Question For The Forum: “Mr. Suddith, what is your vision for the future of Kettering? How can that dream be actualized?”

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Mike Bock

I’m proud that my neighbor, Bryan Suddith, is seeking to be elected the mayor of Kettering. I’ve told him that, of the 41 precincts in Kettering, my goal is to help him to get his highest percentage in our precinct, Kettering 4-K. I’ve distributed flyers throughout the precinct advertising that this Saturday at 4:00 PM in front of Bryan’s house at 609 Schuyler will be a neighborhood gathering to greet Bryan and Melissa and participate in Q / A and discussion. The flyer emphasizes, Bring a Lawn Chair.

Next week, my focus will be to visit with infrequent voters and unaffiliated voters registered in this precinct. My pitch is simple — “Bryan is a great guy, talented, a history of service, a member of Kettering Council, endorsed by the retiring mayor, Peggy Lehner, etc. — and, HE IS OUR NEIGHBOR. Let’s help our neighbor get elected as our mayor.”

Unknown to me, the League of Women Voters forum for Kettering mayor scheduled at Christ Methodist Church was cancelled last night. As it turned out, Bob Scott, the other candidate seeking to be elected mayor, a week earlier had informed the League that he would be unavailable. Anyway, I enjoyed the forum for the Kettering City Council candidates and the forum for the Centerville School Board candidates.

Below is part of the e-mail I sent to Bryan in anticipation of the forum:

Here is a question:

“Mr. Suddith, what is your vision for the future of Kettering? How can that dream be actualized?”

The context of all conversations about the future is the astonishing reality that we are on the verge of the arrival of super intelligence that far exceeds that of humans. Ray Kurzweil, since 2005, has predicted that the arrival of the Singularity will be in 2045, but with the enormous sums of money being spent, many experts now are predicting AI super-intelligence will arrive much sooner. It truly is beyond the capacity of a human mind to conceive of what these machines might do — great good, unlimited material abundance and economic liberty and fairness for all, or great harm, painful totalitarian control and, even, human extinction.

Amazon just reported that in the next few years, it will fill 600,000 jobs with robots. I fear massive unemployment soon will lead to a time of great social turmoil. Many citizens already have given up on a system of democracy that has let them down and I fear this trend will grow.

The future of Kettering is tied to the future of America and, in fact, the whole world. We truly are all in this together and our only hope is that somehow American democracy will be repaired so that it can finally empower governments of, by, and for the people — for the common good, for being a force for good in the world. We have a long way to go.

The Kettering of the future I’d like to see you advocate is a Kettering that is famous for starting the democracy of the future — a vibrant 21st century participatory democracy — a community that practices a politics of unity, that has a well-informed and empowered rank-and-file, an engaged youth, etc.

It seems like fate that in Kettering we have the Kettering Foundation funded by Charles Kettering in 1927, now with $500 million, and that its mission is to advance thriving democracies throughout the world.

In order for American democracy to thrive, we need a big upgrade to the system. We need to develop the democracy of the future that will use technology and artificial intelligence to empower the rank-and-file to meaningfully participate in their democracy. There is no better place than Kettering for the democracy of the future to be developed. It seems a good bet that the Kettering Foundation would be receptive to working with a Kettering mayor who offers a plan.

Now, the fun part will be to write a draft of a plan to establish the democracy of the future in Kettering — as a starting point for discussion. For multiple reasons, Kettering would be an ideal place for an upgrade to a 21st century participatory democracy system. Kettering would be an ideal place for the start of a participatory democracy grassroots movement.

This question about a vision for the future of Kettering is a great question for Bryan. To get to our best future — a future where the astonishing power of AI is used for the common good — will require a united citizenry. We need to invent a politics of unity and Bryan is gifted in all the skills and the background of experiences needed to do just that.

I can’t seem to help myself, but I’m becoming pessimistic about the future. The division and hostility in today’s politics is so great, there seems no answer. We need to elect leaders who have the character, skills and experience needed to build unity and who have the commitment to do so. I have a lot of confidence in Bryan Suddith.

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Question To Liz Walters: Will The Ohio Democratic Party Approve The Direct Election Of MCDP Leaders?

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Mike Bock

Liz Walters, the Ohio Democratic Party Chairperson. On March 27, Liz made a presentation to the MCDP Executive Committee. In response I posted, an email that I intended to send, but I rewrote the email and this is the one I am sending.

Dear Liz Walters:

Thank you for your thoughtful analysis and wonderful graphs concerning the 2024 election that you shared with the Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Committee.

To meet the huge challenges facing our party, I believe our party needs to make some big changes in its procedures — starting with how party leaders are chosen. Now, leaders are chosen by the MCDP Central Committee. I believe it would be a big improvement if leaders would be elected by the total MCDP membership.

The 17th Amendment — the direct election of US Senators — was a great victory for participatory democracy. The direct election of Democratic Party leadership also would be a victory for democracy, and, to the point, direct election would empower a membership campaign that would make our party stronger and would boost our brand.

The ODP, I hope, will approve a process for direct election of MCDP leaders similar to the process used to select ODP leaders. The ODP Constitution calls for the elected ODP Central Committee, “the controlling committee,” to merge with and to transfer all of its authority to a larger group, an Executive Committee. It is this larger group that chooses the ODP officers. This process is in keeping with the Ohio Revised Code which says: “Each major party controlling committee shall elect an executive committee that shall have the powers granted to it by the party controlling committee, and provided to it by law.”

To be consistent with this law, my proposal is for the MCDP Central Committee to elect the entire membership of the MCDP to be the MCDP Executive Committee, for the purpose of leader selection only, and, in all other matters, for the Central Committee to continue to act as the “controlling committee.”

