This is a revision of the paper that I distributed last night at our January  meeting of the Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Committee.

Regardless that the election of 2024 was a big disaster for Democrats, the leadership will not be held accountable. Liz Walters is secure in her position as ODP Chairperson — reporting to a small clique of insiders called the Ohio Democratic Party Executive Committee — ensconced in a 19th century organizational structure. It’s pretty impossible for rank-and-file Democrats to have any influence.

Our first chance to push back against Trump and the corrupt Republican Party will be at the ballot box in 2026.  Voting against our Republican congressman, Mike Turner, will be the one way that OH-10 citizens will be able to express their disapproval of Trump and his policies.

Our challenge is to generate a credible challenge to Turner. We will need a candidate, a campaign, and a message that will stimulate a grassroots movement of hundreds and thousands — including many habitual non-voters. This sounds impossible, I know, but our task of leadership is not to throw up our hands in despair, but, to actually show leadership.

Let’s start with the good news that in the ten congressional districts in Ohio controlled by Republicans, this district, OH-10, is the most competitive. It is the least gerrymandered. If Ohio Democrats have any hope of pushing back against Trump in 2026, it will be here in the Miami Valley. We need a credible plan that will gain wide support by Democrats throughout Ohio.

I like the saying that, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” I believe the idea of democracy is powerful and that, more than ever, now is democracy’s time. More and more citizens are waking up to the fact that we could lose our democracy. The way forward for the Democratic Party, I believe, is to do the hard work needed to be branded the “for-democracy” party. To defeat Mike Turner, I believe this should be the MCDP Executive Committee’s POV:

Our goal is to nominate and to elect a candidate of the people to represent all of the citizens in OH-10, who, when elected, will empower all interested citizens within a 21st century system of participatory democracy.

We need to be the party of participatory democracy that empowers rank-and-file citizens. In the 19th century, it would have been crazy for a candidate to promise that, if elected to the US House, he or she would return every week from Washington and engage in a meaningful discussion with a Citizen Assembly of 5000 constituents, or more — organized as a deliberative democracy. But we are in the 21st century. What not long ago would have been difficult and expensive, now is doable with little expense. Our opportunity is to become a 21st century party that leads in the use of technology and artificial intelligence to empower ordinary citizens.

I’m working on a muti-chapter paper that deals with the topics in this post. For fun, I instructed ChatGPT to design a book cover with the paper’s working title — “Blueprint For A Miracle: Transforming The Democratic Party, Vitalizing Democracy, Winning In OH-10.”

There are 50,000 registered Democrats in the county, but, as it is, our county organization, mostly, is just the members of the MCDP Executive Committee — 168, at last report, and many members are inactive. We are a weak organization.

The MCDP organizational structure reflects the 19th century political boss system that dominates the state party. There are over 800,000 registered Democrats in Ohio and the leader of the Ohio Democratic Party is elected by a tiny ODP Executive Committee — 148 members — only 66 members of whom are elected in Democratic Primaries. The ODP Executive Committee is dominated by the 82 members who are party insiders, union leaders, and other power brokers.

Ohio Democrats are welcome to become card-carrying members of the ODP, but the ODP, like the MCDP, is not a real organization. The leader of the ODP, Elizabeth Walters, is the “Chairperson of the ODP Executive Committee.” Likewise, the MCDP is not a real organization. Rank-and-file Democrats are urged to become members, but, there are no meetings, no officers. Mohamed Al-Hamdani is the “Chairman of the MCDP Executive Committee.”

In order to challenge Turner, the MCDP must become an actual organization of hundreds and thousands of rank-and-file Democrats. The way forward for the Democratic Party, I believe, is the democratizing of the Democratic Party. Our goal must be to become the “for-democracy” party that builds community and harmony and that advances the practice of participatory democracy. Our task of leadership is to envision how we can become the strong effective organization that we have the potential to become. We need to use 2025 to develop the Democratic Party in Montgomery County that the crisis of our time sorely needs.

• Let’s Amend The MCDP Constitution So, In 2026, Rank-And-File Democrats Will Directly Elect The Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairperson
• Note To David Pepper: Go For the Big Win — Invite All Ohio Democrats To Become Voting Members Of The ODP

Dear Mohamed,

Mohamed Al-Hamdani, in 2022, was elected the Chairperson of the Montgomery County Democratic Party Executive Committee. Mohamed has an inspiring life story. Coming to Dayton as a refugee from Iraq in 1992 as a ten year old, knowing no English, he now works as an immigration attorney. He previously served as a member of the Dayton Board of Education.

These are dark days. The disaster of the 2024 election is sad and depressing. It’s important for the MCDP Executive Committee to come to grips with the reality of this defeat. We had no meeting in November and at our December Christmas party meeting you asked that I not make a motion I had prepared. You indicated there would be opportunity for discussion at this January 23 meeting.

