's will be in good shape in Western Illinois for the future.
While all the above may be true, John Brown is a high-strung technophobe with poor interpersonal skills.
It's the year 2005 and he still has no e-mail account, refuses to use one, and thinks it's unnecessary. This is an appalling lack of vision. Not the sort of person to lead the organization into the future.
Another factor in the next county chair is finding someone who has been involved in statewide campaigns & in the actions around Springfield & Chicago. Part of John G's magic is his ability to work the statewide political crowd.
And he has done that masterfully.
Our next chairman/woman should also be able to be a liaison to the statewide and even the national scene to keep our county's strong political edge moving forward.
LatinV....first, thanks for adopting an actual name! I appreciate that. Even though this site absolutely must rely on anonymity, it's still important that each poster be identified with their posts.
So thank you.
Perhaps other commenters don't realize that simply using a made up name does NOT identify them, nor does registering with blogger and choseing a name of their choice.
You can post to your heart's content and no one will ever know who is behind your "handle".
So please, register a name, or at least fill one in consistently so we will know who is posting, even if we have no idea of your identity.
That said however, I'm not aware of any racially tinged attacks on John Brown. Could you explain a bit?
There are several high-qualified and talented folks out there who could succeed John Gianulis as county chair. "Inside Dope" makes some valid points about the need for our party to move forward with some communication technology (web site, etc.).
Re: Tech issues with the Dems. While it's true that the tried and true methods such as mailings and phone calls will continue to be important into the future, the fact remains that to reach out to and retain the next generation, a more tech-savvy leadership will be required.
There's a ton of resources and methods out there already, and it's going to continue to explode. It wouldn't be good to be caught flat-footed on this by neglecting to acknowledge it's importance or to make a serious effort to adopt new methods.
My choice for the next RI County Dem Chairman is Denny Jacobs. He's one of the only people who can unite nearly every faction of our party (hey, no one can unite everyone). Plus, he's a solid fundraiser and would be open to new idea.
My choice for the next RI County Dem Chairman is Denny Jacobs. He's one of the only people who can unite nearly every faction of our party (hey, no one can unite everyone). Plus, he's a solid fundraiser and would be open to new idea.
My choice for the next RI County Dem Chairman is Denny Jacobs. He's one of the only people who can unite nearly every faction of our party (hey, no one can unite everyone). Plus, he's a solid fundraiser and would be open to new idea.
My choice for the next RI County Dem Chairman is Denny Jacobs. He's one of the only people who can unite nearly every faction of our party (hey, no one can unite everyone). Plus, he's a solid fundraiser and would be open to new idea.
Alright bluestate, we heard ya the first time! heh!
Why not Republican, I mean DEMOCRAT Phil Banaszek. He is already wearing a lot of different hats in this district. what's one more?
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