The goal is a unified and harmonious party. The proposal is that individuals elected to leadership by the total MCDP membership will serve in the same offices on the Central Committee. The person elected to serve as MCDP Chairperson, for example, will also serve as Central Committee Chairperson. The total membership of the MCDP will have meetings — with on-line participation and votes — and make recommendations. The Central Committee will either approve, modify, or table these recommendations at in-person meetings where remote voting will be prohibited

My hope is that you will give the go-ahead to this general idea and the remainder of 2025 there will grow consensus within the MCDP for this big change and agreement as to the details in the new MCDP Constitution. The goal is for the 2026 Reorganization to ratify a a new constitution that empowers the direct election of officers and that schedules the next Reorganization in two years, rather than four. If this works out, the first direct election of MCDP leadership will occur in 2028.

Of course, changing the MCDP Constitution, by itself, would have little impact. The idea is to make the direct election of officers part of a big campaign, starting in 2025, to greatly increase membership and to build a new grassroots infrastructure. The purpose of restructuring would be to make the Democratic Party a grassroots organization that meaningfully engages and empowers rank-and-file Democrats, especially youth. I’m thinking it would be feasible, by 2028, for a grassroots campaign to sign up at least one out of twenty registered Democrats as MCDP members — a little more than 2028 members. Our slogan could be: “2028 in 2028!”

I hope you agree with me that direct election of Democratic leadership should be given a try. Please tell if my interpretation of Ohio law would be approved by the ODP and, if not, please help me think through how direct election can be approved. I am sharing this letter with fellow Democrats and posting this letter on my website. I will post your response, also.

Thank you. If you’d like to discuss any of this, please telephone. I’d love a conversation. Best wishes to you in all that you do.

Sincerely,

See:

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My Email To Liz Walters Asks If Proposed Changes To The MCDP Constitution Would Be Approved By The ODP

Posted on April 5, 2025 by Mike Bock

On March 27, Liz Walters gave a well-received address to the Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Committee. Walters was chosen to lead the ODP in 2021, the first woman to be elected to this position. Afterward her presentation she gave me her card to email my question to her. I am sharing that email here.

Dear Liz Walters —

Liz Walters, chosen to lead the Ohio Democratic Party in 2021.

I appreciate your spirit and hard work. Thank you for your thoughtful presentation to the MCDP Executive Committee examining the 2024 election data.

We are in an emergency and, like never before, it is crucial for Democrats to be united. You pointed out that each of the 88 counties may have different strategies. In Montgomery County, I’m proposing changes in the MCDP organizational structure for the purpose of uniting and engaging rank-and-file Democrats. I’m seeking your advice about how to make this proposal to align with ODP requirements.

In 2018, I was a member of the MCDP Constitution Committee and at that time the document was entitled, “The Constitution And By-Laws for The Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee and Executive Committee.” The whole document was about rules for this committee. The 2018 Reorganization changed the title to the “Montgomery County Democratic Party Constitution,” but the document, to this day, only deals with the Central Committee.

We never elect a chairman of the MCDP, because the MCDP is not an organization, it’s just a membership list. We elect the chair of the Central / Executive Committee. My proposal is to make changes in the MCDP Constitution so that the MCDP is an organization of rank-and-file members and elects the chair of the MCDP. One of the committees of the MCDP would be the Central / Executive Committee — the “controlling committee” as defined by the ORC.

My hope is for the 2026 Reorganization to approve an MCDP Constitution that empowers the members of the MCDP to elect the MCDP Chair and to schedule the next Reorganization for 2028. It will be fun to think through an on-line convention and a rank-choice process that will be included in the 2026 Constitution proposal.

The ODP sets an example that I hope can be applied to a new MCDP Constitution. There are 66 members elected to the ODP Central Committee in Democratic Primaries. The ODP Constitution calls for this group of 66 to transfer its authority into an ODP Executive Committee of 148 members and it is this 148 member committee that elects the ODP officers.

The constitution I am proposing would transfer this selection of the Chair of the Central/ Executive Committee to to the membership of the MCDP. This total membership would choose the Chair of the MCDP / Chair of the Executive Committee. It is important that the two overlapping groups have the same leader.

The MCDP could hold meetings on-line. The elected members of the MCDP Central Committee, of course, would be the leaders in these MCDP meetings. Any decisions of the MCDP would need to be confirmed, or modified, by the “controlling committee” — the MCDP Central / Executive Committee — at meetings where members must be present in person to vote, as required by the ODP.

At the 2018 MCDP Reorganization, a Preamble and Statement of Purpose was added to the MCDP Constitution:

Preamble
We the Representatives of the Democrats living in Montgomery County —in order to form a strong party organization that empowers representative democracy within our party and throughout the county —do establish the Montgomery County Democratic Party Constitution.

Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the MCDP is to represent and to serve Montgomery County Democrats. The MCDP advances this purpose by connecting Montgomery County Democrats within an extended MCDP community where every member has a voice

These additions to the constitution were confirmed at the 2022 Reorganization. They address the defining issue of our time —the disintegration of our system of democracy. The way for the Democratic Party to engage rank-and-file Democrats, I believe, is to do the hard work needed to become known as the party that is for democracy — participatory democracy. My hope is that Montgomery County can show the way.

Please give me your feedback about these proposed changes to the MCDP Constitution. I plan on posting this letter on my website, DaytonOS.com, and I will post your reply. I’d be happy to talk by phone if you prefer.

Thank you. Sincerely,

See:

Let’s Amend The MCDP Constitution So, In 2026, Rank-And-File Democrats Will Directly Elect The Montgomery County Democratic Party ChairpersonPosted onJanuary 18, 2022

To Push Back Against Trump, The Democratic Party Must Be Transformed Into A “For-Democracy” Organization. Posted on January 24, 2025