This is a note to Kurt Hatcher that I wrote in response to his recent comment on Facebook. Kurt responded to my recent post and expressed his dissatisfaction with the goals established for the MCDP Strategic Planning Committee. He wrote: “A group’s strategic plan should reflect the specific goals that the body agrees upon — not the generalizations crafted by one person. Wouldn’t it be more ‘Democratic’ for everyone to have input?”

Kurt, I want to address your statement that, “A group’s strategic plan should reflect the specific goals that the body agrees upon — not the generalizations crafted by one person.”

I am surprised that you are questioning the legitimacy of the four goals established for the MCDP Strategic Planning Committee. Here is how the democratic process worked in the MCDP to produce a Strategic Committee with these specific goals and with me the specific chairperson of the committee:

• These four goals, as I explained in my letter to the Central Committee, are those articulated in the preamble and the statement of purpose of the MCDP Constitution that was approved at the 2018 Reorganization Meeting.
• The preamble and statement of purpose emerged from the MCDP Constitution Committee where I was a member. I authored the original draft as a proposal for the Constitution Committee to consider. Every member of the Constitution Committee studied this draft and several small changes were made. The group agreed unanimously to recommend that the Constitution Committee’s version of the Preamble and Statement of Purpose be included in the revised MCDP Constitution.
• At the Reorganization Meeting, the newly re-elected MCDP Chairman urged the Central Committee to adopt the recommendations of the Constitution Committee. Every Central Committee member had the opportunity to give input. You were a voting member who attended the Reorganization Meeting and you did not object to the new preamble and statement of purpose. There was unanimous agreement that the new preamble and statement of purpose should be included in the revised MCDP Constitution. It was a democratic process.
• I was asked to serve as chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee. The purpose of this committee — as explained in a letter approved by Mark Owens, before he asked that I chair the committee — specifically is to show: “how the MCDP can advance the goals established in the preamble and statement of purpose established in the MCDP Constitution.”

Anyway, Kurt, I appreciate the efforts you are making for our party. I think by addressing these four goals the MCDP will be empowered to create a robust 21st century organization that will attract thousands more Democrats into active engagement, included many young people like yourself. The end result of a successful strategic plan will be the election of Democrats to offices that now seem far out of reach. What is of key requirement for the future success of the Democratic Party to is that Democrats find unity. This takes effort and those of us active in the local party organization must lead the way. We must do our best to establish friendships with each other and to be generous in our respect for each other. We must do our best to come together as a harmonious community — not in total agreement, but bound together with a common mission and purpose — bound together by our allegiance to the democratic process, even when we disagree with the results.

In April, Mark Owens, the Chairman of the MCDP, asked that I chair the MCDP Strategic Planning Committee. I wrote a letter distributed at the June MCDP Central Committee meeting inviting any interested Central Committee member to join the committee. One person who signed up expressed strong disagreement with the fact that goals have already been established for the committee and in an exchange of several emails urged that a new process for goal identification be initiated. Yesterday, I finally had an opportunity to meet this individual in person. I was surprised by the stubbornness with which she maintained her point of view. I sent her the following note as a summary of our discussion.

I am glad that you want to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee and I understand your disappointment that you had no voice in a key aspect of the committee — the establishment of the goals for the committee.

It is important that you understand that the goals for this Strategic Planning Committee were established in the 2018 MCDP Constitution and that this Constitution emerged from a democratic process. You were not part of the process because you were not active in the party in 2018. You missed out on the opportunity to work on the Constitution Committee that recommended the new Preamble and Statement of Purpose for the 2018 Constitution. You missed out on the opportunity to serve as delegate to the 2018 Reorganization Meeting where the Preamble and Statement of Purpose in the 2018 MCDP Constitution were approved.

I agree, as you point out, that often a Strategic Planning Committee starts at ground zero in goal identification — spending a lot of time and effort in surveying the membership, developing consensus, developing ownership of the process, etc. I understand that in some circumstances this is an appropriate and valuable process and a good use of time. But you need to understand that the goals for this committee are already established and that the committee will not discard these established goals and initiate a new process of goal identification.

I can only conclude that your demand that new goals be established stems from a strong conviction that the established goals are weak and inappropriate. I understand that a person passionate that the party be more successful may feel that a goal like “to empower representative democracy in the party and in the county” is so ethereal that efforts to build a strategic plan to advance such a goal will be a waste of time. Please be patient. The four goals established for Strategic Planning will empower the committee to address all of the specific concerns that might be troubling you — how to improve Democratic vote turn-out, how to develop stronger candidates, how to raise more money, how to engage the youth, etc.

The Strategic Planning Committee, as indicated in a letter approved by Chairman Owens, is “charged with developing recommendations for discussion and action in the Central Committee concerning how the MCDP can advance the goals established in the preamble and statement of purpose established in the MCDP Constitution.” I get the fact that you might disagree with the goals, but certainly you want to be team player in the party and certainly you want to show respect for the democratic process that produced the goals — and show respect for our Chairman who established this committee and who asked that I chair this committee.

It was so nice finally to meet you in person — by the content of your emails I had expected a much older person. I think it is wonderful that the Democratic Party is attracting passionate and capable youth like yourself who are eager to advance the success of the Democratic Party. You obviously have a lot to offer to bring success to this committee and to the whole party. I am looking forward to our becoming friends and to working productively together.

Thank you. — Mike Bock

This morning I sent an email to Karl Keith and Mark Owens asking that they consider making a motion of unanimous consent for the four new rules to be added to the MCDP Constitution.

Mark and Karl —

The four suggested changes to the MCDP Constitution are in keeping with the Preamble of the MCDP Constitution — “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.”

The argument for instituting these four rules for Central Committee meetings is that such rules will contribute to making our party stronger and to empowering representative democracy within our local party organization. It just seems to me that the MCDP should not be in disagreement about establishing such basic rules for the Central Committee.

Here is my thought for this morning:   Please consider recommending to the Central Committee that these rules be added to the Constitution by acclamation — by unanimous consent.  Such a recommendation, I believe, would be very much appreciated by the membership. I just don’t think there would be any opposition to such a motion — if it was recommended by either of you.

I’m forwarding this email to Nan Whaley when I find her email address.    Thanks.  — Mike

The Motion For Four New Rules:

1. Minutes of Central Committee meetings shall include a record of all members in attendance at the meeting and shall identify the precinct that each attending member represents.
2. Each Central Committee meeting will include a review of the minutes of the previous meeting for changes and approval by vote of the Committee.
3. Each Central Committee meeting will include a Treasurer’s report.
4. Each calendar year, the Central Committee will discuss, vote on changes, and approve the MCDP budget for that year.