Freeport, Stephenson County, and the Democratic Party needs you.
Freeport and Stephenson County need a strong Democratic Party.
Many of you might know me. I’m sure many of you have “heard” things about me. I’m sure most of you don’t know anything about me.
I’m here to let you know that I’ve only been organizing in Freeport and Stephenson County for 6 months now. I’m proud of the accomplishments so far and most proud of the engagement I’ve helped bring on from several others in the community. Along with the relationships I’ve built across the community, there’s much to be satisfied about.
Today, a group of like-minded individuals and I launched a new endeavor called The Voice of Freeport. This idea came about through the frustration of not having an outlet available to tell the story of the work we’ve done. After all, telling the story is how you get more people involved. It’s how you grow. It’s how you learn from your losses and revel in your victories.
What do I mean by “not having an outlet”? Today, we are faced with unreliable media coverage from Rockford, an almost invisible Freeport Journal Standard, local social media that fans the flames of divisiveness, and a local Democratic Party that lacks the leadership to change anything.
Yes, I’m a diehard Democrat. But one of the first pieces of commentary I’m making on this new endeavor is to criticize the local Democratic Party leadership rather than the Republican Party. The Republicans in this county deserve much criticism; after all they control the local levers of government by a count of 31-9 across the city, township, and county elected government offices. If we remove the township officials from those numbers the numbers are even more dire. We will get to the Republicans later.
I’m a proud Democrat. I’m a proud gay man. I’m a proud Atheist. I’m proud of many things in my life, many of which are difficult things to live proudly and openly about in a rural area. That being said, it’s almost as difficult to come out as a Democrat in this city as it is a gay atheist. But a talk with a local pastor back in January, when my local organizing started, convinced me that I would not live like that as long as I was here. I wouldn’t live in ANY closet around my beliefs, my sexuality, or my politics.
What does that all mean? As a precinct committee person for the Stephenson County Democratic Party in the 14th precinct I’ve attended every official Democratic Party function since January. All while attending county committee meetings, county board meetings, organizing a campaign to keep Walnut Acres in our community, attending city council meetings, and many other civic events unfolding in our community. Through it all I kept the party leadership and membership informed of the progress, roadblocks, and strategy to navigate the maze of city, county, and regional politics.
What did this communication lead to? Nothing. Nothing at all.
The leadership of the party, specifically from the Chair of the party, has consistently displayed a lack of knowledge, effort, and frankly interest in changing the status quo. Let me tell you, the status quo is nothing to be proud of. I tried to work through this by getting folks to commit to joining the “team” and becoming precinct committee-people. I tried providing road maps to reestablish the party in our community, and introducing new ideas and concepts about party politics. Almost every step of the way was met with resistance, the silent treatment, and suspicion. This led to attempts to freeze myself and other Democratic allies out of the party decision making process.
Through it all I kept my eyes focused on the goal – which is to make Freeport and Stephenson County a better place to live. To make Freeport and Stephenson County a more representative place to live for Democrats. As you’ve seen today we’ve released several pieces of information showing that there are many Democrats in Freeport and Stephenson County. They help us win most races in the area. What we don’t win are the local races because our local Democratic Party leadership pays no attention to them. Very few candidates run and those who do can’t rely on the local Democratic Party leadership to help them in their careers as elected officials. Even while trying to recruit local folks to run as Democrats I had more than one dozen people indicate they wouldn’t run as long as the current leadership, specifically the Chair, was in place.
That has to change and it has to change now. A little over 60 days ago, in May, I spoke out and asked for leadership change within the Democratic Party. That led to further ostracism from the Chair and their inner circle. I continued to work with my allies within the party to get party work done. Staffing committees, making plans, continued recruitment, and more. The last Central Committee meeting led to much the same thing. Very little progress on a local agenda for a stronger party and continued reliance on state and national politics to keep up the pretense that work was being done. I again called for a change in leadership.
Here we are a little over a week later, and several people have resigned. An email thread the size of the Grand Canyon later, and there’s been ZERO words in response from the Chair. Calls to action are falling on deaf ears. More silence for those who want nothing more than to have a strong LOCAL Democratic Party. The work done by our local organizers, Democratic members, and Democratic elected officials deserve better. Freeport and Stephenson County deserve better.
I know from speaking to hundreds of people over the last 6 months that there are many people that feel the same way. I know from those stories that there are many people I haven’t talked to that feel the same way. I know there are elected officials, independent citizens, and local business owners that feel the same way.
With those sentiments in mind I ask you to come forward. I ask you to stand with the majority of folks on the Democratic Party Central Committee who are demanding change. I ask you to speak out and say ENOUGH! We want a strong Democratic Party to help us through the pandemic, economic crisis, civil unrest, and all the local issues that have been paid very little attention by a stagnant Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party of Stephenson County means nothing if it means nothing locally. We have the team, the ideas, and the energy are here and waiting for you. Please step out of the shadows and join us in the fight. Once we win the Democratic Party we win Freeport. Once we win Freeport we win Stephenson County. Join us!