I believe the Executive Committee — as an obligation of leadership — must engage in a process of honest analysis of this disaster. What have we learned? What should we do differently in the future? As the elected leaders of the MCDP organization, we must acknowledge and accept responsibility for the failure of the organization.

I think we can all agree that if the MCDP had been stronger and more effective organization, the election results in this county would have been better, maybe, much better. We need to step away from the attitude that, “well, we did the best we could do.” Individually, that statement is true for many who tried so hard. But, our task of leadership is to engage in the painful task of honestly listing the ways that the MCDP, as an organization, fell short. Our task of leadership is to list the ways the MCDP, as an organization, can, and should, improve.

We need to be guided by measurable data and here are four questions that I believe should structure our research and discussions:

1. What are the benchmarks that indicate the strength of a Democratic Party county organization? (One benchmark, for example, is the number of elected precinct leaders in a county.)
2. What is the MCDP score for each benchmark? (Currently, only 168 precincts, out of 382 precincts in Montgomery County, have Democratic leaders.)
3. What are the MCDP goals for these benchmarks for January 2026, 2027, 2028?
4. What is the strategy and plan for accomplishing these goals?

Many rank-and-file Democrats are depressed, and, seemingly, are giving up on the Democratic Party. As Democratic Party leaders we shouldn’t pretend that everything is wonderful and that, if we just keep doing the same things, everything will be fine. To have any credibility with rank-and-file Democrats, we need to acknowledge there’s a lot a reasons to be discouraged with the Democratic Party, as an organization, and that the Democratic Party has a lot of room for improvement. Then, I think it is crucially important that we offer a positive vision for the future — a strong and thriving MCDP organization — and a plan for actualizing that future.

I’m hoping that you will support a motion that calls for the formation  of a study group with membership in this group open to all members interested in participating. This group would be charged with researching the above four questions and preparing a report for discussion at our February meeting.

Sincerely,

Mike Bock — Elected in 2022 to the MCDP Executive Committee to represent the Democrats in precinct Kettering 4-K and to serve as MCDP Precinct Leader. (First elected in 2006.)

WOW — It is October 25 And My Dahlias Are Still Blooming — Maybe Until November !

I started growing dahlias in about the year 1985 — mostly for my mom and dad at my parents’ home. I fell in love with them then, and, as I grow them now, I feel connected to my mom and dad who enjoyed them so.

I acquired this website in 2007 and it has become a good reminder to me of my thoughts and interests over the last 17 years. I found four other times that I posted about my dahlia efforts and looking at the pictures of these old posts reminds me of the glory that used to be.  Now, I have fewer plants and some spectacular varieties I used to have, over time, have disappeared.  The most beautiful seem to be the less hardy. There is probably a poem that develops that theme. Next year, I’ll hope to make my garden great again.

I provided this vase of dahlias for a neighbor. I enjoy sharing these beautiful flowers, but this year I had fewer to share.

Here are excerpts and links to the posts from previous years — lots of good pictures — even a youtube video.

• October 30, 2020. — It’s October 30 And My Dahlias Are Still Blooming — In Dayton Ohio — But Some Claim That Frost Is Coming.  So, yes, some claim that frost is coming. It’s Frost, Frost, Frost. I’d like to think all of this Frost attention is just part of the Fake News. I’d like to think that if people stopped predicting Frost so much, we’d have a lot less Frost. Anyway. These plants have been faithful to produce a lot of great blooms this year and I’m thinking that if they can withstand just one more cold snap — they might make it to Thanksgiving ! Please people, let’s stop predicting Frost.
• October 16, 2013 — Great Year To Grow Dahlias In Kettering, Ohio  A dahlia is an inspiring flower — a lot of work, but offering a big pay-off in its stunning, enchanting, mesmerizing and astonishing beauty. And this was a great year to grow them — lots of rain and not too hot. In my little backyard I had more plants than ever — about 100 plants — most growing about six feet tall and full of blooms.
• September 11, 2009 — My Dahlias Are Blooming !    I got interested in dahlias maybe twenty years ago when I noticed a dahlia garden as I was traveling with my mom on Route 48. The garden was just north of Lebanon, and a sign by the road advertised cut flowers. I had never noticed flowers so beautiful. I bought a vase of the blooms to take to my parents’ home. The next spring, I returned to this small farm and bought a few roots and every since I’ve been growing dahlias. The Lebanon garden was part of a mail order business of long standing called The Golden Rule Dahlia Farm. It is now long gone. I feel a little sad every time I pass by the place it used to be.
  October 10, 2008 — Today Is The First Frost Date And My Dahlias Are Just Now Starting To Bloom   My photography is not adequate to really capture the magnificence of these flowers. Sort of like trying to capture on film the Rocky Mountains or the Pacific Ocean.